A wonderful and historic event took place in October 2023 in the Province of Northumberland. The Gavel Lodge, No. 8928, initiated nine candidates simultaneously in a ceremony at Byker Masonic Hall. It was attended by more than 140 Freemasons, including Assistant Grand Master RW Bro Steven Varley. The Lodge also welcomed nine new joining members, including one who had last been in a Masonic Lodge in 1985. Another joining member is the father of one of the nine Initiates.
Each of the nine candidates was led around the Lodge room by a personal conductor, escorted by the Junior Deacon, Bro David Purkis, who carried out his duties flawlessly. One of the conductors – Bro Marc Merrilees – is a Fellowcraft Freemason who only joined the Craft earlier this year. Marc was unbelievably proud of being given the opportunity to take part in the event.
There were some changes to the customs to accommodate a ceremony with multiple candidates, but none of the meaning or significance was lost. The team of Lodge Officers and members worked in harmony to deliver an outstanding ceremony, with the delivery of the ritual shared by 10 members of the Lodge, many of them Master Masons.
RW Bro Ian Craigs, Provincial Grand Master of Northumberland, presented the ‘Gavel Nine’ with their candidate packs at the conclusion of the ceremony and expressed his hope that their experience would lead to a wonderful bond of friendship enjoyed for many years. He went on to say that he had thoroughly enjoyed a ceremony that had been so well delivered and shared by a great number of the members. He said the Gavel Lodge had brought a great deal of pride to the Province of Northumberland, demonstrating that Grand Lodge’s new strategy was being taken on board and he hoped it would inspire other Lodges to consider multiple ceremonies.
At the Festive Board, which was held at a local restaurant and attended by 120 members, RW Bro Steven Varley commented that the event had put Freemasonry in Northumberland on the map. He showed a century-old Past Masters Jewel from Derbyshire, which was inscribed with the names of the 23 candidates who had been initiated in one year at that Lodge, saying that multiple-candidate ceremonies are not new, they were an important part of our past and must be embraced as an important part of our future.
