Welcome to the web-site of Internet Lodge No: 9659
A very warm welcome to you as you visit the pages of the Internet Lodge No. 9659 Web site.
You may or may not have come to this our Lodge as a matter of “Browsing” or research?
We are a “Regular” Lodge under the regime of the United Grand Lodge of England, under whom we were consecrated in 1998. The founders of the Lodge were formed from and by brethren who were regular members of the UK Mason forum list and other Web forums.
Now the first or one of the first questions we are asked is “How do you meet on the WEB?”, the short answer is we don’t. We are regulated by the Grand Lodge of England and in full compliance with that governing power. We hold three regular (Physical) meetings a year with the Installation of the Master in March in Manchester and the start of our Masonic year. The other two meeting are normally the choice of the current Master, this Year 2018-19 I have meetings planed in Tamworth, Staffordshire in August, and Harrogate, Yorkshire in October where the Ladies festival will be held.
Currently we have 470+ brethren in the Lodge whose homes are stretched Worldwide and as far away as East to Japan, stretching to the West and the West Coast of the USA. So as a member of the Lodge you should find other members within your area (it may even be in your city or state). As part of the “family” we actively encourage the wives, partners and friends to enjoy our weekend meetings from the Welcome dinner on the Friday evening to entertainment on the Saturday evening after the meeting OR even attending the festive board for the speaker’s presentation. You may even see that in the past we have ventured further afield to meet and visit so many countries as the “Family”
My chosen charity for the year is Fisher Homes, a charity formed in USA but now worldwide who cater for the Families of wounded Veterans. The recovery of our Veterans from physical and mental injuries should be made as comfortable for the families as possible and “Fisher Homes” is a charity helping in this way. My second Charity is the 1st Bangor Scout group who are a long-established group looking after the needs of youngsters in Bangor, County Down, NI.
Why did I choose these two charities to support? Well I and my wife are both Veterans, having served in the Royal Navy, although in the ten years I served I saw no conflict. The support for the Scout and Guide movement is a deep belief that we both also share with children and grandchildren in the movement as well as both of us still supporting the local group in the Birmingham Children’s Hospital on a Thursday evening for an “hour”!
Our Web pages are full of reports, postings on research from both our members and visitors so please click away.
I started my Masonic journey in 1978 having left the Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm and was initiated into the Nautical Services Lodge No.5629 in Worcestershire. Their meeting place was in the suburb of Stechford in Birmingham, which is about as far away from the sea and salt water possible in England. I was initiated by my father in law, but on the evening, I was not aware it was him until a time during the ceremony of initiation, BUT I was aware he was a mason as he was my proposer. I progressed through the offices in the Lodge and was installed into the Masters chair in 1987, again being installed by my father in law. Since then I travelled the world experiencing Freemasonry as far away as Hong Kong in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
BUT what drew me to the “Internet Lodge No. 9659” for me it was the friendship shown on my first visit in 2006 and how much enjoyment I gained from that single visit on a cold March Saturday in Manchester. The World is YOUR oyster, as since my joining I have had the pleasure of meeting in many Masonic Halls in England and Wales. Also, with the Lodge I have travelled to countries and States as far away as Atlanta, USA, Bucharest, Romania, Edinburgh, Scotland and more, this year as Master I shall be taking the brethren to Belfast and Bangor in Northern Ireland to witness Irish Constitution working, that I know they will enjoy.
I extend MY hand of friendship to everyone to look at our pages on the Web, and perhaps fill out a joining form, you WILL be made VERY, very Welcome.
WBro Alan Breward
PPGSwdB (Worcestershire)
Worshipful Master 2018-19 Internet Lodge 9659