Brethren and guests of Victoria Lodge No 4629 gathered at Widnes Masonic Hall for the purpose of raising Shaun Blythin to the sublime degree of a master Mason.
With the lodge duly opened by the WM David Lewis in the first degree, a ballot was held which resulted in Norman Pritchard being admitted as an honorary member of the lodge, which he humbly accepted.
WM David Lewis having opened the lodge in the second degree proceeded to ask Shaun Blythin the necessary questions, Shaun undertook the task of answering the questions most ably.
Shaun Blythin then retired to be made ready for the ceremony of raising. Following the lodge having been raised to the third degree, David Lewis invited Ian Lynch to occupy the master’s chair for the ceremony of raising Shaun Blythin to the degree of a master Mason. For this ceremony, he was assisted by his senior warden David Jameson and the junior warden Jamie Gibbon.
On his return to the lodge for his next step in his Masonic journey, Shaun was guided through the ceremony by senior deacon Kevin Morton with accuracy and precision.
The raising of Shaun Blythin was performed extremely well by Ian Lynch in an excellent manner and was enjoyed by all those who witnessed it. It was a true testament of all the hard work put in by the members of the lodge to make the ceremony special for Shaun.
Ian then handed the gavel of the lodge back to David and after the remaining business was conducted, the lodge was closed in due form and the brethren retired to enjoy a well-earned festive board.
The day after the ceremony, one visitor, in a message to the lodge, said: “Just wanted to say what a brilliant night it was last night, the ceremony was superb one of the best thirds I have seen (without a doubt) it just flowed. There were a number of standouts; Kevin (SD) was excellent, wardens superb and David / Ian with the ceremony and history were icing on the cake, plus having a top-class secretary in situ added to the occasion plus having so many light blues being involved is a rare sight and shows well for the future of Victoria Lodge.”