Issue 3, May 2025
Newsletter of the Ontario Region of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC
Newsletter of the Ontario Region of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC
Welcome to the first edition of the Ontario Regional Newsletter for ARC 3378! As was the case in ARC 3377, we wish to take this opportunity to gently remind and raise awareness about Rosicrucian resources and activities available in our region. Even if you live far from our affiliated metropolitan centers or groups (aka "AMORC Affiliated Bodies" or "ABs" for short), please know that there are fellow AMORC students who share your journey and are eager to connect with you. Whether you visit one of these Affiliated Bodies or simply wish to engage from afar, you are a valued part of our community.
The synchronicity of the themes of each Affiliated Body in the Ontario Region never ceases to amaze me – Sublime Unbecoming for Hamilton Pronaos, Setting Intentions for Trillium Pronaos, The Opus Magnum (The Great Work) for Cosmos Pronaos and Amor Pax Lux Vitae (Love, Peace, Light, Life) for Toronto Lodge. These just work so well together.
As in the previous newsletters, you will find messages from the group leaders of each of the ABs in our region as well as brief updates on that AB's recent activities, their regular meeting dates and locations as well as notes about any special upcoming events. You may contact any one of these Affiliated Bodies by sending a message to ontario@amorc.rosicrucian.org and the information will then be forwarded to the relevant AB.
You may also like to know that each of our Affiliated Bodies maintains a "Meetup" page. Meetup is an on-line service which allows our ABs to post information about upcoming events visible to both AMORC members and non-members alike. Please feel free to check out these Meetup sites at the following AB specific links: London (Cosmos Pronaos), Hamilton Pronaos, Ottawa (Trillium Pronaos), Toronto Lodge
If you have perhaps not already done so, you may also wish to check out our Regional Website located here. From here you can access detailed information about each AB as well as more broadly about the region as a whole and other interesting links to such items as free Rosicrucian Apps and an extensive list of links designed to support you on your mystical journey.
For those of you who may also happen to be members of the Traditional Martinist Order, you may wish to follow our Toronto Heptad postings located on the community site,
https://www.martinistcommunity.org/event
We also would like to thank the officers and committee members of each of our regional Affiliated Bodies for their dedicated service to their particular AB and to our Order. It is those officers and supporting AB members who plan the special events and ensure the rituals are performed with dignity and precision, benefiting all of us who are able to attend these truly mystical experiences.
With my warmest wishes for Peace Profound,
Sincerely and fraternally,
Helen Miller,
Grand Councillor (Ontario and Western Canada Region)
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Ontario Region AMORC Grand Lodge Officers:
Regional Director/Grand Councillor: Helen Miller
Regional Monitor, Toronto: Joan Lyn
Regional Monitor, Ottawa: Lester Hedgcock
Regional Monitor, Hamilton: Lester Hedgcock
Regional Monitor, London: Lester Hedgcock
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TORONTO LODGE
Theme: Amor Pax Lux Vitae
Master’s Message
Greetings to all!
This is Jaime Sánchez, current Lodge Master. I am deeply honoured to guide our Lodge’s spiritual development during the Rosicrucian year 3378. I have already discovered that the task is more complex than I first imagined—not because I underestimate those who held this responsibility before me, but because I am keenly aware of my own limitations. Fulfilling this role demands both mental resilience and profound spiritual strength, and I am ready to give my best to the Mystical Work—and, when needed, to the practical work—that sustains our organization.
As the initiatic centre for the Toronto region, we welcome members not only from Ontario but also from neighbouring provinces, states and even farther afield—Calgary, Vancouver, the East Coast, and beyond. If you are seeking the next essential step on the Rosicrucian path, know that a devoted team of fraters and sorores stands ready to serve you through our ritual dramas or initiations and many other lodge activities.
Returning to our pre-COVID rhythm
Beginning in August 2025 we will resume our pre‑COVID schedule of:
Five (5) convocations each month – the first Sunday and every Thursday. Please check the August–November bulletin for the detailed calendar.
Teleconferences: A teleconference will be offered in addition to (not instead of) temple convocations, held on the first Wednesday of each month at 8:00 p.m.
Fifth Thursdays: Expect special programs such as mystical plays, book reviews, and previews of our forthcoming Mystical Congress.
Upcoming Events
Sat 24 May, morning. Nature walk. Ward’s Island village. Watch for flyer to follow.
Thu 29 May, 7:30 p.m. Mystical play –. The Holy Assembly. Performed in Lodge Temple
Sat 26 Jul, 8:00 a.m. Day trip to Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden, Cavan Monaghan Township (details forthcoming)
Sat/Sun 25–26 Oct. Mystical Weekend. Details to follow
TBA Additional gatherings In planning—watch future bulletins
Toronto Lodge meeting location and mailing address
I look forward to welcoming every frater and soror back to a vibrant Lodge life.
