Warwickshire Provincial Grand Lodge Newsletter
November 2008
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Changes in Grand Lodge
Lord Northampton, the Pro Grand Master, is to retire from that high office and he will preside for the last time at the Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge in December. He is to be succeeded by RW Bro Peter Lowndes, the current Deputy Grand Master, who in turn will be succeeded by RW Bro Jonathan Spence, the Grand Director of Ceremonies at the present time. RW Bro David Williamson will remain as Assistant Grand Master.
Changes in Warwickshire
W Bro John Emms PAGDC, the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, is to be invested as an Assistant Provincial Grand Master at the Regular Meeting of the Warwickshire Installed Masters Lodge on 29 November. W Bro Philip Hall will be invested as Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies at the same meeting. In addition the Provincial Grand Master will appoint W Bro Trevor Sturt PAGDC as Provincial Grand Orator, W Bro Peter Wellings PProvGReg as Provincial Information Officer, and W Bro Stuart Esworthy PProvSGW as Provincial Mentor.
Changes in London
VW Bro Michael Ward PGSwdB, a Past Master of our own St Barbara Lodge No 4930, has been appointed Deputy Metropolitan Grand Master, and will be invested at the meeting of the Metropolitan Grand Lodge on 26 February 2009.
Dates for your diary
Lodge celebrates its 250th meeting on 4 December, and Aston Manor Lodge will hold its 500th meeting on 20 January 2009. Oaks of Arden Lodge will witness the Installation of W Bro Ted Drake, its sole surviving founder member, as Master when it celebrates its 50th anniversary on 8 December.
Provincial Grand Lodge
The Annual Meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge will be held on Saturday 16 May 2009 at the Provincial HQ, 2 Stirling Road, Edgbaston.
Church Service
The Annual Provincial Church Service will once again be held in the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick on Sunday 14 June 2009.
Recognition
Our Grand Lodge has recognised The Regular Grand Lodge of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Grand Lodge of Ghana.
Warrants
The MW The Grand Master has granted Warrants to Blue Lamp Lodge in Monmouthshire and Gates of Heaven Lodge in London.
We know what he meant!
The Junior Warden in a Warwickshire Lodge was adamant recently that the Tyler's duties included 'being drawn with an armed sword'!
Helping Acorns
The ladies, gentlemen and brethren who attended the Ladies Evening of the Warwickshire Installed Masters Lodge in September raised the magnificent sum of £1,320 for the Acorns Children's Hospice Trust.
This is the way we do it!
In proposing the toast to the visitors the Junior Warden of one of our Lodges remarked that "even the lapses of memory are part of our tradition"!
Long service
Douglas Hawkins, of Cosmopolitan Lodge No 3391, initiated in 1960, and promoted to the rank of Past Provincial Senior Grand Warden in 1997, has been the Treasurer of the Lodge for 35 years. He celebrated his 89th birthday earlier this year. The Lodge has presented him with a fountain pen set as a mark of the esteem in which he is held and in gratitude for his long service as Treasurer.
A first
For the first time the Provincial Year Book carries a page (430) for a relatively new Order, the Grand Court of the Masonic Order of Athelstan in England, Wales and its Provinces Overseas. The Grand Master is Michael Roalfe, the Provincial Grand Master for the Province of Leicestershire and Rutland.
Membership
At 1 September 2008 the Province had 4,820 members and 5,981 memberships.
Same venue for 150 years
Members of Eastnor Lodge celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Lodge at the Feathers Hotel, Ledbury on 20 September 2008. Their first meeting at the hotel was on 20 September 1858.
Freemasons' Grand Charity generosity
At a General Meeting of the Freemasons' Grand Charity held in Bournemouth in September members approved grants to non-Masonic charities totalling £1,873,000. Of this, £1,000,000, payable over five years, is for Ovarian Cancer Action to fund research relating to the treatment of ovarian cancer and a programme to raise awareness of the illness amongst women. Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women and each year some 7,000 women are diagnosed with the disease. £500,000, again payable over five years, goes to The Scout Association as a contribution towards its KidsOutdoors Campaign. This is aimed to help young people from all backgrounds to access the physical, social and emotional benefits of outdoors activities and help develop scouting across the country.
