22 January 2021
Hello Brethren,
We are entering the Australia Day long weekend, and for some it will be a 4-day affair, and I hear that a few brethren are even making it five days. Please enjoy this valuable time with family and friends. Hopefully you can join with a Brother or two, your Lodge or your District with some form of Australia Day celebration.
On the night of Australia Day, from 7.30pm on Tuesday evening, Freemasons Victoria will be holding a special state-wide meeting by Zoom, and this is your invitation to be a part of this event.
Freemasons Victoria ‘Coming Together’ Zoom Meeting.
Tuesday 26 January – 7:30pm
Special Australia Day Event hosted by Richard Elkington, Grand Master. Several guest speakers with brief talks. Recognition of members, Australia Day honours recipients. Followed by happy, informal chat to start our 2021 Masonic year. Families and friends welcome. Attire: white shirt, black bow-tie.
LINK
Meeting ID: 812 2497 6077
Passcode: 309413
This will be a good time. We will celebrate our own Australia Day Honours awardees, WBro. Lieutenant-Colonel David Waugh will give a 10-minute talk about aspirations for our brotherhood in Victoria; and an indigenous Freemason will talk briefly about diversity and acceptance. There will also be time to hear from members with an informal chat session afterwards.
This will be the first meeting in our ‘Coming Together' theme where, together, we re-build Freemasons Victoria so we can all become better men. A link to this Zoom meeting is at the www.FVNews.com.au website.
‘Coming Together' is also the theme for the four workshops that we are holding early in February, where every Brother across Victoria has the opportunity to contribute their ideas about the future structure of Freemasons Victoria. We genuinely want to hear your thoughts about the changes that you believe we can make. Members have asked to be consulted, and there are a number of opportunities for us to listen.
There will be four sessions. One of them is at the Bayside Masonic Centre at Gardenvale. Another is at Eastbourne at East Melbourne. Two more are being held by Zoom, so you can contribute from the comfort of your own home. Our Change Manager, Professor Stephen Duns, will facilitate these sessions.
Already, 200 members have indicated that they will be attending. So these sessions should be a vibrant exchange of ideas, some energetic discussion, and a positive move forward for our great Craft. Please accept this as my personal invitation. Go to the Try Booking website, search ‘Freemasons Victoria', and make your free booking. It's free. There is no charge.
In closing this short video, I would like to say how invigorating it is to hear about in-person Lodge meetings starting to resume across Victoria. On Wednesday night, I had the pleasure to attend the Convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only 41 Companions were able to be present at Bayside. Grand Chapter had not met since January 15 last year and there was a need to transact important items of business. If you believe it will be a health-safe option for you, I wish you well in getting back to Lodge in the weeks ahead. At this stage, we hope that visiting other Lodges will be permitted from March 1.
So, from me and the Freemasons Victoria leadership team, best wishes for the Australia Day weekend, and I hope to say hello to you at Tuesday night's special Australia Day Night meeting on Zoom.
See you then. Bye for now.
MWBro. Richard Elkington
Grand Master
