Travelling Gavel
Aims & Objectives
The aim of the travelling gavel is to encourage visiting between Lodges, to extend friendships and to enhance the vibrancy of Lodge meetings.
 
   1.The Lodge holding the gavel should arrange to pass it on to another Lodge of their choice no later than the end of the calendar month following the month in which they received it. The only exception to this if the gavel is received in July, it must be passed on no later than end of September.
2.The gavel should be accompanied by at least 3 brethren when it is passed on. Ideally, this should include the WM. It should be an opportunity to include more recent members of the Lodge in the visit. Each of the accompanying brethren is responsible for his own dining cost.
3.The respective lodges are responsible for organising the logistics of the handover meeting and for any ceremonial to be used at the handover.
4.The gavel should be passed to a Lodge that meets in a different centre from the Lodge holding the gavel.
5.No lodge should receive the gavel more than once in a 12 month period.
6.A record of lodges that the gavel has travelled to will be maintained on the provincial website. The Lodge that is holding the gavel is responsible for informing the Provincial Secretary when and to whom the gavel has been passed, no later than 48 hours after it has been passed on.
7.The WM of the Lodge holding the gavel is responsible for ensuring these guidelines are followed. Failure to follow the guidelines will mean that the Lodge is expected to make a contribution of £25 to the Provincial Charity Fund.
Travelling Gavel
On the 16th of January 2015, the RW Provincial Grand Master launched the travelling gavel to encourage visiting between lodges, to extend friendships and to enhance the vibrancy of Lodge meetings. The following table records the Lodges which the gavel has visited to date and those who have accompanied it.
Year: 
Date:Brethren who
accompanied the gavel:		Lodge to whom
the Gavel was passed:		Centre:
January 2017 W.Bro. N. Smith (Sec, PPrSGD),
W.Bro. M. Treffler (ADC, PPrJGD),
Bro. S. Garey (JD),
Bro. T. Ballinger (Stwd).		 Bowyer Lodge
No. 1036		Chipping Norton
Apollo University Lodge
No. 357		Oxford
February 2017 Blockley Lodge
No. 6345		Woodstock
April 2017 W.Bro. J. Matarazzo (WM)
and delegation.		 Hampden Lodge
No. 6290		Thame
May 2017 W.Bro. R. Owen PAGDC,
W.Bro. V. Humphries (WM),
Bro. M. Butler (SW),
Bro. Dr. M. Slaymaker (JW),
W. Bro. M. Brown (Chap, PPrGReg),
W. Bro. P. Hurd (DC, PPrGStdB),
Bro. B. Harvey (Tyler).		 Upper Thames Lodge
No. 8696		Henley