Happy Discoveries: Keeping the Light on Between Meetings
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What began with a simple WhatsApp group has grown into an international Masonic community built around friendship, knowledge, care and one very important word: love.
Bro Michael Elgal writes:
On Friday 28 February 2025, I was sitting in an Uber travelling along the North Circular Road.
I took out my phone.
And I created a WhatsApp group.
At that moment, I had no idea how far it would go.
I simply knew that there was a need.
In my previous Lodge, we had four regular meetings each year, several Lodge of Instruction meetings and perhaps two or three social dinners. Many members were unable to attend the dinners, while some senior Brethren no longer needed to attend Lodge of Instruction.
Between our meetings, there could be long periods when Brothers had very little contact with one another.
We had an official Lodge WhatsApp group, but it was for Lodge business only. When Brothers used the group to wish one another a happy birthday, some of the senior members reminded them that social messages were not appropriate there.
But those birthday messages made me think.
Why were the Brothers posting them?
Because they wanted to connect.
They wanted to acknowledge one another.
They wanted to show that they cared.
I approached the senior members of the Lodge and asked for permission to create a separate social WhatsApp group. They gave me the go-ahead.
The original name was Happy Endeavours.
Later, I decided to expand the group beyond my own Lodge. I was quite rightly told that, if the group was going to include Brethren from elsewhere, I would need to remove “Endeavour” from its name.
I then asked myself a question.
What do we do as Freemasons throughout our Masonic journey?
We discover.
We discover knowledge.
We discover friendship.
We discover opportunities to help others.
And, along the way, we often discover something new about ourselves.
So, I renamed the group Happy Discoveries.
I also created a logo with a smiling face at the centre of the square and compasses. The smile was important. I wanted the group to be a happy place – a place where every Brother could feel welcome.
It could never belong to one person
As the group began to grow, I realised something else.
Although I was its founder, I could not – and should not – be its sole ruler.
Happy Discoveries needed to belong to its members.
I appointed a team of administrators to help run the group. That team has since grown. The administrators discuss important matters, vote on decisions and monitor the conversations taking place.
We may be a social WhatsApp group, but I believe that we must conduct ourselves properly.
If we want to be taken seriously, we need clear rules, clear standards and a clear purpose.
I therefore created a group constitution. It explains what Happy Discoveries is about and sets out the rules and guidelines that protect the group and its members.
The atmosphere itself is relaxed.
We are not trying to reproduce the formality of the Temple. The feeling is more like the Festive Board. We discuss Masonic subjects, exchange knowledge and learn from one another, but we also enjoy friendly debate, humour and light-hearted conversation.
Today, Happy Discoveries has more than 220 Freemasons from across the United Kingdom and around the world.
As a rough illustration, if each member had an average of 20 years in Freemasonry, that would represent something like 4,000 years of combined knowledge and experience.
Think about that.
What we have learned during our lives and our Masonic journeys should not be kept to ourselves. I believe that we have a responsibility to share it and use it to help one another.
More than conversation
Happy Discoveries has become far more than a place to chat.
Members have supported at least eleven fundraising and good-cause appeals, raising hundreds of pounds. We have highlighted important health and wellbeing issues, including prostate cancer and other medical conditions.
We constantly look for new ways to encourage Brothers to talk, participate and engage.
This is important because many men are alone.
Some feel forgotten when there are no Lodge meetings. Some may be dealing with ill health, bereavement, anxiety or personal difficulties. Others may simply be lonely.
It is easy to see a Brother at a Lodge meeting, shake his hand and assume that everything is fine.
But what happens after the meeting – during the weeks or months when we do not see him?
What happens if he stops attending?
Our goal is to ensure that no Brother is forgotten.
Modern technology gives us an enormous opportunity. Through a group such as Happy Discoveries, we can reach Freemasons when they are experiencing sadness, loneliness or despair.
Most importantly, we can be ready.
We can be available.
A WhatsApp group cannot replace the personal work of a Lodge Almoner. It cannot replace professional medical care, specialist welfare support or the emergency services.
