Bytown Bulletin – Vol. 43, No. 3
September, 2023
Lodge News
Brethren convened for the Ninth Regular Meeting on May 18, 2023, at 7:30 p.m., which began with a social hour and Festive Board that was well attended by visitors. The work of the evening was the Ceremony of Installation & Investiture of Officers for 2023-2024.
Master: V.W. Bro. Jeff Hawkins Immediate
Past Master: W. Bro. Jean-François Legault
Senior Warden: Bro. Peter Ruttan
Junior Warden : Bro. Jon Orazietti
Chaplain: W. Bro. Ernest Nelson
Treasurer: V.W. Bro. Scott Macdonald
Secretary: W. Bro. Brodie Fraser
Senior Deacon: Bro. Howard Schwartz
Junior Deacon: Bro. Colin Boche
Director of Ceremonies: Bro. Cameron Arnot
Tyler: Bro. Sandy Mackie
In his last Message from the East, our now Immediate Past Master Jean–François Legault expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the support he received from the brethren during his term, and summed-up his year as Worshipful Master with a reminder of the successes of Bytown Lodge. “Collectively, we have shown once again that Bytown Lodge is alive, vibrant, inclusive, and espouses the true values and tenets of freemasonry.”
Social Events
June 2023
Our lodge’s Social and Entertainment Committee arranged three events for the summer months, beginning with the annual BBQ, June 12th at Constance Bay, hosted by W. Bro. Brodie Fraser and his mom Jan.
New brethren and prospective candidates enjoyed their first taste of our annual event’s fellowship
and food.
Our thanks to Jan and W. Bro. Fraser for their warm hospitality.
July & August 2023
There were two casual evening gatherings overt the summer, July 12th at Local Heroes Pub, and at Pub Italia August 24th.
Bytown Lodge’s signature social events offer the opportunity to spend more time together in a less formal setting than usual, and celebrate one of the key pillars of our craft: fellowship.
Many thanks to V.W. Bro. George Ingraham for his hard work planning our social and entertainment events.
Upcoming Events
September 14, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. An in-person CGP meeting followed by a practice.
September 21, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.The first Regular Meeting, preceded by a social hour at 6:00 p.m., and followed by a Festive Board at 6:30 p.m.
September 23, 2023, 12 p.m. Annual Owl’s Head Mountain Degree
Golden Rule Lodge No.5 welcomes all Master Masons to attend its famous Owl’s Head Mountain Degree.
Date: September 23,2023. The degree is set to begin at high twelve.
Dress Code: Informal attire, jeans, etc. Dress comfortably for the weather and the ascent up the mountain. Masonic aprons and dues cards are required. You’ll also want to bring a cushion to sit on.
Cost: Tickets are $20 for a journey up the mountain by chairlift. We’ll then walk 100 metres to the base of the upper mountain. Note that there is a very uneven walk up a hill where a rope is required to pull yourself up the last 20 metres.
If you intend to go to Owl’s Head, V.W. Bro. George Ingraham is coordinating transportation to and from the event. If you wish to participate, please contact him no later than September 15, 2023; you may reach him by email at george.ingraham64@gmail.com.
Message from the East
I hope you all had a wonderful summer and had a chance to relax and spend some quality time with those nearest and dearest.
R.W. Bro. Charles Singh was also elected to the Board of General Purposes, so a great day for Ottawa District 2!
We will be hitting the ground running this year as we have a couple of Third Degrees currently lined up for the fall: one at our Regular Meeting in September, and another at our Emergent Meeting in October. It will be great to have a couple of young new Master Masons to assist in the lodge.
The Long-range Planning Committee has sent a survey to all of the brethren. If you haven’t already, please fill it out—it will only take a minute and the information provided could be crucial in planning for the future of Bytown Lodge.
This year we will again be focusing on our signature events: our annual Robbie Burns Night will coincide with the Official Visit from our District Deputy Grand Master at our Regular Meeting on January 18, 2024, and the Cal Bellamy Memorial Chili Cook Off is scheduled for April 26, 2024.
I am very much looking forward to getting started with the year. If you ever have any questions or concerns, I sincerely encourage you to reach out.
Sincerely & Fraternally,
V.W. Bro. Jeff Hawkins
Worshipful Master, Bytown Lodge #721
Editor’s Notes
In future issues of the Bulletin, we’ll include some Masonic Education articles on various topics. In the meantime, you can always turn to the Grand Lodge website for resources.
In an effort to publish richer content, feel free to send any photos you take at lodge events or after degrees, to bytownbull@gmail.com.
Bro. Howard Schwartz
Editor
