Dear Brethren,

As you can see, Arena is taking a slightly different form.

We live in increasingly challenging times, and Freemasonry is no different. We have had to tighten our belts, and the significant costs of print and distribution have become harder to justify against Met’s many other competing priorities.

That doesn’t mean Arena is disappearing completely.

Indeed, I hope that its online incarnation will ultimately be a better resource.

Today, you’re probably reading this on the London Freemasons website (and Arena articles will always continue to be available here).

Very shortly (within a matter of a couple of months), the Met Comms team hope to be able to launch an app, available on Apple and Samsung smartphones, which will put Arena stories in the palm of your hand – and we’ll be able to notify you of stories as they happen, too.

Without the constraints of print, we should be able to offer broader coverage too, including, for example, upcoming events as well as those which have already passed.

There is, of course, one thing which the online edition cannot replace, and that is the pleasure of a physical souvenir. Arena has always been Met’s publication of record; something which a Brother could keep for generations when he or his Lodge was mentioned.

That’s something I don’t want to lose, and I am hoping that we may be able to create an annual print version in the future. This will only be possible with sponsorship, so if you have appropriate skills or contacts, I would be delighted to hear from you.

In the meantime, Arena continues at full speed ahead in digital form. As ever, let me invite you to contribute. For more information on getting your news in these pages, please start here. I also regularly ask for comments and feedback on the London Masons Facebook group; and you can always contact me with news about your Lodge or Chapter at arena@metgl.com. And if you would like to write for Arena, we have a growing team, and you will be made very welcome – again please contact me at the email above.

Thanks for reading, and I wish you a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

Sincerely, fraternally, and always inquisitively,

Nick Saalfeld
Editor

This article is part of the Arena Magazine, Issue 56 Winter 2024 edition.
Arena Magazine is the official magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in the Arena Issue 56 here.