warwickshirefreemasons

The Secretary in a Private Lodge

Notes for guidance

The first mention of the ‘election’ of a Secretary is in the minutes of the Lodge at the Queen’s Arms, St Paul’s Church Yard (now the Lodge of Antiquity No 2) for July 1736 when John Howes was ‘chose’. The minutes also show that he paid his dues.

It would be difficult to over-estimate the importance attaching to the office of the Lodge Secretary, yet he only has one function to perform in the ceremonial of the Lodge when once each year he recites to the Master Elect the Ancient Charges and Regulations. However, he is perhaps the hardest worked of all the officers.

He needs to have considerable skills in communication, administration and the maintenance of records. He must have a thorough knowledge of the current Book of Constitutions, the current booklet ‘Information for the Guidance of Members of the Craft’, the proceedings of Grand Lodge and of Provincial Grand Lodge, Provincial Bylaws and the Lodge Bylaws. The Secretary should also possess current copies of the Grand Lodge and Provincial Grand Lodge Yearbooks. He should ensure that all the officers of the Lodge have a copy of the latter.

The Secretary should have a good supply of:

Grand Lodge leaflets about Freemasonry
Provincial Grand Lodge leaflets
Current Provincial Grand Lodge News
The Peterborough Booklets
Registration Form P
The Provincial Mission Statement
The Provincial Guidance Notes for presentations to non-Masons
Canon Tydeman’s address.

The Lodge Secretary issues the summons for each meeting to all members of the Lodge at least seven clear days before the meeting, with a copy being sent to the Provincial Grand Secretary. The summons does not have to be ornate and does not have to contain, for example, long lists of Past Masters. In its most simple form it need only specify the date time and venue and the business to be transacted. A copy must be inserted in the Minute Book. The summons may be sent by email to those members who have requested it in that format; the request must be made in writing and on an annual basis. Printed copies must be sent to all other members and to the Provincial Grand Secretary.

It is strongly recommended that the summons contains the addresses of the Provincial Craft and Royal Arch websites – www.warwickshirepgl.org.uk and www.royal-arch.org.uk together with the Lodge’s own website address where applicable. In addition there should be items on the agenda which deal with reports on the progress of the Warwickshire 2012 Festival for the Masonic Heritage Fund, and with matters of significance in the Royal Arch, which are given respectively by the Lodge's Festival Steward and the Royal Arch representative. It is also good practice to publish on the summons the name and contact details of the Lodge's Visiting Officer.

The minutes are to be submitted to each Regular Meeting for confirmation as a true record of fact. They must be read unless the Lodge has agreed that an exact copy of the minutes may be circulated to members with the summons. It is imperative that the names of all members present at each meeting of the Lodge, and of all visiting Brethren with the names and numbers of their Lodges and their Masonic ranks are entered in the Minute Book. Minutes produced by typed means must be irremovably affixed to the Minute Book and each typed sheet initialled by the Secretary before being submitted for confirmation.

Minutes should not be regarded as a canvas providing an opportunity for literary discourse of Homeric proportions including repetitious extracts from Ritual. The word means a brief summary of proceedings and should be just that; a concise and, if and where possible, humorous record.

Although the taking of minutes of the proceedings of the Lodge Committee is often delegated to the Lodge’s Assistant Secretary, they remain the responsibility of the Secretary. It is he who will report the recommendations of the Lodge Committee to the Lodge and in particular take all necessary action in respect of Candidates.

