Respectable Lodge Aqua, liberty, equality, fraternity

The Sisters and Brethren of Aqua, autonomous Lodge along the Scheldt, Orient of Antwerp in Belgium, use a holistic approach of Freemasonry. To them Freemasonry is more than the sum of ideas or the sum of members and their associated Lodge activities. As the world is continuously evolving we feel that our Lodge must develop gradually too. In our opinion historicism leads to fundamentalism. Keeping up with principles based on historicism is obstructing dialogue, limiting new growth occasions and new visions. Emphatic listening, principle-centered behaviour, openness, integrity, tolerance, trust, confrontation and human engagement based on fraternally love are to us the keys to success of our Lodge.

Our masonic activities started on January 25, 2001 as a Lodge belonging to Le Droit Humain, Belgian Federation. We left this order five years later because we felt that the management and leadership structures were not aligned anymore with 21ste century management principles. On March 23, 2006 twenty-two of the twenty-seven lodge members decided to become an autonomous Lodge whilst helping creating a new masonic body called, 'Lithos' Confederation of Lodges.

"Aqua", water is the source of all life; it belongs to the whole world, it shall not be privatised. It has no colour, no ethnic background, no gender and no age. Water connects towns, countries and continents. Almost three quarters of the world consist of water. People sail on it and make a living on it. When difficulties arise sailors help each other regardless religion or origin. Therefore it is necessary that we adopt, protect and promote the universal human rights. By doing that water becomes our symbol for equality.

Water takes us to unknown territories, which we are looking forward to discovering. We strive for a diversity that binds our Lodge members. Every drop of water counts, means to us that every individual is important and part of the chain of brotherhood. In an individual drop cohesion forces win from gravitation forces, whilst all drops together make the force of water.
May we have the force to accept what can't be changed and possess the beauty to introduce changes within our range of possibilities, whilst having the wisdom to separate them from one another.

The significant problems we face
cannot be solved
at the same level of thinking
we were at when we created them.

Einstein