With fraternal greetings and Peace Profound,
Jaime Fe. Sánchez
Lodge Master – Toronto
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TORONTO LODGE TEMPLE DEGREE INITIATION SCHEDULE for RC 3378 and 3379
Grand Lodge members are eligible to have the degree initiation conferred upon them once studies have been started in that degree. All Temple Degree initiations must be taken in sequence and you must have received the previous initiation(s). Initiation credentials must be provided.
The Degree Review Class of the relevant degree will be held at 10:00 am just prior to the initiation. We strongly urge candidates for the initiation to attend the review class.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: To those taking the First Temple Degree Initiation, as indicated in the table above, this initiation is done in two parts (Saturday and Sunday). Additionally, just prior to the start of part 1 of the First Temple Degree initiation, there is an Atrium Degree Review Class which takes place at 1:00 pm.
In order to avoid disappointment, please preregister with the Lodge Secretary, toronto.amorc@gmail.com
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TORONTO HEPTAD, the Traditional Martinist Order
Toronto Heptad TMO meets the second Sunday of each month. For further information please contact ontario@amorc.rosicrucian.org and the message will be forwarded to the Heptad.
To find out more about the Martinist Order, the meeting location and the Heptad calendar, visit the Heptad webpage.
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TRILLIUM PRONAOS (Ottawa, ON)
Theme: Setting our Intentions
Master’s Message
As Rosicrucians, we are very blessed to have so many tools at our disposal as we strive for the Rosicrucian ideal. “Setting our intentions”, the theme I have chosen for this year, is key to our spiritual evolution. We may do this in as basic a way as setting our intentions for the day as we drink our glass of magnetized water in the morning, focusing on our intention to form our thoughts, words, and deeds positively and constructively through humility, dignity, compassion and service. Or we may choose, upon rising in the morning, to repeat a prayer or meditate for several minutes on how we will do our best to live the day, giving the best of ourselves.
As human personalities, we have all experienced how easily we can slip into just living in the mundane world when we are busy with work, family obligations, daily tasks, etc. We have a choice – to see and hear with the small mundane self, or to see and hear with the inner higher faculties and the Master Within.
By setting our intentions in numerous ways, including time in our sanctums, reading our monographs, reviewing our day as we prepare for sleep, or even catching ourselves with less than constructive thoughts, words, and deeds when we can RESET our intentions, we move closer to the ultimate spiritual perfection we will ultimately reach in some future lifetime.
Light, Life, and Love,
Susan
Master, Trillium Pronaos
Trillium Pronaos meetings:
In-person, AMORC member-only mystical convocations are held on the first Tuesday evening and third Saturday morning of each month (except in the month of July when Trillium Pronaos takes a summer break)
Currently, Neophyte Degree Review Forums are being held four times during the year
Public, open house/"Meetups" take place at various times throughout the year. Please check out Ottawa Rosicrucian Meetup (click to open link) for details
All in-person meetings and events (unless otherwise indicated) take place at: Rosemount Hall, 41 Rosemount Avenue, Ottawa, ON (click to see map)
Recent Activities:
On Saturday, December 7th, Trillium held a combined "winter social" and celebration of its 70th anniversary with a potluck luncheon afternoon at the hall. In addition to some delicious cuisine offerings shared by our guests, attendees enjoyed a slideshow retrospective highlighting faces and smiles of Trillium members from long ago up to the present. This was topped off with a special congratulatory Trillium anniversary video greeting created by none other than our very dear Grand Master, Sr. Julie, herself. What an unexpected treat that was!
In an effort to now offer a minimum of at least one event per month at which non-members (who are open and friendly to experiencing the Rosicrucian Order’s philosophy) may now take part, Trillium Pronaos, in recent months, has begun offering either a traditional Meetup type Open House event or the recently revised “Atrium Group” convocation. At the inaugural Atrium Group ceremony held this past March, a non-member remarked that she found it to be a “beautiful” experience.
Upcoming Special Events: in addition to our regular convocation schedule…
May 6th, 2025: New member Pronaos Initiation
On May 20th, 2025 at 7pm, here at 41 Rosemount Ave, Trillium Pronaos is looking forward to holding an in-person workshop/Meetup entitled "Exploring the Rosicrucian Code of Life: A Spiritual Guide". Through a combination of discussion, slides and video snippets, aspects such as the balance of mind, body and spirit, the cultivation of self-discipline and inner peace, and the pursuit of truth and service to humanity, amongst other items, will be explored. This Meetup event is open to the public so feel free to bring a friend and join in! See details on our Ottawa Rosicrucian Meetup web page.
June 22nd, 2025: Trillium will again mark the annual Rosicrucian Peace Day held each year on the fourth Sunday of the month. We are still working out the details so feel free to drop us a line via the ontario@amorc.rosicrucian.org email address or watch for updates on the Ottawa Rosicrucian Meetup web page.