An important duty for the Secretary is the submission of returns to Grand Lodge and Provincial Grand Lodge and to ensure that the relevant dues are paid. There can be no excuse for the tardy or late submission of these returns. The Installation Return for Grand Lodge can be sent immediately after the Installation as can the return for the Provincial Year Book. The ‘Yellow Form’ must be handed to the Provincial Representative on the night of Installation having been completed well beforehand at a meeting of Past Masters and Officers. Registration Forms for new and joining members should be submitted immediately after the event to the Provincial Grand Secretary with the dues where relevant. It is essential that resignations, changes in status or address of members, and deaths are reported immediately to the Provincial Grand Secretary on the forms provided for the purpose. As soon as a member is raised to the Third Degree the Secretary should submit the application to the Grand Secretary for the Grand Lodge Certificate. The candidate is entitled to this certificate and should receive it quickly – he may want it for the purpose of joining the Royal Arch or of visiting Lodges where he is not known and any delay might prevent this.

Applications in writing for dispensations should be sent to the Provincial Grand Secretary as soon as the need for one becomes apparent. A concise explanation of the reason for the dispensation is all that is required. No business may be transacted at a meeting authorised by dispensation except that which is specified by it. No minutes of the previous Regular meeting are to be read and there are no Risings. There is a small charge except when the dispensation is for the purpose of wearing regalia in the presence of non-Masons.

The Secretary should take an inventory of the Lodge property at least annually and submit it to the Lodge. The inventory should note the place(s) where the property is kept and the name and address of the custodian. Particular care should be taken with regard to the custody of the Warrant, old Minute Books and the signed copy of the bylaws.

The Risings are an important means of communication with the Brethren of the Lodge. The proceedings of Grand Lodge and Provincial Grand Lodge are not the exclusive property of the Lodge Committee or of the Secretary. On the First Rising the Secretary would do well to pick out and announce items of significance that arise from the notices and minutes of Quarterly Communications of Grand Lodge, rather than simply state that they have been received; the enquiring Mason will then want to find out more.

The Provincial Grand Secretary will usually specify those matters which need to be drawn to the attention of the Brethren on the Second Rising and his instructions must be followed. Copies of his letter and any attachments can usefully be sent to the members with the Lodge summons. The Secretary should ensure that he or another member of the Lodge has access to the Provincial website since there are many matters of interest and concern to the Brethren on that site which are not necessarily covered by the letter from the Provincial Grand Secretary. These items should then be communicated to the Brethren in the most effective way.

The Third Rising is usually for general correspondence and the reporting of apologies.

The Secretary is the Lodge correspondent. It is he who writes on behalf of the Lodge and who receives correspondence on behalf of the Lodge. He should guard this duty zealously. Communications for the Provincial Grand Master must be sent to him through the Provincial Grand Secretary. In any communication to a member of the Craft it is not permitted, on the envelope, to use the Masonic prefix to the recipient’s name nor any Masonic ranks after the name. No letters, other than those enclosing returns, should be sent directly to the Grand Secretary. Communications with him should be made only through the Provincial Grand Secretary.

In conjunction with the Lodge DC the Secretary might usefully prepare for the Master and his Wardens an ‘extended agenda’ for each meeting which expands the formal agenda on the summons. It forms an aide-memoire for the principal officers as to what each has to do particularly when there are ceremonies, or ballots, or propositions.

The Secretary is not a ‘pressed man’. He has willingly offered his services when asked to act as such for the first time by the Master Elect. If he has not fully understood the duties at this stage he should take time to find out from experienced Past Masters who have themselves undertaken the role. Many Lodges find that a Past Master best fulfils the requirements of the office, but many other Lodges insist that it should be a progressive office and filled by a Master Mason as yet another step on his way to the Chair. There are no hard and fast rules – what suits the Lodge is probably the best. When the Secretary stands down from his office for whatever reason he should, long before the night of Installation, fully brief his successor in the duties, particularly those he will have to carry out on that very night. There is nothing more embarrassing than to see a new Secretary struggling to deal with a variety of folders for each of the Risings.

The Provincial Grand Secretary is always available to assist Lodge Secretaries and a short telephone call will usually resolve any problem or anxiety that a Secretary may have.

The well-prepared Lodge Secretary will enjoy his role and his skills can only be of benefit to all the members of the Lodge. That is the Lodge Secretary’s reward.