Organization of Freemasonry
Freemasonry is the oldest
fraternal organization for men in the world, and its
organizational structure shows its age. The basic organizational
unit of the fraternity is the Lodge. Some believe the term comes
from the lodges (shelters) constructed at the building sites of
cathedrals and castles during the Middle Ages. Masons worked and
lived in these shelters. Alternately if the theory of descend from
the Knights Templar were correct, they may have provided shelter
of a different sort. We must however leave that to the historian
to shed light upon.
Each lodge is headed by an
officer called the "Worshipful Master." "Worshipful" means "highly
respected" or "honoured." The term comes from the judicial system
of England and it carries no religious implication. "Master" means
"leader," or "best qualified," as in "Concert Master" or "Master
Architect." For the titles of other Lodges Officers see the
“Officers”
page of this website.
Until 1717, each lodge of
Masons may have been autonomous. On June 24, 1717, four of the
lodges operating in London met together to form the first Grand
Lodge of England. It became the first publicly acknowledged
administrative or policy-making body of Freemasonry.
Masonic lodges still retain
autonomy over their finances, day to day activities, and officer
elections. But administratively, each Province has a Grand Lodge
which co-ordinates activities, serves as a central source of
record keeping, and performs other administrative and policy
functions for the fraternity. The head of this body is called the
Grand Master of the Grand Lodge. He has broad powers in overseeing
the progress of the fraternity and while there is no national
spokesperson for the fraternity, within his own Province
(jurisdiction) he is the chief spokesman.
The building which is
currently used by the Lodge, was a former home of Wesburn
Electric, until it was hit by a tornado in the summer of 1985, and
heavily damaged. It
was then acquired for Masonic purposes. The building was
substantially renovated, including the movement of the old
fixtures and furniture from the rather old building in downtown
Barrie (now a parking lot) to the newer location, prior to the old
location being demolished.
This land and building are
owned by the
Barrie Masonic Temple Company Ltd., which is a holding company setup specifically for the purpose of owning
and managing this property. It is owned by the three Masonic
Lodges in Barrie, plus other Masonic bodies. Each Lodge and
Masonic body has a representative on the
Temple Board (Board of
Directors), and owns shares. Parts of the building are rented out
from time to time. In addition, part of the building space is used
to house the Centre for Children Overcoming Dyslexia.
Both Kempenfeldt Lodge and
The Barrie Masonic Temple Company Ltd (or which it is a major
shareholder) are non-profit entities, duly and properly registered
with all levels of government, and submit the appropriate tax
returns.
