Report on Activities of Lodges

1. Lodge Southern Cross No. 46 Palayamkottai
Rehearsed Second degree ceremony. Bro.E.Kumaresa Srinivasan MM Lodge Tamiravarni No.289 admitted as Joining member

2. Lodge Trivandrum No. 168 Thiruvananthapuram
Conducted Raising Ceremony of Bro.C.P.Satheesh. A needy woman Smt.G.Gita was given 20kg bag of rice and Rs.500/-, as part of the charity program.

3. Lodge Kottayam No. 245 Kottayam
Installation meeting. Bro.Babu Abraham was installed as the WM by his predecessor W.Bro.Kurian Jacob.W.Bro.R.Sushil Raj ARGM represented RW The RGM at the meeting.W.Bro.R.Sreekumar, WM Lodge Vanchinad No273, Kollam and W.Bro.Navaneetha Krishnan WM Lodge Kalingaraya, Erode where among the visitors. A library donated by W.Bro.G.J.Ancheril in memory of his father W.Bro.George John Ancheril was inaugurated at the Lodge premises that evening by the ARGM.

4. Lodge Vivekananda No. 254 Kanyakumari
Initiation Ceremony of Bro.Dr.G.Madhavan Pillai, a well known anesthesiologist. W.Bro.R.Sushil Raj ARGM was present.

5. Lodge Vanchinad No. 273 Kollam
Installation ceremony of Bro.R.Sreekumar. W.Bro.R.Sushil Raj ARGM represented RW The RGM at the meeting. The meeting was held at the Crowther Masonic Hall belonging to Lodge Quilon No.5839E.C after a gap of 12 years. Large number of brethren from Lodge Quilon, WMs’ and brethren from neighbouring Lodges attended the function. As part of charity programme the Master ­ Elect presented bag of rise costing Rs.1000/- to S.S. samithi, a Destitute Home. The Lodge very successfully hosted a workshop “Ritual Working Competition,2004”, attended by brethren from all the 13 Lodges of the area.

6. Lodge Alleppey No. 275 Alleppey
Raising ceremony of Bro.Sivadas Bhaskaran Nair.

7. Lodge Ananthapadmanabha No. 280 Trivandrum
Initiation Ceremony of Bro.Balakrishna Pillai Sudhir an reputed Architect of Trivandrum. W.Bro.R.Sushil Raj ARGM was present and gave the charge after initiation. An eight year old polio affected boy, Gokul was given calipers costing Rs.3200/- in the presence of the ARGM.

8. Lodge Tamiravarni No. 289 Tirunelveli
No ceremonies reported.

9. Lodge Pearl City No. 290 Thoothukudi
Initiation ceremony of Bro.Vijay Damani was done. 50 kg. bag of rice was given to “Anbu Ullangal”, a destitute home at Pudukottai village and free medicines worth Rs.3000 donated by Bro.Antony Motha was given to “Little Sisters of the poor”, a home for the aged , as part of the regular charity programme.

10. Lodge Aruvi No. 293 Courtallam
Bro.Philip Abraham, a Planter was initiated into Freemasonry

11. Lodge Palai No. 318 Palai
The Lodge does not meet during the month.

12. Lodge Travancore No. 329 Thiruvananthapuram.
Bro. Sathish Prabhu was passed to the second degree. The highlight of the evening was the explanation of the TB by Bro.Anand Devaprasath MM raised in January 2004. W..Bro.R.Sushil Raj ARGM was present. As part of charity, the Lodge donated Rs.1000/- to “Care Plus”, an organization doing Palliative care to terminally ill cancer patients.

13. Kerala Masters’ Lodge No.309
Organised and successfully conducted the workshop ”Ritual working Competition, 2004” at Kollam.

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Report on RWC Workshop - Kollam, 4th April 2004

The inaugural section of the workshop started at 11 AM at the Crowther Masonic Hall, Kollam. W.Bro.Renny Koipuram, the WM of Lodge Vanchinad No.273, welcomed the brethren after a silent prayer. The brethren present then introduced themselves. There were 47 brethren representing all the 13 Lodges of the area.

The message of RW The RGM was read by W.Bro.D.Santhikumar.

