Sir George Clark Memorial Lodge No 669 I.C.

Lodge 669 News

Installation Meeting 23rd January 2010

Saturday 23rd January 2010, our new Worshipful Master and his Officers were Installed.The meeting was attended by the Grand Master of Ireland M. W. Bro. George Dunlop accompanied by R.W. Bro. Dennis Millen Prov. Deputy Grand Master of Antrim, and R. W.Bro. Rodney McCurley PDGM Down. Almost one hundred Brethren including fifty visitors from twenty five Lodges, enjoyed the Installation meeting and Festive Board.

Worship Master's Charity 2010 - National Autistic Society

People with autism have said that the world, to them, is a mass of people, places and events which they struggle to make sense of, and which can cause them considerable anxiety. In particular, understanding and relating to other people, and taking part in everyday family and social life may be harder for them. Other people appear to know, intuitively, how to communicate and interact with each other, and some people with autism may wonder why they are 'different'.

What is autism?
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability. It is part of the autism spectrum and is sometimes referred to as an autism spectrum disorder, or an ASD. The word 'spectrum' is used because, while all people with autism share three main areas of difficulty, their condition will affect them in very different ways. Some are able to live relatively 'everyday' lives; others will require a lifetime of specialist support.
For more information Click On: http://www.nas.org.uk

Bro. Nyal Purcell donates a Song to Northern Ireland Hospice

Following our Open Night last November, when we presented N. Ireland Hospice with a donation of £1, 000, Bro. Nyall Purcell, a member of Lodge 669, and a musician and songwriter has donated the proceeds from a track on his music album "Tales of Passion" to the Northern Ireland Hospice,
The track "Believe in Me" written and produced by Nyal, can be previewed and downloaded at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/NyalPurcell

The representative of the Hospice who came to collect the cheque informed us that It costs several million pounds a year to keep the hospice running, so please help them reach their target by buying this beautiful song. Please also pass the link onto family and friends

Haiti - hit head-on by an enormous earthquake

We have all seen the heart-wrenching images of Haiti.

The full impact of the earthquake is still emerging, but it’s clear that many thousands of people have either been killed or left homeless.

It’s essential that this small nation gets the help it needs as quickly as possible.

The best way for you to help, if you haven’t already, is to donate directly to the Disaster Emergency Committee.

Whether you can afford to give £5 or £500, it all makes a difference.

Call 0370 60 60 900 or visit the DEC website now to make your contribution.

For all Lodge 669 Meeting Dates in 2010 Click Here

Our Next Meeting:

Installation: 27th February 2010 at 6.30pm in the Leighton Room, Freemasons' Hall, Arthur Square, Belfast, N. Ireland

If you are a member, we expect to see you at our meetings.

Having joined our Lodge, we are keen to see you participate in its activities.

As a visitor, we look forward to welcoming you to one - or more - of our meetings.

Please check the schedule in this web site and contact us for further information.

On behalf of the Worshipful Master, Officers and all the Brethren of Sir George Clark Memorial Masonic Lodge, No. 669, we thank you for visiting our website.

Please come again soon!

Lodge 669 Charity Donations in 2009

Our Lodge Widows: £553.00, Maria Curie Cancer: £150.00
 N. Ireland Hospice: £1,150.00, Victoria Jubilee Benevolent Fund: £1,600.00
Belfast Masonic Charity Fund: £400.00. Total : £3,853.00

The Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year - 2010
       Sponsored by the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland

1st Prize : € 5,000
2nd Prize: € 3,000
3rd Prize: € 1,000
4th Prize: € .500

The Competition is open to Instrumentalists in the following categories :
Keyboard ( piano, organ, harpsichord and piano accordion )
Strings ( violin, viola, cello, double-bass, concert harp, classical guitar )
Woodwind ( flute, recorder, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, bassoon )
Brass ( French Horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, euphonium )
Percussion.

