Saturday 7th January 2023 saw the Ramsgate Lodges open the doors and invite the public to have a glimpse into Freemasonry.
The event was born from the success of the Margate centre open day in the summer and headed up by Royal Navy lodges very own Nigel Mann. The day would try and dispel some of the myths about the secrecy of Freemasonry and educate the general public into the work and donations carried out by Freemasons in the local community.
Using a variety of printed and social media platforms, we elected to use a ticketing system to ensure any visitors would be spaced appropriately and that they would receive some personal guidance from our members around the centre and inside the temple itself. Around 40 members of the various craft lodges along with members from Lodges within The Thanet area agreed to assist on the day.
Steve Ford giving a guided tourRoyal Navy Lodge TableWidows Sons
The doors opened at 10am to greet the “early bird” ticket holders and to help the team members get their bearings and learn their pitch. The main dining room greeted visitors with a presentation from each Craft lodge that meets at the Ramsgate centre. In addition to this, they were met with specialist interest groups of the widows sons masonic group and the East Kent Light Blue Brothers club for newer and younger thinking masons.
We were also delighted to welcome representation of the Order of Women Freemasons who agreed to support the event.
From the main dining room, visitors were led a cinema room showing a selection of video’s about freemasonry in general and the work of The TLC (Teddies for loving care)
Lastly, the visitors were shown inside the temple and greeted by various members sitting in the chairs of the respective officers. There was even a chance for visitors to get a picture in the masters chair.
The Secretary’s Table & Masonic BallotsA packed TempleOur WM explains the Senior Warden Role Are we seeing a future Worshipful Master of Royal Navy Lodge?
After the visit to the temple, there was a chance to enjoy a well earned cup of tea with the members.
In all, the centre welcomes over 200 members of the public throughout the day and after what was an enormously rewarding event, a few of the brethren enjoyed a cold beer in celebration!
The members from all of the Ramsgate Lodges would like to thank everyone who came to visit us. We really enjoyed our day, and we hope you did too? We look forward to seeing you again next year.
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