The ARGM W.Bro.R.Sushil Raj gave the inaugural address.

W.Bro.T.T.Kuruvillai gave a talk on “the origin of rituals”

V.W.Bro.Abraham Markos assisted by his team of brethren from Kerala Masters’ Lodge demonstrated the following:

• The entering and retiring of the Principal Officers of the Lodge in procession (Long form and the short form)
• Admitting brethren after the Lodge is opened
• Receiving and Retiring of the RGM or his representative.
• How the Tyler is properly invested.

W.Bro. T.T.Kuruvilla and the team the demonstrated the following:

• The 2nd degree sign
• The proper grip of the SD when conducting the candidate.
• How the deacons should address/salute the WM with the wand in the hand
• How coping and crossing is done. The wand should be directly above the head when done.

W.Bro.A.Jayapalan then explained the procedure to be followed for the RWC W.Bro.D.Santhikumar briefed on the 2nd stage of the competition.

The Q & A session which followed was very well participated by all. Bro.R.Sreekumar Master- Elect of Lodge Vanchinad proposed the Vote of Thanks, which was followed by fellowship and lunch after the meeting.

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Procedures for RWC for Lodges in the Area
W.BRO.R.SUSHIL RAJ P.G.Mars.PyDRGM.ARGM

This procedure is suggested to be adopted for the Ritual Working Competition, so that there will some uniformity in the area and thus the judging will be more efficient.

Degree working procedure

1. The Lodge is opened in the 1st degree.
2. The candidate for passing is questioned, entrusted and passed out.
3. The Lodge is opened in the 2nd degree, when only the muffled knocks are given as per the ritual. The candidate is admitted. The passing ceremony is conducted.
4. Then all below the rank of MMs are passed out and the Lodge is opened in the 3rd degree. No muffled knocks.
5. Ag.RGD of C and the ARGM and if any RGL officers wish to be part of the deputation passed out.
(Kindly note that only the ARGM retires, the other two judges remain in their seats. It will be proper if the participating lodge has its own Ag.RGD of C and other RGL officers for the deputation so that they will be able to take part in the regular rehearsals. They all should be RGL officers.)
6. The Lodge escort is formed and ARGM is received, seated and saluted.
7. The Lodge is closed in the 3rd degree. All FCs’ are admitted
8. The Lodge is closed in the 2nd degree. All EAs’ are admitted
9. The WM welcomes the ARGM and the members of his deputation
10. The Grand Lodge Certificate is given.(Done only by WM)
(If it is an emergency meeting the ARGM and his deputation retire after charity and if it is a regular meeting, when the Lodge is closed, at the 2nd time of rising.)
11. ARGM and his deputation retire after the Lodge escort is formed.
12. ARGM and is team is re-admitted after proper report (as usual visitors are admitted).
13. WM rises for the third time.
14. The lodge is closed in due form
15. National Anthem

The Lodges may ensure the following:
Decorum
1. The brethren strictly adhere to the dress code prescribed by the Lodge in their summons or by GLI.
2. The Lodge is arranged properly with the wkg. tls. & other implements necessary for the working.
3. Modest and correct demeanor is maintained inside the temple; special attention to sitting positions, how the brethren address the WM, etc.
4. Proper decorum is maintained during festive board. The stewards conduct the festive board properly under the guidance of the JW.etc. Ensure that the brethren who were not present for labor are refrained from attending the festive board

Punctuality
1. The lodge is opened at the time specified in the summons.
2. Late- comers should be admitted.
3. They should not be prevented from entering the temple.
4. Ensuring that they enter without disturbing the lodge working and as per the ritual.

The Lodge summons may be printed accordingly. For the benefit of the AG.RGD of C, Guide Lines on how to receive the ARGM is also enclosed.

The ARGM wishes to select a few brethren from the area for their active involvement and their contribution to Freemasonry in general and to their Lodge in particular. They will be recognized during the end of the year.

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RWC Schedule

The schedule for the Ritual Working Competition - first stage, is as follows:

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Grand Lodge of India

Click the above link for the Grand Lodge of India Website, containing details of Freemasonry in general, and Masonry in India, in particular.