Festival of Freemasonry – Let the Fun Begin!

Lockdown and the cost-of-living crisis may have had their effects but the numbers joining Essex Freemasonry and having fun are beginning to increase.

The Provincial Grand Master of Essex, Paul Tarrant, was clear in his address to over 1,000 Essex Freemasons at the Annual Meeting on 23rd March 2023 at Freemasons’ Hall, the London headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England. Lockdown and the cost-of-living crisis may have had their effects but the numbers joining Essex Freemasonry and having fun are beginning to increase.

Annual meetings are one of the most important events in each of the 48 Provinces in the United Grand Lodge of England, of which Essex is the second largest with around 8,000 members. It is also the day members receive recognition for services to Freemasonry and their local communities. The newly appointed Provincial Assistant Grand Directors of Ceremonies had fun themselves pointing the way forward to over 530 Essex Freemasons who also received their first appointments or promotions.

Finding out what all the fun in Freemasonry is about will be very easy between 11.30 am and 7.30 pm on Friday 2nd June 2023 at the ‘Festival of Freemasonry.’ An open day is being organised at Upminster Masonic Hall with representatives showcasing the many different Orders alongside a number of Essex Masonic charities, sporting associations and clubs.

Open to all, the Festival of Freemasonry will be a rare opportunity to look inside one of the largest of the 26 Masonic centres in Essex to find out more about Freemasonry. Also, existing members can ascertain more about what the additional progressive Orders have to offer.  With over 300 lodges, everyone can discover the depth of community engagement by Essex Freemasons and learn of their traditions and history which date back to when the first lodge meeting was held in Essex in 1735.