Click Here for Competition Rules

The postal address and other contact details for the Competition are:

Music Competition, Freemasons’ Hall,17 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2
email: admin@freemasonsmusic.ie
Direct Telephone : John Keeley :00 353 (0)87 799 3621
Website: www.freemasonsmusic.ie

 

Open Night at Freemasons' Hall 28th November 2009

An Open Night at Freemasons' Hall, Arthur Square, Belfast, 28th November 2009, when more than 150 visitors enjoyed a tour of the building, saw the layout of a Masonic Lodge with Lodge Brethren wearing their regalia, and had all their questions answered about Freemasonry. The visitors were then entertained with food, refreshment and music.
A great evening for everyone

Click Here for Pictures by Bro. Abraham Cabidog

Ladies Night Formal Dinner/Dance, Saturday 3rd Oct. 2009

Venue: "45 Club", 45 Park Avenue, Belfast

A wonderful evening of good food, music and dancing was enjoyed by all

The raffle and donations raised £1,000.00 for the N. Ireland Hospice Care

Click Here for more photographs, courtesy of Keith Johnston

Artist Nicola Coogan Donates Painting to Charity

Belfast artist Nicola Coogan has presented Lodge 669 with a wonderful painting of Freemasons' Hall, Arthur Square, Belfast,
to help raise funds for charity.

Nicola who is well known for her landscapes, portraits and animal paintings, is also the
niece of celebrated Irish artist   Pat Coogan

W. Bro. David Beggs a member of L669, 
and Chairman of the Arthur Square Charity  Committee accepted the painting, and
outlined the Committee's plans for raising
money for Shine a Light (a charity helping children with cancer) and also the Masonic Benevolent  Institutions

Each Lodge and Chapter at Freemasons' Hall will be asked to buy a raffle ticket for £25.00

The draw for the painting will held on Saturday 5th December 2009, at the "Nine Lessons
Carol Service" in Freemasons' Hall, Belfast.

Limited edition prints and Christmas cards of the painting are now available.

Click Here for further information, and to print an order form

All proceeds will be split equally between the two charities

Mrs Jane McKenna the founder of the LauraLynn Children's Hospice, Dublin was in Belfast to receive her cheque for over £200,000 from the Freemasons of Ireland.

Before the event W. Brian McBride, and W. Bro. David Beggs had the opportunity to meet Jane, and congratulate her on the success of her campaign so far.

The ‘LauraLynn Children’s Hospice’ Foundation was set up in 2001 as a result of an enormous personal tragedy in the lives of Jane and Brendan McKenna which saw them lose both of their precious daughters Laura and Lynn in the space of just two years.

 

Grand Masters Festival Fund 2008 tops £600,000

The Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice, Samaritans and Laura Lynn Foundation will share the huge sum following the successful 18-month long Festival for Charity organised by the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland.

The finale of the festival was celebrated at a banquet in the Provincial Masonic Hall, Rosemary Street, Belfast, where Grand Master George Dunlop presented cheques for £200,000 to each of the charities.

Lodge 669 contributed £3,000 from personal donations, raffles, and special events.

Actress Olivia Nash, vice-president of the hospice, said it was one of the biggest single donations they had ever received. The stage and screen celebrity was among a guest list that also included her BBC TV Give My Head Peace co-star Alexandra Ford, who is ambassador for Belfast Samaritans, Jane McKenna, founder of the Laura Lynn Foundation, and other representatives of the charities.

“Like the rest of the community, charities are feeling the pinch of the credit crunch and our support is therefore more important and necessary than ever,” Mr Dunlop said.

The festival, launched in November 2007, was originally intended to cover a year-long programme but had to be extended by a further six months to accommodate the number of money-raising events organised by members of the Masonic Order throughout the island of Ireland.
By Victoria O’Hara, Belfast Telegraph, Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Visit to Grand Lodge Dublin

  Saturday 18th April 2009, Lodge 669 met
  at Grand Lodge of Ireland in Dublin,
  The Lodge Officers paraded into the
  Grand  Lodge Temple room at 2.30pm,   with organ music accompanyment
  provided by R.W. Bro. John Rowden,
  Grand Lodge  Organist.

  Two candidates were initiated into    Freemasonry in an excellent manner.

  Our grateful thanks to all at Grand Lodge,   especially to the Grand Lodge Organist for   helping to make this visit a memorable   occasion for everyone.   

  Click Here for Photos of our visit

  

Click Here for Tour of Grand Lodge

Demolay International

Some of our new Brethren are from the Philippines, and grew up with Freemasonry as members of Demolay International (Junior Freemasons)

DeMolay International (also known as the Order of DeMolay), founded in Kansas City, Missouri in 1919, is an international youth fraternity for young men. DeMolay derives its name from Jacques DeMolay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar.

