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Better |
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Ask a Freemason about this picture and what it means to him |
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Welcome to the website of Celtic of Ithaca Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons holing under The United Grand Lodge of Queensland. The Lodge was consecrated in August 1894 and we will soon be approaching our 125th anniversary. All our new members will be a part of this exciting time and will have a part in our celebrations. Some of them will be on the organizing team as well. What an opportunity! We are a little different from most lodges as even though we hold under the United Grand Lodge of Queensland we practice a Scottish ritual. As a Freemason you are able to visit a lodge just about anywhere in the world you wish to go to. You will find the Brethren in the Lodge you wish to visit are always eager to meet a Brother from another country, state, town or suburb. Visiting is one of the great features and pleasures of Freemasonry. So how do you join? Just ask a Freemason and he will tell you straight away. See the contact list. |
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We help to make Good Men |
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Come and shake hands with us and become a Brother |
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The Regalia of a Past Master |
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Our meetings are held on the second Monday of the month, January excepted. Our installation is in July. |
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YOU HAVE TO |
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Here is a brief history of Freemasonry which may perhaps answer some questions you may have regarding how our society came into being. It also explores it’s origin and what it’s purpose is. Freemasonry is the largest and oldest fraternal order in the world. It is a universal Brotherhood of like minded men dedicated to the service of God, family, our fellow men, and our country. The heritage of modern Freemasonry is derived from the organised guilds of stone masons who constructed the beautiful cathedrals and other great structures throughout Europe during the middle ages. The skills and architectural genius of these craftsmen and their commitment to the highest standards of moral and ethical values were universally applauded and unlike other classes of people, they were allowed to travel freely from country to country. Thus, during this period the word “Free” was prefixed to the word mason, and these craftsmen and the generations of masons who followed were referred to as Freemasons. Until about the sixteenth century, masons were strictly an operative craft - stone masons and architects building those magnificent cathedrals and palaces, many of which still adorn the landscape of the European countryside. Early in the seventeenth century, membership in those unions or operating lodges of stone masons began to decline, and perhaps to compensate for the loss of members they began to admit certain men of prominence in the local society who were not craftsmen or stone masons. This class of members were initially considered to be patrons of the Fraternity and over the years became known as “accepted masons”. At the end of the seventeenth century a radical transformation had evolved; these accepted masons had begun to dominate the membership of the lodges, and the older lodges of Freemasons began to teach and emphasise moral philosophy rather than the technical and operative art of earlier centuries. The tools of stonemasons are still used in the Fraternity today, but only to symbolize moral virtue, not to build cathedrals. |
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A BRIEF MASONIC HISTORY |
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Although the moral philosophy of Freemasonry is founded upon religious principles, it is NOT a religion, neither is it a substitute for religion. Candidates for membership (adult males) are, however, expected to profess a belief in a supreme being and be of good moral character. |
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Lodge Celtic of Ithaca:U.G.L.Q. |
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Lodge No 84 United Grand Lodge of Queensland |
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Worshipful Master |
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Wor Bro Sydney J Matchett |
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Lodge Officers |
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Contacts Bob Mackay Sydney Matchett Thomas Gear |
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We are not a secret society, but a society with secrets. We are open to all men of |
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Our teachings are old, yet new. Each generation finds these truths for themselves and passes them on to the next generation. |
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Freemasonry in Queensland |
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Links to other Lodges |
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Our Lodge was founded in 1894 just 5 years before my grandfather was married. Our centenary was in 1994, the year that the current Assistant Grand Master, Alan Townson, became Master of our Lodge. Alan was initiated into our Lodge in 1987 and has served in most of the offices in the Lodge. Alan also served on the Board of Benevolence, eventually becoming its President for three years. Within Freemasonry are many such stories of progress by men who find Freemasonry something to be proud to serve in. From our inception all those years ago our fortunes have waxed and waned but after a long period of declining membership the old virtues are being recognized once more by people from many walks of life. Indeed all the signs are that our society is now past the nadir of its membership. |
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About Us |
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FREEMASONRY We teach these principal Masonic values in the friendly, safe environment of the Lodge and apply them in our daily lives. |
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Come and shake hands with us. Freemasonry may be right for you! |
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PRIVACY POLICY |
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In September 2009, Dan Brown, author of “The Lost Symbol”, was asked to address the Scottish Rite annual gathering in Washington DC, but because of his schedule, could not attend. His responding letter reads, in part: |
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It is for those reasons stated in Dan Brown’s letter that we admit men of all colours, creeds, religion and race, Our honourable society is one of the very, very few that can make such a boast. In our fellowship all men are equal and meet upon a level footing of fraternal friendship. |
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WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT BY BECOMING A FREEMASON? |