MRF Symposium 2017

What is the MRF Symposium?
The MRF Symposium is a meeting place for Masons who are seeking the highest form of Masonic experience they can attain within their lodges, while strictly conforming to the laws, resolutions, and edicts of their respective grand lodges. It is a gathering for those who pursue quality in the Craft to share ideas and discuss their work. The Symposium begins on Friday evening at 7 PM, with a Harmony [Festive Board] in the Grand Lodge Dining Hall, and concludes before noon on Sunday. As always, we have assembled an excellent program of speakers and presenters to share their light with you.

Touch/click the photos to read the speakers' bios

Who May Attend the Symposium?
Any Mason in good standing may register for the Symposium, provided he is a member of a Grand Lodge which is a member of, or is recognized by any one of the Grand Lodges which are members of, the Conference of Grand Masters of North America, or the United Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Lodge of Ireland, or the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Full Registration for the Symposium is $125.00.

Topics and Panels
- The Chief Point of Freemasonry
- The Flower of Life: An Examination of Masonic Geometry
- Restoring the Masonic Ethos of our Founders
- Observant Masonry in Canada
- The Art of Memory in Masonic Ritual
- The Question of Intention in the Three Degrees
- Dining in the Observant Lodge
- Time, Patience, and Perseverance: Challenges In An Observant Lodge
- The Future of Freemasonry

Download the full program in PDF format

MRF2017.pdf

Keynote Address: Philip Durell, PGM, Grand Lodge of British Columbia & the Yukon
Philip Durell is Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and the Yukon, and presently serves as Master of the Vancouver Lodge of Education and Research. He is a member of Duke of Connaught Lodge No. 64, our host Lodge for the Symposium. He is also Education Officer in Heritage Lodge No. 63, his mother Lodge. Brother Durell has presented several Masonic papers and he will be our Keynote Speaker for the Harmony on Friday evening.

Opening Address: Andrew Hammer, PGC,
President, Masonic Restoration Foundation
Andrew Hammer is Past Grand Chancellor of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, and Past Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. He is Secretary and Past Master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, and Secretary of Fiat Lux Lodge No. 1717. He is author of Observing the Craft, a Fellow of the Masonic Society, and a Member of the Philalethes Society. Brother Hammer speaks to lodges throughout the United States and abroad on observant Masonry, as well as philosophical aspects of the Craft. As President of the Masonic Restoration Foundation, he will give the opening address on Saturday morning.

Closing Address: Thomas W. Jackson, PGS, Past Secretary, World Conference of Regular Grand Lodges
An icon of Freemasonry worldwide, and a member of the Board of Directors of the MRF, we are honored to have RW Tom Jackson, Past Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, to deliver the closing address of the Symposium on Sunday morning. Brother Jackson has had over sixty years of experience in the Craft, and has travelled throughout the globe in service to the fraternity. Always an engaging and dynamic speaker, his address will be one that is not to be missed.