En: Toasts for the Festive Board
Brethren, please be upstanding
Source: Brethren, please be upstanding http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/toasts.html
After most lodge meetings in this jurisdiction are ended, the officers and brethren will retire to the banquet room for what is often referred to as the Festive Board. This gathering is opened with a prayer, conducted with certain toasts, and closed with the Tyler’s Toast. The following are a small selection of appropriate remarks. Brethren are advised to consult with the Director of Ceremonies regarding the proper salutations and titles for the occasion, as these may be an individual lodge decision.
| Grace | The Visitors | Grand Lodge | Tyler's Toast |
|---|---|---|---|
|
For health and food, *** God bless our meat, George Bellin, 1565 *** O Thou who kindly dost provide *** Friendship and love may they bloom and grow, *** Some ha'e meat and can-na eat, *** The things, good Lord, that we pray for, (Sir Thomas Moore) *** For every cup and plateful, *** God is great and God is good, *** Thank You for the world so sweet, E. Rutter Leatham *** Father, who fed the small sparrows, *** May the GAOTU bless to our use that which *** (United Kingdom) For these and all Thy mercies given, May we receive them with thanksgiving, To Thee alone be honour, glory, Pour tous ces dons, nous Te bénissons Seigneur, Reconnaissants et confiants en Ton Verbe, Seulement à Toi soient l'honneur et la gloire, Attributed by Dr. Charles Burney (1726-1814) to "Laudi Spirituali", Florence, c. 1336. Visitor’s Response Bro. Toastmaster and brethren; This evening I find myself a welcome visitor in your lodge. We are all visitors on this sublunary abode and as the humble representative of those who are now visiting your small part of it, I thank you for your welcome and for the pleasure of your company. *** Having arrived as a stranger On behalf of all the visitors present Dan Zrymiak |
W. Bro. Toastmaster, M.W. Grand Master and brethren; It is a pleasure for me to have this opportunity to propose a toast to our visiting brethren. A visit is a most gratifying experience among freemasons. Since this lodge was constituted we have enjoyed receiving visitors from all quarters of the world. Many of our own members have had the opportunity and privilege of visiting lodges in our own country and internationally. May you continue to visit our lodge, as the hand of fellowship is always extended. Brethren of .... Lodge, will you please be upstanding and drink with me a toast to our visiting brethren To our visitors *** Bro. Toastmaster and brethren. What can I say about visiting that has not been so eloquently said by my predecessors in this pleasant duty? We are all visitors on this sublunary abode but this evening we have had the pleasure of welcoming you to our own small part of it. And I now have the humble distinction of calling my brethren to further extend that welcome. Brethren, please be upstanding for a toast. To the visitors *** W. Bro. Toastmaster, R.W. District Deputy Grand Master, brethren; It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to propose, what I consider the most important toast of the evening, a toast to our visitors. A visit among freemasons is always a gratifying experience. Visiting is a form of communication. We impart and receive knowledge, ideas and, most important: expressions of friendship and brotherhood. But are we communicators? Do we pass on that which we have received from one to another? If that which is received from a brother ends with us it might as well not been said. The brethren of this lodge hope that their message of friendship and brotherhood is worthy of being passed on. Brethren of .... Lodge, Please assist me in communicating our friendship and brotherhood and be upstanding for a toast. To the visitors. *** W. Bro. Toastmaster, R.W. Bro. District Deputy Grand Master and brethren; It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to propose what I consider the most important toast of the evening—a toast to our visitors. On occasions like tonight, when we are honoured by having the DDGM with us, it is also gratifying to see that so many distinguished visitors have accompanied him. I use the term distinguished advisably, since it is my belief that a visitor is someone special and should be treated as such. Each one of the visitors here tonight comes for a reason best known to himself; respect for Grand Lodge, admiration for our DDGM, perhaps an interest in the running of our lodge. All are good reasons but underlying all is a desire to join with fellow freemasons for an evening of friendship and brotherly love; something that can never be measured in terms of worldly values. I trust that we of .... Lodge have greeted you, and treated you each and all as someone special. May you continue to be a visitor as the hand of fellowship is always extended. Brethren of .... Lodge, will you please be upstanding and drink with me a toast to our visiting brethren To our visitors. *** A Toast to all our differences Dan Zrymiak |
