NOVEMBER 22nd, 2025 PREVIEW

The regular meeting of Templum Phoenix Lodge No.57 will be held on November 22nd, 2025 in the quarters of the Masonic Hall, 907 Prospect Street, Fredericton, N.B. commencing at 1:00 pm sharp.

Following the business portion of the meeting we will electronically welcome WB Ben Zion of London England who has been invited to deliver the following presentation. WB Zion is the author of Whence Come You and High Meridian:

Journey to the Centre  

by Ben Zion

In Journey to the Centre, Ben Zion shares a reflective account of awakening, and explains that it is but a perspective shift – not of self-improvement but of self-effacement, a letting go of everything one has imagined oneself to be. For as both Mason and mystic eventually discover, what is sought cannot be built or earned; it is revealed only when the superfluous is stripped away.

Drawing on the non‑dual teachings of Advaita Vedānta, the talk considers the masks we wear and the illusion of separateness they sustain. It explores the timeless declaration “I am that I am” through both Eastern enquiry, Who am I?, and the Western initiatory question, Whence come you?

Within this frame, the rough and perfect Ashlars cease to represent labour or progression, and instead mirror the dissolution of every false contour. “To knock away all superfluous knobs and excrescences” is not an act of chiselling to sculpt, but of chiselling to release – a surrender of all that obscures the already perfect state of Being.

Freemasonry through this method of awakening is not a path of becoming but of unbecoming, and a return to what was never absent – the Centre.

Following the Festive Board we will welcome WB Anthony Waddell, presiding Master of Howard Lodge No. 15 as our guest speaker. The following is a brief precis of his presentation.

Carving History: The Master Masons of the Ancient World

An Archaeological and Symbolic Journey into the Origins of the Craft

As a former Biblical Archaeologist, I will step back through 5,000 years of human ingenuity to meet the real “Masters of the Craft.”

From the stone carvers of ancient Egypt to the builders of Solomon’s Temple, this illustrated presentation traces the tools, techniques, and moral traditions that shaped civilization and later evolved into the symbolism of Freemasonry.

The ladies of the Eastern Star are continuing to take care of our culinary needs. For this meeting we will be enjoying a Thai inspired menu.

The menu for the Festive Board is as follows:

FIRST COURSE

 Baby Spinach Salad with a poppy seed dressing.

SECOND COURSE

A hearty squash soup

MAIN COURSE

A baked chicken breast served on a rice pilaf

accompanied by steamed green beans

DESERT  

Blueberry buckle with vanilla ice cream

TEA & COFFEE.

Tickets for the Festive Board are $40.00 (including tax and gratuity) and are available beginning October 27th, 2025 and are available on a first come first served basis. Ticket sales will close on November 14th, 2025. There is a limited number of 11 tickets available for the Festive Board. Payment may be made by e-transfer to templumphoenix@gmail.com

If you are a first time visitor please review our guidelines for visitors which is found on our website at templumphoenix.ca