DeMolay is open for membership to young men between the ages of 12 to 21, and currently has about 36,000 members in the United States and Canada and several thousand more world wide. It uses a model of mentoring; adult men and women called advisors, often past DeMolay members or fathers and mothers of DeMolays, mentor the active Demolay members. An advisor is referred to as 'Dad Smith' instead of 'Mr. Smith', in respect of Frank Land and his fatherly role to the founding members. The mentoring focuses on the development of civic awareness, leadership skills and personal responsibility.

Founded by a Freemason, DeMolay is closely modelled after Freemasonry, and like Freemasonry, members are initiated into DeMolay through ritual and an allegorical program. However, it is not directly connected to Freemasonry. DeMolay is considered to be part of the Masonic Family along with other youth groups like Job's Daughters, and the Rainbow Girls. Unlike in Job's Daughters, a young man does not need to have a family tie or sponsor in a Masonic organization to join DeMolay.

DeMolay has seven Cardinal Virtues, which are the soul structure of what they follow. Those Cardinal Virtues are:

Love between a parent and child (Filial Love)
Reverence for sacred things
Courtesy
Comradeship
Fidelity
Cleanness
Patriotism
An aspiring member would be referred to as a "petitioner" or "Prospect"

 

Lodge 669 Installation meeting Saturday 24th January 2009

For All the Pictures Click Here

W. Bro. Ronald (Ronnie) J. Craig, and his Officers for 2009 were installed by
W. Bro. Wesley Davidson in an exemplary manner.

The Assistant Grand Master of Ireland R.W. Bro. Leslie Johnston, and Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Antrim R.W. Bro. Dennis Millen were present with seventy five members, and guests of the Lodge.

 

Our two Pipers W. Bro. David Beggs, and
W. Bro. William Cardwell played the W. Master into the dining room to the tune of "Leaving Port Askaig"

Pictures by Bro. Mark Smith

Musical entertainment after dinner was provided by W. Bro. Rennie McGrath who sang the "Masters Song", and Bro. Nyal Purcell who recently joined our Lodge .
Nyal is a professional musician, and his "electronic orchestra" was a wonderful addition to the evening.

Ashley Lodge No. 279 Freemasons's Hall, Arthur Square have kindly agree to assist L669 by giving the 2nd degree to some of our candidates on Monday 16th March 2009 at 7.00pm. W. Bro. Wesley Davidson will ensure they have an excellent degree.

Charities supported during 2008

Grand Masters Festival 2008 (Samaritans, N. Ireland Childrens Hospice, and Laura Lynn Hospice), the Northern Ireland Miscarriage Association, various Masonic Charities, and our Lodge widows totalling £4,200.
The very succesful "fill a smartie box with 20p coins" idea has so far raised £600 in just 6 months, and they keep coming in!

 

 

RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND RETRIEVAL

For All the Pictures Click Here

Sir George Clark Memorial Masonic Lodge No. 669 continued with their joint goals of providing enlightenment about our order and encouraging membership, with a men only Open Night at Freemasons' Hall, Arthur Square, Belfast on Saturday 25th October 2008

This was a follow up to the Open Night held in May 2008 that was open to everyone - men, women, family, friends and children.

Following the October communication, the members of Lodge 669 welcomed 17 gentlemen interested in Freemasonry into their Lodge Room. The Lodge brethren still wore their regalia and also present were the resplendent figures of RW Bro Dennis Millen the Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Antrim, VW Bro Dessie McCormick PPJGW, and W Bro Ivor McAllister PPGI.

Following some informal chat, the guests were welcomed to the Lodge room by W. Bro. Norman Lacey the W. Master of Lodge 669, who gave an interesting talk covering the History, and Aims of Freemasonry. The areas discussed were: secrecy ( or lack of it ) about the Craft, how Freemasonry had developed from the bands of Operative Masons, the role of the Progressive, Administration, and Ritual orientated Officers of the lodge, and the benefits of involvement with Freemasonry.

This was followed by a discourse from our Almoner W Bro David Beggs regarding our charitable works and the role of the Almoner in the Lodge.

RW Bro Dennis Millen then spoke and, without detracting in any way from the charitable aspects of the order, highlighted the benefits of fellowship and personal development, both important aspects of membership. There being no questions all present adjourned to the function room where all had a most present social evening. The enjoyment of all present was obvious from the noise and hilarity at the festive board.

