Newsletter no 2- 2023 2023-05-26
- The GLE meeting in Wroclaw 12th-14th of May 2023
The Polish Grand Lodge arranged an extra not official Grand Lodge meeting mainly to confer the Degree of Wisdom. Many had been waiting for this ceremony postponed for several years due to the pandemic and the Ukranian war.
It started with an Grand Lodge information meeting where the different jurisdictions presented their memberstatistics and also briefly told about their priorities for the year to come. There was also a presentation by Past Grand Sire E. Myszka on the Ukrainian help in different forms directed from the Polish Grand Lodge. European Grand Sire M.Buan informed about the European Youth Tour taking place in July starting in Iceland and ending up in New York this year with 39 participants.
The next day it was a symposium on the topics: Identity of the Odd Fellow Order in Europe and Charter-Constitution by European Grand Sire M.Buan. Differences between Lodge/ Encampments by Special Deputy Grand Sire Kjell- Henrik Hendrichs and the Swiss Grand Sire Urs Zeller had a lecture about the challenges of the Odd Fellow Order, ”Odd Fellows Quo Vadis”.
After the symposium it was a concert in Leopoldinum Hall, University of Wroclaw by a string orchestra in the most beautiful old environment. The ritualistic part took place in the Marianum Oratory, Wroclaw University where the Degree of Wisdom was conferred to 108 recipiends. The last morning Kjell-Henrik Hendrichs had a lecture on the Degree of Wisdom.
- The next GLE meeting in Berlin 7th-9th of June 2024.
This will be an ordinary Grand Lodge meeting with a formal program. It will also be a symposium with actual topics and a ritual part with the Degree of Wisdom and installation of elected Grand Lodge officers.
- Meeting in the International Advisory Board.
In August it will be a meeting in International Advisory Board in Des Moines Iowa
together with the meeting in Sovereign Grand Lodge. It will be a discussing about the cooperation and realtionship between Sovereign Grand Lodge and the Grand Lodge of Europe. We need to work together to develope the Odd Fellow Order in the future.
- GLE Board meeting
Next Board meeting in GLE will be in Copenhagen 9th – 10th of November.
With sisterly and fraternal greetings in
Friendship Love and Truth
Morten Buan Christina Jönsson Rydman
European Grand Sire European Grand Secretary