But it can be a first point of contact.
It can begin a conversation.
Sometimes, one message can let a man know that he is not alone.
Lighthouse: a Brother’s first point of call
I have now created a reach-out list for our Happy Discoveries Masonic Community WhatsApp Group.
I have given it a unique name: Lighthouse.
With the permission of the group, I have taken on the role of Group Almoner.
But Lighthouse is not about one individual.
The Lighthouse list contains the private contact details of Brothers within our group who have volunteered their services and skills. They include Mental Health Wellbeing Ambassadors and Brethren with experience in first aid, coaching and other areas of support.
The beautiful thing about this list is that it can continue to grow.
Whenever another Brother wishes to offer his services or a useful skillset, the list can be updated. It is a living resource for our community, created by Brothers who are prepared to be there for other Brothers.
I also created a special logo for Lighthouse.
At the top of the image is the Bell Rock Lighthouse in the middle of the night. Its beam shines out across the darkness.
Below it is the image of one hand reaching towards another hand in the light.
Both images have an important meaning.
A lighthouse in the darkness is a focal point of safety and reassurance. It tells a Brother who may be in a dark place that there is still a beacon of light ahead of him.
The reaching hands symbolise something equally important. They say that, Brother:
We have seen you.
We have heard you.
And we shall be there for you.
The image represents the work of Almoners, Mental Health Wellbeing Ambassadors and every Brother who possesses a skill that could help someone in need.
Why call the initiative Lighthouse?
Because a lighthouse does not wait for a ship to reach the rocks.
It shines into the darkness.
It shows that there is a safer direction.
And it lets people know that someone is there.
Lighthouse is intended to provide a confidential first point of contact. It is not a clinical or emergency service. Its purpose is to listen, to offer reassurance and, where necessary, to help a Brother find the appropriate professional or Masonic support.
I believe that Lighthouse is a good thing for our group.
It embodies what we are trying to achieve and the vision I have for Happy Discoveries. In time, I hope that this idea may also prove useful in other areas of Masonic care, the Almoner spectrum and mental wellbeing.
Its guiding principle – and the guiding principle behind Happy Discoveries itself – is a four-letter word: LOVE.
It is that simple.
If we can make a Brother feel loved, he is more likely to feel happy.
If he feels happy, he can regain his sense of purpose.
And if he has a sense of purpose, he knows that he belongs.
A team effort
I have strong ambitions for Happy Discoveries within the area of Masonic care and wellbeing.
I want the group to complement the valuable work already carried out by Lodge Almoners and by those who support the health and wellbeing of our Brethren.
We are an independent group, but we do not want to work in isolation. My hope is that we can build positive relationships with Metropolitan Grand Lodge, UGLE, the Provinces and the wider Masonic community.
I believe Happy Discoveries can connect Freemasons across London, across the United Kingdom and across the world.
But none of this is the work of one man.
I have a wonderful team of administrators. W Bro Rabbi Gideon Schulman is my right-hand man, my dear friend and my trusted adviser.
Every administrator plays a part.
Every volunteer on the Lighthouse list plays a part.
Every member who contributes knowledge, kindness, humour or support plays a part.
Yes, I founded Happy Discoveries.
But the members make it work.
Any praise for what the group has achieved must be shared among all of them.
My ambition is for Happy Discoveries to become a genuine force for good – keeping Freemasonry alive, healthy and connected while ensuring that our values remain with us when we are away from the Temple.
It began with a few birthday greetings.
It began with a need to connect.
It began with an Uber journey along the North Circular.
Now it has more than 220 members and a much greater purpose.
To share knowledge.
To support good causes.
To keep Brothers connected.
To provide a Lighthouse when the way ahead feels dark.
And, above everything else, to ensure that no Brother is ever forgotten.
This article is part of Arena Magazine Issue 61 – Summer 2026.
Arena Magazine is the official online magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.
Read more articles in Arena Issue 61 here.
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