Masons open doors to the public

By Justin Seward - Lethbridge Herald on August 30, 2023.

Herald photo by Justin Seward Blair Foster showcases a hammer and chisel, which are some of the tools allocated to morals of the Masons in a symbolizing way during Lethbridge Lodge #39's open house on Saturday.

Lethbridge Lodge #39 Free Masons members held an open house to answer any questions about the organization on Saturday.

People could learn about the history of the lodge and the building itself that is north of the Yates Theatre.

“So what we wanted to do was have an open house and allow the community to come in and see mostly the building and ask questions about what we are and what we do,” said Blair Foster, worshipful master of Lethbridge Lodge #39.

“It’s been a long time. It’s been almost 17 years since our last open house that I can recall and I thought it was time on a nice summer day to open the doors and let people come in and take a look.”

Freemasonry is one of the largest and oldest worldwide fraternities for men.

“And what we do is we take good men and make them better through a series of lessons that are taught in rituals,” said Foster.

“The tagline is ‘it’s a beautiful system of morality veiled in allegory’ is what you’ll see on most websites. So we teach morals through allegories that are done in the rituals.”

The Lethbridge Free Masons are always looking at charities where something is given out without expecting anything in return.

“So the local Masonic bodies actually give a lot of money, effort and time out into the community without asking anything in return, unlike other organizations in the community ,” said Foster.

“So we just wanted to open our doors, let people know that we’re here and that we are not what conspiracies theorists make us out to be. We do, do a lot of work in the charities or in the community, we give a lot of money away and we also give our time.”

Foster said it’s through the dedication of the brethren, when asked about staying prominent in the community.

“So we’re lucky in Lethbridge to have three actual Masonic Lodges,” said Foster.

“So there is Lethbridge Lodge #39, North Star Lodge #4 which is the oldest and then Charity Lodge #67. So amongst everyone there is upwards of almost 200 brethren here within Lethbridge. And with new guys coming in, it’s really helping us out keeping the young with the old, which is allowing us to get out in to different areas of the community, and different aspects of the community through the various interests that the guys have.”

The public could also view aprons that the Masons wore and how the symbolized the three Masonry levels of Entered Enterprise, Fellow Craft and a Master Mason.

People could also view tools that were allocated to their morals and how they’re used in a symbolic way.

The Lodge plans to host another open house in December.