Lodge Marine No. 232 – The Raising of Bro Stephen Holden.
‘Marine’ has a long history and was originally founded in Calcutta, India as far back as 1776 as an overseas lodge for mariners and has been in Somerset since 2001 with our membership open to anyone who is interested in becoming a Freemason. Joining members and visitors are always welcome.
The main purpose of our meeting on Saturday 3rd September was to raise brother Stephen Holden who has been a member since he was initiated on 4th September 2021 and has been patiently waiting for today! W Bro David Reid delivered an exemplary third-degree ceremony with support from the lodge members. Bro Stephen prepared himself extremely well and was word perfect when answering the questions put to him. The members and guests all did our best to make his day memorable. As with all ceremonies it will take time to really understand what went on and the context of it all.
The day was special for Bro Stephen as he has a link with Freemasonry; he is a ‘Lewis’, and for those familiar with the term will know he is the son of a mason. His father was a mason in Hong Kong which happens to coincide with another member of Marine whose father was also a member of lodge in Hong Kong. Bro Stephen brought his father’s apron and that made the day very special for us all. It truly is a small world and one where we are somehow all universally connected.
It was also great to see W Bro Eric Johns at the meeting and he has unable to attend due suffering with his hands and thankfully W Bro Matt Wesley has been standing in and kept us on our toes with his signature key changes during the opening and closing odes! The ceremony concluded with the proposition of 3 joining members and a new candidate which will be initiated in March 2023. What a great start to the new season!
Our festive board is always enjoyable and accompanied by great food and our traditional silverware along with the ships bell which is located at the centre of the dining area. We have a few Marine traditions one of which is the Junior Warden’s responsibility to ring the ship’s bell every half-hour inline with the watches on a ship.
Overall, a wonderful ceremony and festive board with our next meeting in November being the installation which will be held on Saturday 5th November 2022. Please get in touch with our secretary Mike Barfoot-Franks if you would like to come along.
