From the Grand Secretary …
Brethren,
Annual Communication of Grand Lodge: The virtual Annual meeting of the Grand Lodge of A.F. & A.M. of Canada in the Province of Ontario will be held on Wednesday July 21, 2021. Details of the timing and the process for logging in will be communicated as they become known. A limited number of brethren will be able to join the meeting on a first registered basis and the remainder will be able to listen in to a live streamed version of the meeting. Brethren who join the meeting will be able to cast a vote on any business brought to the floor during the meeting. You are therefore encouraged to register as early as possible since brethren watching and listening to the live stream will be unable to vote. Registration details will be communicated when available.
Installation of Grand Lodge Officers July 2021: As our Grand Lodge is not permitting the use of any ritual in an online (virtual) environment the Installation and Investiture of Grand Lodge officers, including the District Deputy Grand Masters, normally conducted as part of the Annual Communication of Grand lodge will not take place at that meeting this year. A number of options are being considered, but the constant evolution of the health regulations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic make it impossible to announce a solution at this time. As soon as we are in a position to make a decision we will communicate when and how the Installations and Investitures will take place.
We appreciate your patience in this matter.
Annual Meeting of the Board of General Purposes: The annual meeting of the Board of General Purposes normally held the two days prior to the Annual meeting will be held in virtual format on Tuesday June 22, 2021 from 09:00AM EDT – 14:00PM EDT. This meeting is a must for all Members of the Board of General Purposes including the current District Deputy Grand Masters. Log in details and timings will be communicated as soon as they are available. Non-Board members used to attending as part of the Gallery, will be permitted to attend the virtual meeting as observers only.
Election of District Deputy Grand Masters: A reminder that the election of all District Deputy Grand Masters will take place on June 18 and June 19 2021. A document titled “Electronic Voting Grand Lodge 2021 Member Letter Mar 01 2021.PDF” was distributed in the last Resources Digest indicating the procedures to be followed for an eligible individual member to cast his ballot. Advance registration is a MUST.
Nominations for District Deputy Grand Master: All current DDGMs are reminded that candidates in your District must complete and sign the 2021 Nomination Form as provided to you earlier and return it to their current DDGM. All current DDGMs must complete the 2021 Eligible Candidates Form and submit to Grand Lodge as a fillable PDF form (NOT printed and scanned), together with the copies of the 2021 Nomination Forms.
Virtual Meeting Protocol - Introductions: The brethren organizing virtual meetings should be aware that even though the meetings may be considered informal, some Masonic protocol need still apply. Please ensure that if our Grand Master or Deputy Grand Master or your own District Deputy Grand Master are in attendance that they are recognized given the last word.
Scheduling and Rescheduling of Masonic Events:
Lodge Anniversaries and Grand Master’s Receptions: As our Grand Master has indicated, once we are able to resume in-person Masonic gatherings, either in the lodge or at social events, there are going to be many requests to reschedule cancelled or postponed events as well as requests for new events. Regrettably we are unable to commit to any future events (especially large social gatherings) definitively until we can resume labours in a safe and healthy manner. That time appears to be a ways off yet.
While we appreciate the dilemma of having to book in advance, we cannot ask lodges and Districts to commit to rental and catering contracts for events that may not be able to be complete as planned. Cancellation clauses can be expensive.
Therefore, we are asking brethren of lodges that have had a major anniversary last year or will be celebrating one this year to think about joining together with other lodges in your District as well as with the District itself to schedule one single event to which the Grand Master would be invited.
As soon as we can re-open for business we will notify you when to submit requests for dates.
Stay safe. Keep vigilant.
Fraternally,
Garry Dowling,
Grand Secretary