Bro. Toastmaster, R.W. Bro. District Deputy Grand Master and brethren. Grand Lodge provides information, gives guidance when sought, admonishes and encourages the lodge when needed. Yet in perfect symmetry, it is often emphasized that Grand Lodge is not "they", but 'we". For without the lodges there is no Grand Lodge, and without its members there is no lodge. Brethren, please be upstanding for a toast. To Grand Lodge *** Bro. Toastmaster, R.W. Bro. District Deputy Grand Master and Brethren. What does Grand Lodge do? What all of us do, with varying effectiveness, is work at helping our individual members to be good citizens. Grand Lodge encourages individual lodges in the support they can give to their members. Brethren, please be upstanding for a toast. To Grand Lodge. *** Bro. Toastmaster, R.W. Bro. District Deputy Grand Master and brethren. What is Grand Lodge? Grand Lodge officers, every Master, Past Master and Warden of a constituent lodge. The delegates from each lodge, at the annual session, determine the policies of Grand Lodge. We accept the authority of Grand Lodge as we determine what is that authority. A toast, brethren, to Grand Lodge. W. Bro. Toastmaster, R.W. Bro. District Deputy Grand Master, brethren; Our first Grand Lodge was constituted in 1717. It was founded to inculcate the virtues of charity, truth and brotherly love. Remember those who gave us these banners when you honour those of our own Grand Lodge who carry them forward. Brethren, please be upstanding and join me in a toast to Grand Lodge To Grand Lodge *** W. Bro. Toastmaster, R.W. Bro. District Deputy Grand Master and brethren; Much has been said by brethren in praise of Grand Lodge. Much can be done by brethren to support Grand Lodge. But for now I merely call on the brethren to please be upstanding for a toast. To Grand Lodge. *** W. Bro. Toastmaster, R.W. Bro. District Deputy Grand Master, brethren; It is Grand Lodge that directs us, Grand Lodge that chastens us, Grand Lodge that supports us. We were advised, on being raised to the third degree that we should work to improve the morals and correct the manners of men in society. Grand Lodge works in a like manner to our benefit. We owe Grand Lodge fidelity and obedience. And now we owe Grand Lodge a toast. Brethren, please be upstanding for a toast. To the M. W. Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon *** W. Bro. Toastmaster, R.W. Bro. District Deputy Grand Master and brethren; May the Most High remember in His blessings The preservation of our Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon By cementing and adorning it with every social and moral virtue including The Wisdom of King Solomon The Strength of King Hiram of Tyre’s men and materials and the Beauty of Hiram Abif’s curious and masterly workmanship So that our Grand Lodge may lead our lodges and brethren With Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, and Justice For the benefit of all Freemasonry. To Grand Lodge. Dan Zrymiak |
To all poor and distressed brethren, (Response) To all poor and distressed brethren. *** To all poor and distressed freemasons, (Response) To all poor and distressed brethren. *** Then 'ere’s to the sons o' the Widow, *** 'Are your glasses all charged in the West and the South?' the Worshipful Master cried! Then to our final toast tonight, our glasses freely drain, The mason’s social brotherhood around the festive board, We meet as masons free and true, and when our work is done, Amidst our mirth we drink to all poor masons o'er the Earth, We Masons prize that noble truth, the Scottish peasant told, Dear brethren of the mystic tie, the night is waning fast, (Response) Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again. *** Pocket, heart, hand *** To all poor and distressed Masons, wherever dispersed over the face of Earth and Water, wishing them a speedy relief from all their sufferings, and a safe return to their native country; should they so desire it. Other Tyler’s Toasts To the Entered Apprentice The treasure you'll encounter doesn't lie at journey’s end Dan Zrymiak |
