Grand Orange Lodge of Canada

 

I hope all Orangemen and their families enjoyed a victorious Easter Sunday, and remain filled with the joy of resurrection in your hearts. We are still preparing to open two new lodges and look forward to recruiting new members to fill them. Please note the dates of the upcoming Supreme Grand Lodge convention next summer in Virginia, and do make every attempt to join us for a wonderful gathering in a marvelous location. Lastly, if you have registered to join the Royal Black Preceptory, remember the meeting begins PROMPTLY at 9:00 AM in Philadelphia, PA. Hope to see you there!

Sammy Stewart, Supreme Grand Master - USA

The votes were close, although they were scant in number. Twelve votes were received from brothers (and sisters) from around the country to name our newsletter. The winning name was the one shown above, simply stated, THE ORANGEMAN. The tied for second place names were THE ORANGE REVIEW and AMERICAN ORANGEMAN. As noted in the last newsletter, we had at least nine submissions, which shows participation by the Grand Lodge members, a good sign. Now, if we can only show participation in our lodge events and build up membership in our loyal institution, we will all be better served. Thank you all for your suggested names and your votes.

 

 

Our Supreme Grand Secretary Walter Wilson wants all members to save the date from August 9, 2012 to August 11, 2012 (Yes 2012!) when the next Supreme Grand Lodge Convention will be held. Plan NOW to attend. The convention will be held at the Lexington George Washington Inn and Conference Center, Williamsburg, VA. The room rate is $71 plus tax per night. This is a great deal! This rate will be extended three days prior to the convention and three days after the convention to allow a great family vacation for all! Historic Williamsburg is only one mile from the hotel, and Busch Gardens is only two miles away. Other attractions nearby are William and Mary College, named for our own William of Orange; Yorktown, VA where General Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington; and the first settlement in the U.S. in 1607, Jamestown, VA. Make plans now to bring your family to enjoy colonial Virginia and attend the Supreme Grand Lodge meeting. Let’s have our best turnout ever!  

 

 

By letter dated March 1, 2011, Brother Thomas Leary, Grand Secretary, Loyal Orange Institution of Queensland, Australia, thanked those of us in the Supreme Grand Lodge of the U. S. for the “Very Generous” nature of our financial response to the disaster in Queensland. Brother Leary singled out all individual contributors, as well as the Supreme Grand Lodge, United LOL 228 of New York, Germantown Golden Star LOL 39, of Philadelphia, Washington LOL 43 of Philadelphia, and Ulster-Scots LOL 1690 of Torrence, CA for their financial contributions. A total of $2,250 was sent to the LOL, Queensland for their assistance in recovering from the earthquake. Fortunately, none of our Brothers or Sisters was lost in the tragic event. Please keep our brethren in your prayers as they continue to rebuild shattered homes, lodges and dreams.

 

 

During a trip to Geneva, Switzerland last year, Brother Gregory Whiteside, LOL #43, took this photograph of the Reformers Wall.

 

 

The wall, also known as the Reformation Wall, is 325 feet long and 30 feet tall. It also includes other figures in stone in smaller relief poses, like Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli. The city of Geneva has been called “the Protestant Rome” due to the number of reformers associated there. The four men shown above, pictured from your left to right are as follows:

Guillaume Farel – The first person to preach the Reformation in Geneva.

John Calvin – Leader of the Reformation movement and spiritual father of Geneva.

Theodore Beza – Calvin’s successor, born in France, best known for emphasizing       Calvin’s doctrine of predestination.

John Knox – Scottish preacher and friend of Calvin’s. Also the founder of Presbyterianism in Scotland.

Work on the monument began in 1909 and it was not completed until 1917.

 

Ranger Stephen McKee, pictured right and sitting (with brother Michael), was recently killed in Afghanistan when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb. He was twenty –seven and leaves a young wife as a widow. He was attached to the 1^st Royal Irish Regiment and known for his involvement in rugby, football, the loyal orders and the Downshire Guiding Star Flute Band.