The visitors included new people interested in joining the order, some people whose attendance or membership had lapsed, and a few lost souls, new to the Province of Antrim, who were missing their involvement with Freemasonry.
People had got in contact with the lodge through websites as well as by personal contact. Lodge 669 is now in the happy position of having 13 additional people on their books and are involved in ongoing discussions with several more.
Our new contacts have in turn introduced people from their circle of friends to Freemasonry. The result is that L669 and Freemasonry are becoming known in different sectors of society.
The majority of potential members are in their 30s, married with children, and are just average people who want to get involved and find out more about the order.

 

Our Congratulations to:

W. Bro. David Beggs

Provincial Senior Grand Deacon

P.G. Lodge of Antrim 2009

 

 

 

 

 

Marathon Man

W. Bro. Ken Beggs breaks the record with his 50th Marathon!

On Sunday 26th October 2008 Bro. Ken ran the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington DC, and achieved a lifetime best time of 3hrs 34 mins 40 secs.

To mark his 50th marathon, Bro. Ken donated £150.00 to the Grand Masters Festival 08

Our congratulations again to W. Bro. Ken Beggs, who completed the London Marathon on 13th April in a record time of 3hrs. 44 mins, and raised more than £1,000.00 for the British Acoustic Neuroma Association (BANA), a charity providing support and information for people affected by Acoustic Neuroma.

 

 

Lodge "Open Night" 24th May 2008

Freemason's Hall in Arthur Square was the venue on Saturday, 24 May 2008, for an Open Night of Masonic and Non-Masonic visitors to Lodge 669.
A total of 74 people attended this new style of event for the Lodge.
Family, friends, Lodge widows, potential candidates, and yes, even children came along to what was a very informative and enjoyable evening.

The Brethren of L669 were delighted to have in attendance the Provincial Deputy Grand Master R.W. Bro Denis Millen, accompanied by his wife Barbara, and also two of the Trustees of Freemasons' Hall, Arthur Square, W. Bro. Alan Patterson and W. Bro. Ronnie Wilson.
W. Bro. Patterson's father W. Bro. Arthur Patterson was the first Senior Warden of Lodge 669 and served as W. Master in 1939.

The regular meeting of the lodge was held, and following it's closing, the Masonic brethren still wearing their regalia, invited all the visitors into the Lodge room.
This was the first time many of the visitors had been in a Masonic lodge room and there was great interest in the regalia and jewels of office worn by the brethren and particularly the finery of the P.D.G. Master.

W. Bro. Norman Lacey the W. Master of Lodge 669 gave a short talk, outlining the links between operative and speculative masons, the background of the order, the way in which items associated with Masons were used as an allegory as guidance for our conduct, the roles of the lodge officers detailed, and links with Provincial Grand Lodge of Antrim explained.
An interesting and open question and answer session followed with some searching questions from the guests.

W. Bro. Ronnie Wilson gave a short talk on the recently renovated Freemasons' Hall detailing some of the work involved, and explaining our desire to open the Hall for greater usage and to enhance links between Freemasonry and the Public at large.
He then led a conducted tour of the hall explaining the layout and function of the various rooms, detailing the renovation work and outlining the history of the personalities after whom the rooms were named. This highly informative tour was thoroughly enjoyed by all concerned.

A 'White Table' festive board was then held in the large function room, with Florence and her team from Fernhill Catering providing a very tasty and high quality buffet supper. W. Bro. Rennie McGrath entertained us in song, and W.Bro. John Cook had us laughing at his funny stories.

This entertainment was interspersed by short talks on:
'Masonic Charitable Works' by W. Bro. David Beggs Lodge Almoner and Vice Chairman of Arthur Square Charity Committee, 'Freemasonry from the perspective of a Mason's Wife' by Mrs Ada Elliot - wife of one of our members, and a talk on 'Masonic Equality and Famous Masons' illustrated by the Rudyard Kipling poem:
'The Mother Lodge' given by W. Bro Brian McBride.

The Provincial Deputy Grand Master R. W. Bro. Denis Millen congratulated the
W. Master and Brethren on the success of the event, and he was particularly pleased to see children included.

Photographs of the event were taken by Mr Peter Irvine who's late father
Bro Desmond Irvine was a member of Cambridge Lodge. CLICK HERE

 

Our visit to Rosslyn Chapel, and Lodge Rosslyn St Clair No. 606

Roslin Village, Edinburgh, Scotland - Click Here for more

For more Photographs of our visit to Rosslyn - Click Here