Still going strong at 90!
John Whiteley DFC of Knowle Lodge was 90 earlier this year. He plays an active role in Lodge affairs and is adept at the Third Degree Ceremony. John organises the Annual Reunion of Squadron 619 and is a Past President of the Solihull branch of the Air Crew Association.
And so is Bernard!
Bernard Purvey has been the secretary of the Lodge of Happiness for over twenty years. He celebrates his 90th birthday in December.
Even older
Bert Stones received a promotion at the Annual Meeting of the Province of Oxfordshire in October just a week after he had celebrated his 108th birthday.
Diversifying?
Seen on the streets of Birmingham recently was a van bearing the words "M J Price Electrical Contractor". Must be the effects of the recession!
Heritage Open Days
Some 120 people visited our Provincial HQ on 13 September during the Heritage Open Days Event this year and Redditch Masonic Hall received nearly 80 visitors including the Mayor of Redditch. Some 70 people signed the visitors' book at Coventry Masonic Hall with complimentary remarks and over 100 attended. One lady came out of curiosity since her grandmother had been the cook at the Hall when it had been a private residence. Of the 50 or so who visited Solihull one was a 14 year old boy who had clearly done his homework and asked many intelligent questions. Perhaps he is a prospect for the future.
What they say about us!
"When you shake hands, the thumb naturally extends upward or straight ahead. When it points downward, you are signalling that you are a member of the world's largest satanic cult, Freemasonry, and are committed to its goal of world government under the anti Christ."
Another large gap between Chairs
Bill Brown of Tuscan Lodge No 5392 was Master in 1973 and again in 2003, a gap of thirty years. In the same Lodge Raymond Morris was first installed in 1982 and twenty five years later again occupied the Chair.
'Information for the guidance of members of the Craft'
The latest edition of this booklet is dated September 2008. Grand Lodge requires that each newly made Mason and each newly installed Master should be given a copy of the booklet at the same time as he is presented with the Book of Constitutions and the Bylaws of his Lodge during the ceremony of Initiation and the ceremony of Installation. This is an edict of Grand Lodge and is binding on all Lodges.
Following our lead
Following the lead of our own Earl Leofric Lodge in sponsoring the training of a guide dog for the blind, Swakely Lodge in the Province of East Kent has paid for the training of another dog who has been named Mason!
A Royal opening
Residents, staff and guests enjoyed a lovely day on Wednesday 17 September 2008, when the new RMBI Scarbrough Court Home in Cramlington, Northumberland, was officially opened by Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy KG GCVO.
The Royal Show
As our first visit to the Royal Show this year was so successful we will be there again from 7 to 10 July 2009. Why not pay our stand a visit and tell all your friends as well?
Open Evenings
Open evenings can be very successful in explaining Freemasonry to non-Masons but require careful preparation. Lodges contemplating holding such events must contact the Provincial Grand Secretary for appropriate guidance and assistance with presentations. Written guidance is at www.warwickshirepgl.org.uk/guidance_non_masons.php
A personal note
Sadly this is the last edition of the Provincial Newsletter which I shall write. I retire as an Assistant Provincial Grand Master on 31 December 2008 and as the Provincial Information Officer on 30 November. I wish to thank all my readers and contributors for their unfailing support over many years. I also wish to thank all those Brethren who have been so kind in their words of appreciation in letters, emails and on the telephone when my retirement was announced. It has been a privilege to have served, and been associated with, all the Brethren in this wonderful Province of Warwickshire. I wish my successor Peter Wellings every success and happiness as he takes over.
Rodney Pitham
Provincial Information Officer
infoman@warwickshirepgl.org.uk
0121 744 1328
Please note: Since this was posted, W Bro Peter Wellings has taken over as Provincial Information Officer.