As set out in last week’s First Rising we have now formally established the Council for Freemasonry in England and Wales. This is a formal collaboration between UGLE, the Order of Women Freemasons (OWF), and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF).
However, it will have no powers over individual Grand Lodges, nor is it in any way a merger and will not impact the regularity of any or all of them. Which means that neither UGLE, OWF nor HFAF has any desire or intention to change their single-gender Lodges. This means that there is no intention either now or at any future period to ever suggest mixed Lodges.
All of our members value practising Freemasonry in a safe and single-sex environment. Both Women’s Orders are entirely supportive of UGLE remaining an exclusively male organisation, and vice versa.
Should you seek further clarification, please refer to the First Rising sent on 29th June 2024.
Yours sincerely and fraternally,
Shaun Butler
Director of Membership and Communications
t: +44 (0)20 7395 9282
a: Freemasons’ Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AZ
e: sbutler@ugle.org.uk