 

 

 

 

A service of remembrance and thanksgiving was held in the Ulster Hall, Belfast on Sunday April 10, 2011 as the Orange Institution remembered 336 of its members murdered during the Troubles. Many of those attending were relatives of the members of the Orange Institution who were killed. At the service a memorial stone was dedicated to the murdered Brethren. It will be erected at a later date at Schomberg House, headquarters of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland. The service was conducted by Rev. David Reid and the address was given by Rev. Ron Johnstone, on of the Institutions Grand Chaplains. The praise was led by the Tullyvallen Silver Band. Grandmaster of Ireland Edward Stevenson said, “Three hundred and thirty –six members of the Orange Institution lost their lives at the hands of terrorists and we must never forget them, or the families who still grieve. When I was elected as Grand Master, I gave a pledge that victims and their families would remain a key priority for the Orange Institution. And that will be the case, I promise you. There is a very serious commitment within the Orange Institution to remembering our Murdered Brethren. There has been much work done to ensure that the memories of our Murdered Brethren are kept alive. I would like to pay tribute to all the people who have worked hard behind the scenes to organize this service.”

            In his address Rev. Ron Johnstone, a Grand Chaplain of the OO, said the service honoured Orangemen and women who in a time of rebellion, terrorism and conflict had stood faithfully for law and order. “The Orange Institution sends out a message from this service. We honor and encourage loyalty. Loyalty to our Protestant faith—the gospel of Christ—and loyalty to this country we love. By your presence here today, you are declaring that: We honor our murdered brothers and sisters. We pledge ourselves to hold their memory dear for future generations so that their loyalty, courage and sacrifice will never be forgotten. We are proud to belong to the same institution. Now in the quietness, names of those who paid the supreme sacrifice come into each of our minds. They paid the supreme sacrifice for our Protestant faith and way of life. We have remembered those who lived faithfully, who served courageously opposing Republican terrorism and who died nobly. We salute their sacrifice. We give thanks for their memory and example. And as we do so we declare again that we have been bombed but not bowed, have sorrowed but we have not surrendered, have wept but we have not weakened in our resolve to maintain our Protestant faith and culture, rather as we have remembered our murdered brethren and sisters we are more determined to stand for the same Orange principles that motivated them. Their sacrifice challenges each of us to fulfill our Christian duty as citizens to stand for right and freedom in our day. Let us rededicate ourselves today so to do. We assure the relatives gathered with us today that as an institution, we must not, we cannot and we will not forget your loved ones sacrifices.”

                                                From Bro. Ed Spence

 

 

 

It is always sad to report the loss of a brother Orangeman. On April 10, 2011, Brother Bram Heaslip, United 228 New York, passed away from a stroke following knee surgery. He was a founding member of United 228 in New York. He was a past Master and past State Grand Master and excelled in the degree work of the order. Our sympathy goes out to his wife Margaret and children Brian and Joan, and his entire family circle. RIP

Several men are in the locker room at St. Andrews Old Course when a cell phone rings on the bench. One man engages the hands free speaker function and begins to speak:

Man – Hello?

Lady- Honey, it’s me. Are you at the club?

Man-Yes

Lady-I am at the shops now and found this beautiful leather coat. It is only $1,500 pounds. Is it okay if I buy it?

Man- Sure, go ahead if you like it that much.

Lady- I also stopped by the Lexus dealership and found one I like and it is only 75,000 pounds.

Man- Okay, but for that price I want all the options included.

Lady – Great, oh, and one more thing, that house I liked last year is now on the market, and they are only asking 600,000 pounds.

Man – Well, okay. Go ahead and offer them 575,000 pounds. They will probably take it.    But if they don’t I guess we can afford the full price.

Lady – Okay, I’ll see you later. I love you sooo much!

Man – I love you too!

The man hangs up. The other men are staring at him in astonishment, their mouths agape.

He turns and asks “Does anyone know who this phone belongs to??

 

Brothers, and sisters in the LLOL and spouses of all, the newsletter wants to include your stories, recipes, family news both happy and sad, and any other information that would be of interest to our readers. Please remember to send information to me at my e-mail address: johnwhiteside@comcast.net so it can be included in the newsletter. The photos included in this edition are an experiment and make the letter very large in size. Hopefully all of you will be able to receive it. Remember to keep Grand Secretary Walter Wilson, WaltNsallie@aol.com  appraised of your current e-mail accounts so he can forward these newsletters to you. Thank you to those who sent submissions to be published in this newsletter. I hope all of you have a safe and enjoyable summer.