Grand Lodge Communications

On May 26th, I had the pleasure of attending the Grand Lodge of Quebec’s Annual Communication held at the Montreal Masonic Temple, along with Sister Anita Young, P.G.M., Grand Secretary. In the morning we were introduced, along with all the other Distinguished Guests, after which I was invited to bring greetings on behalf of the Eastern Star. It is very intimidating to walk into a room nearly 200 men! It was also very warm, however when speaking, I had the pleasure of having a fan behind me that was giving off a nice breeze! After speaking, we watched the presentation of the flags. This is an especially nice thing to see, as they were presented by members of the RCMP (who, of course, are Masons). It turns out that one of these Mounties, who is stationed in Ottawa, works with my cousin who is also a Mountie (but not a Mason). After we left the Temple, Sister Anita and I went to the hotel where the hospitality room was and changed our clothes. We decided to go for lunch while we waited for the Ladies to return from a tour of the Biodome.

In the evening, we returned to the Temple where we met up with the WGP, Brother Bill, and his wife Sister Fabienne, Grand Marshal. We then attended the Open Installation of the new Grand Officers. It was a wonderful site to see, as again I have never attended the Installation before, as they are not always open to everyone. In a way, this was an historical event, as the new Grand Master, Opkar Sandhu, is the first Sikh to be installed as a Grand Master outside of India.

After the Installations, we all attended the Banquet, which was just superb. The meal began with some wonderful Indian hors d’oeuvres and then I had a rack of lamb (although, it was so big I think I had the whole lamb!). After the banquet some wonderful Indian dancers entertained us.

This is the second year that I have attended the Grand Lodge Communications as last year I attended on behalf of our then Worthy Grand Matron. This is one event that I am going to miss when my year is over.