Looking a bit further ahead into the year, Trillium is planning a full day event which will be based on our theme for the year, "Setting our Intentions", to be held Saturday, October 18th, 2025. Details may be found on our Ottawa Rosicrucian Meetup web page as well as on the Rosicrucian.org/Events in the near future.
Trillium Admin Team:
Master/Group Leader: Susan
Guardian: Claire
Archivist/Secretary: Jerome, Rick
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HAMILTON PRONAOS
Theme: Sublime Unbecoming
Master’s Message
Dear Fratres and Sorores,
Throughout the coming year, our theme will be Sublime Unbecoming. I hope that you will meditate upon this theme and keep it at the forefront of your thoughts throughout the coming year. Perhaps when contemplating this theme, consider the following:
Why is it that the word "sublime" means above the threshold, while the word "subliminal" means below the threshold?
What is the alchemical significance of the word, "sublimation?"
Is the process of "becoming" also a process of moving away from an existing state or condition?
Is the process of "becoming" more important than that of "unbecoming"?
Through the dual polarities of "becoming" and "unbecoming", is a union of opposites or a third condition created?
How do these concepts pertain to the statement, "As above, so below?"
Is alchemy a process of transmuting the mundane into the extraordinary or is it a process of refinement that reveals the sublime within the ordinary?
It is my fervent hope that, as you ponder these questions during the ensuing year, a profound and sublime unfoldment will occur both within and without you.
May we ever dwell in the light of eternal wisdom.
Peace Profound!
Braden Speers
Master, Hamilton Pronaos
Pronaos Matters:
In-person public discussions (the open meetings are at 12.30 p.m.) and Mystical Convocations commence at 3:00 PM ET and are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month at Unity Hall, 64 Wellington St. N., Hamilton, ON (click to see map).
Starting in June and continuing throughout the summer, Degree Forums will be held at the Pronaos following Convocation.
The Pronaos hosts members-only Zoom teleconference discussions, open to all members of the Order, on the fourth Sunday of each month at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Upcoming Events:
Sunday, May 11 Convocation / Open Meeting
Sunday, May 25 Members Only Teleconference
Sunday, June 8 Convocation / Open Meeting / Degree Forum
Sunday, June 22 Meditation for Peace
Sunday, June 22 Members Only Teleconference
Sunday, July 13 Convocation / Open Meeting / Degree Forum
Tuesday, July 15 Admin Business Meeting
Sunday, July 27 Members Only Teleconference
Hamilton Admin Team:
Master: Braden
Archivist: Joan S.
Guardian: Tyler
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Cosmos Pronaos (London, ON)
Theme: The Great Work
Master’s Message
All Rosicrucians are engaged in the Great Work, also referred to as the Opus Magnum. This mysterious phrase often appears in our mystical studies. As such, it refers to Transformational Alchemy, a process that consists of working on our outer selves but also consists of going within and discovering our Divine Consciousness.
This journey is both a deeply personal one yet also a collective one as we strive to better ourselves, to understand others, and to be of greater service in the world. Our spiritual progress shows itself in how we govern ourselves and respond to others daily. How we talk about ourselves and our experiences—the words we choose; how well we listen; how well we seek guidance from within. We are all “works in progress,” and as mystics, we are all engaged in “the Great Work” of self-transformation and illumination. As a collective, we seek to create a better world of greater harmony, unity, and peace.
Meetings:
In-person meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Sunday each month (*except June15 and December 21, 2025, the day of the Winter Solstice and EGLA Symposium):
Discussion period and workshop, open to the public, begins at 1pm.
Convocation (members only) begins at 2pm sharp. Please bring AMORC credentials.
Refreshment period after Convocation (about 3:00 pm), open to the public, concludes at 4pm.
Meeting Location: Nilestown Masonic Temple, 2451 Hamilton Road East, Thames Centre (near London), Ontario N0L 1G3 (click to see map)
Upcoming Events:
Sunday, June 29, 2025: Convocation: “Reflections on the Creed of Peace” by GM Julie Scott followed at 3:00 pm by a Strawberry Social open to the public (note the change in our regular meeting date).
Sunday, August 31, 2025: Cosmos Mystical Day – all invited! Join us for activities, workshops, and presentations on our theme “The Great Work.”
Sunday, September 21, 2025, Public Event – Labyrinth Walk (no Convocation).
Sunday, October 5, 2025 – Public Event: Reincarnation Workshop.
Sunday, December 7, 2025 – Regional Monitor’s Official Visit and Festive Meal (open to family and friends).
Cosmos Admin Team:
Master: Ingrid Y
Archivist: Jacqueline D
Guardian: Bernice P
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It is our sincere hope that you may find within these Regional newsletters a sense of a broader Rosicrucian community actively working towards expressing and sharing the ideals of Light, Life and Love and which looks forward to meeting you personally, on those occasions and circumstances when the time is right for you, as you progress along your own mystical life's journey.
With Best Wishes for Peace Profound,
Hal Ireland
Regional Secretary