PGM presents the Warrant (Carta Patente) to the newest Lodge in the Province

On Friday the 26th of October 2018 the Brethren of Dovre Lodge No.184 were delighted to receive the Provincial Grand Master, R.W.Bro. Michael Anthony Shilan who presented the Lodge with its Warrant (Carta Patente) to mark its formal establishment as a Lodge working under the Spanish Constitution.

The above picture shows the Provincial Grand Master delivering the Warrant into the care of the Deputy Master, W.Bro. Rolf Kristiansen with the Worshipful Master, W.Bro. Tom Halvorsen in attendance.

The Provincial Grand Master was attended by Deputy Provincial Grand DC, W.Bro. Clifford Gingell and an Escort of Provincial Grand Stewards.

Once the PGM had been announced and entered, the first duty of the day was to present the Warrant of the Lodge issued by the Grand Lodge of Spain.  Dovre Lodge meets at the Norwegian Church in La Vila Joiosa, Alicante (location) and formally worked solely under the Grand Lodge of Norway as the ‘Costa Blanca St. John Borderforening’. The Lodge was founded in Spain in 1978 (40 years ago!) before the reformation of the Grand Lodge of Spain and so was a beacon of Masonic light in this Province before the Province was formed.  It was Consecrated into GLE as a Spanish Lodge under the name ‘Dovre’ on the 30th of January 2016, becoming the largest Lodge in the Province of Valencia in membership numbers.

The Lodge was Opened under Norwegian Rite and in the Norwegian language and advanced to the Second Degree.  During the ceremony all present were treated to musical harmony accompaniment from a choir formed from the Brethren of the Lodge.  The basis of the work conducted in the Temple was a reflection on the duties of Man in ensuring that life is lived to the full.  A presentation was made of a poem ‘Die Slowly’ (Muere Lentamente) which can be found in English here and in Spanish aqui.  This was followed by a moving rendition of ‘What a Wonderful World’ by Louis Armstrong and played by Bro. Geir Will Johnsen.

Following the meeting the Brethren enjoyed a fine Festive Board with toasts and speeches and a presentation to the Provincial Grand Master of a memento of the day from the Lodge.

The Provincial Grand Master often refers to the gift that we have as Masons in this Province to be able to visit Lodges and experience Masonic work in various languages and expand our Masonic learning and experience.  In this Province we can regularly attend meetings in Spanish, English, Norwegian, Dutch and German and you are all encouraged to take full advantage of this opportunity.  The Lodges are always welcoming, if they know in advance then explanations of the work can be arranged.  For more details please check the Lodges listed within the website page ‘LODGES OF GLPV’ or contact the Provincial Grand Secretary sec@glpvalencia.com.

Should you wish to visit Dovre Lodge please contact the Secretary at sec184@glpvalencia.com and the Lodge website can be found here.