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Provincial Grand Lodge of Essex

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Provincial Junior Grand Warden visits Sancto Claro Lodge

Essex Freemasons regularly donate over £1m each year to help local communities.

Sancto Claro Lodge No. 9486, which meets at Orsett Masonic Hall, was formed 30 years ago in 1993 by members of a clay pigeon club which met behind the Dog and Partridge pub on the A128. On 26th October 2023 the Lodge held a special meeting at which the members welcomed Paul Harris, the Provincial Junior Grand Warden.

With over 40 members, Sancto Claro is one of nearly 300 lodges which meet at 26 centres across Essex. The meeting was also special for Terry Mansfield who completed the third of the three degrees in Craft Freemasonry. Terry is now a Master Mason and is looking forward to helping the Lodge continue its good work in supporting local communities and upholding the four values of Freemasonry which are integrity, friendship, respect and service.

Paul Harris is also the Secretary and a Trustee of the Essex Freemasons Community Fund and assisted in its formation. Paul said, “I think it was an excellent idea as it has done a lot for charities in Essex, particularly through the matched funding of donations from lodges and chapters as well as making direct grants.”

Around 7,500 Essex Freemasons regularly donate over £1 million each year towards local community initiatives and charities as well as volunteering a lot of time to good causes.  The Deputy Provincial Charity Steward, Mike Hall said “Over £847,600 of much needed funding has been granted by the Province to support charities and local communities in Essex already this year.” This is in addition to all the direct donations made by individual lodges and chapters.

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Provincial Junior Grand Warden Paul Harris and Provincial Grand Steward, Alan Foster, with Sancto Claro Lodge members who helped Terry Mansfield complete his third degree.

Left to right: Alan Foster, Mike Beadle, Paul Harris, Andy Hendrey, Lai Tsang, Terry Mansfield, Barrie Davies, Steven Pater, Wayne Ellis and Stuart Cutthill