Province of East Kent

Canterbury Masons Pick Up the Gauntlet

After the resounding success of the Open Day at the Canterbury Masonic Centre on the 6th June the Canterbury Masons want to do it all again. It was a great pleasure and very rewarding to be able to show visitors around our magnificent centre, of which we are all very proud.

When the Chairman of the Centre, WBro Rodney Marsh, and his fellow Directors received a letter from WBro Roger Waltham asking whether they would consider holding a public Open Day, they didn't hesitate for a moment and asked WBro Keith Simpson to organise the event for them.

APGM, WBro Brian Powell, who was tasked by the PGM to develop his idea for a series of Open Days in the Province, said "I was delighted by the positive response from the Canterbury masons to the PGM's initiative. The Canterbury Team put in a lot of hard work and the event exceeded all expectations. We had nearly 250 visitors during the day and everyone went away with a positive impression of Freemasonry".

The success was due not only to the planning and preparation that went into the event by the local team but also to the very effective publicity campaign organised by the Provincial Information Officer, WBro Tony Elliott. He, and local Information Officer WBro Peter Kean, made sure that the event was given wide coverage in the local media, including local radio thanks to the help of WBro Mike Webb and the Provincial Secretary, WBro Roger Odd.

But it was the Masons of Canterbury who made the day. They picked up the gauntlet thrown down by the PGM and without their commitment and enthusiasm the event would not have been such a resounding success. "I could not have had a better team to help me," said WBro Keith Simpson. "Everyone was so enthusiastic and keen to help. Nothing was too much trouble for them. Everyone rolled up their "trouser legs" and got stuck in. If they saw something that needed to be done on the day, they did it without being asked no matter what it was, from vacuuming the lodge room to, rewiring the Provincial stand, to solving a last minute hitch with the DVD equipment. One member who had volunteered for the morning enjoyed the event so much that he stayed for the rest of the day another who could only make the afternoon session said that he wished he could have come earlier".

The Sheriff of Canterbury, Councillor Gabrielle Davis, was one of the first visitors to be given the tour and to be introduced to the Provincial Grand Master. He explained that the purpose of the Open Day was to demystify the misconceptions about Freemasonry and to demonstrate that we are not a secret society. He told the Sheriff about our commitment to the local community and how we provide valuable support through our charitable donations. Over the past 2 years Canterbury Masons have donated nearly £28,000 to mainly local charities.

As soon as the doors were opened to the public a constant stream of visitors were shown around a specially created Masonic exhibition and the Centre's Lodge Room. "We didn't stop all day", said WBro Keith Simpson, who organised the Open Day event. "We're very proud of our Masonic Centre. It was a great pleasure to show people around and to answer their questions in an open and frank way. Everyone was very impressed by what they saw. We've even had a few enquires from visitors about joining".

WBro Brian Powell, the Assistant Provincial Grand Master, was on hand to show people around and the Provincial Secretary, WBro Roger Odd, took time out of his busy day to explain the meaning of the First Degree tracing board to interested visitors.

Freemasonry has been practiced in Canterbury since 1730 and at the St Peter's Street Masonic Centre for 135 years so there was a lot for the visitors to see. The Lodge Room was laid out as if we were about to perform an initiation ceremony and the volunteers made sure that the visitors appreciated the significance of what they were looking at. To put the tour of the Lodge Room into context and help visitors understand the historical context of, and symbolism in, Freemasonry, we set up a specially created display area covering Freemasonry through the ages. Our thanks go to the Museum and local Lodges for their help in making the display so attractive and informative. Also to Province for the leaflets that they very kindly printed and to Provincial Stewards WBros Ray Hubbard and Trevor Sharpe, who manned the entrances for us and made the visitors feel welcome from the moment they stepped into the Centre.

The message from our Open Day is that we should all be proud to be Masons and should be equally proud of our Masonic Centres. For us it was very rewarding to show people our Centre and disprove the misconceptions about Freemasons. We can't wait to do it again.

To enjoy the atmosphere of the day, use the link to see a short video

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