Hello Br. May, as I explained to your earlier question, as a general rule and old usage, in most jurisdictions a PM can open the lodge at the request of the WM, SW, or JW. If the WM is not present, the SW or JW are responsible to congregate the lodge and open it, but as a simple courtesy, an SW or JW can ask a PM to open and close the lodge. The SW or JW will be answerable to the WM & Grand Lodge for any irregularity that goes on. MY answer is based on persoanl experience of the many jurisdictions I have resided in, or books of Masonic Code of Law I have read over the years. Mackeys Jurisprudence gives good examples of legal situations in lodges and may make for an interesting read for. Also read you GL code, something most Freemasons never seem to do. TTYL