Dear Arena Readers,

Over a year ago, in an unprecedented move, we had to leave our aprons and gloves behind and store them away for a while.

Today, some hope is restored as Masonic activities are resuming. And yet, however tempting it may feel to only look forward to better days, we should not forget those we lost during the pandemic and those who suffered through it.

We should not forget the often-unassuming heroes who pulled us out of the crisis, from the health workers who looked after all of us, the bioengineers who developed vaccines to the truck drivers who delivered our goods. And among those heroes, an army of volunteers came to help, many of which were our brothers.

Rarely have the Masonic ornaments of benevolence and charity been more necessary than in the last sixteen months. Rarely have they been more wonderfully illustrated than by the efforts and sacrifices that so many of you have made. What a fantastic time to be a Freemason.

In this issue, you will see even more of the ingenuity some brethren deployed to go the extra mile in their charitable work.

You will visit Great Queen Street, this time looking at the work completed during lockdown, especially in the Grand Temple. You will explore the connection between a historic Lodge and the University Scheme, share a young mason’s experience, discover a new thematic Lodge and meet a couple of new inspectors. You will also read a tribute to our Past Metropolitan Grand Master, RW Bro Lord Millett, who passed away in May.

And to assist with your daily advancement, among the usual pages from Solomon and the Museum of Freemasonry, we welcome a new feature called thoughts from the MetGDC that, we hope, will inspire many of you.

I hope you enjoy reading this edition of Arena. The whole Arena editorial team joins me to express our gratitude for your ongoing support as we were forced into the digital world. We eagerly anticipate returning to print later this year and hope you will soon find us in your usual location. We are also planning some improvements. But hush, more about this in the next edition.

Bro Seb Giroux
Editor, Arena
Email: arena@metgl.com

This article is part of the Arena Magazine, Issue 45 July 2021 edition.
Arena Magazine is the official magazine of the London Freemasons - Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in the Arena Issue 45.