"If you build it, he will come"
MW Bro. Dean Elliott, Grand Master, 2022-23
Happy New Year to all and may 2023 be a year of personal and fraternal growth for all Saskatchewan masons.
January is an exciting time for the new officer teams that are holding their first meetings this month. Your brethren look to you to provide the leadership necessary to engage all members of your Lodge in practicing the distinguishing characteristics of every Freemason, namely Virtue, Honor and Mercy, through high quality ritual, education, fellowship and social events. As you enter your new roles and plan your year, consider the importance of visitation as outlined in my theme “If you build it, he will come.”
- If you visit other lodges, you extend your hand of brotherhood and gain an opportunity to learn how a
different group of men bring Freemasonry to life in their Lodge. - If you provide special nights as part of your yearly program, he will attend for the fellowship and
celebrations.
January also brings us one of the biggest special nights in Freemasonry, the celebration of the life and works of the Bard – Robert Burns. Such festivities typically include piping in the haggis, the Selkirk Grace, Address to a Haggis, a whiskey toast, a main course of haggis with neeps and tatties, readings of works by Burns and the singing of one of his most well-known works, Auld Lang Syne. The Grand Line and I look forward to attending as many of those festivities as time and circumstance permits.
Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759, initiated in Lodge St. David Tarbolton on July 4, 1781 at the age of 23 and remained an active Mason until his death in 1796. Freemasonry was said to have appealed to Burns because of the camaraderie and spirit of brotherhood, the charity towards the widow and orphan and the equality in both political and religious matters among its members that was not common to other institutions in pre-Enlightenment Europe. In short, Burns perceived Freemasonry as one of the cures for the numerous social ills prevalent in his society. While we may not see that same societal role for Freemasonry today, our collective commitment to the fundamental principles of Freemasonry – Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth – enables us to demonstrate to the world at large what it means to be a Freemason.
I wish all of the newly installed and invested officers success in their positions as we collectively demonstrate why Freemasonry should be the fraternity of choice for men in Saskatchewan.
"If you build it, he will come”
MW Bro. Dean Elliott, Grand Master, 2022-23