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“Good afternoon Brethren and may I say how delighted I am to see so many of you here today. Let me say at the outset that I was with our Provincial Grand Master, Right Worshipful Brother His Royal Highness, Prince Michael of Kent, at the 10th Anniversary celebration meeting of the MTSFC (the Masonic Fishing Charity) at Syon Park last week and he expressly asked me to convey his fraternal greetings, and to wish you all a most enjoyable day. As other duties prevent him from being with us today it does enable me to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you for the tremendous support and encouragement that you have given me during my first year as Pro. For me the year has simply flown by. I am sure that the Masters of Middlesex Lodges who are here today will feel exactly the same way about their year in the ‘Chair’, and I now ask them to stand to be acknowledged. Congratulations to you all and thank you for attending and representing your Lodges in this way. Have a great year and please pass on my fraternal greetings to your members when you next meet. At every Provincial Grand Lodge Meeting changes take place and ours is no exception. Today V.W. Bro Peter Baker stood down as our Deputy Provincial Grand Master. He wanted to stand down last year but he very kindly put his own plans on hold and stayed to help guide me through my first year. And I have to tell you Brethren I would have been lost without him. Peter has cultivated this calm, casual, almost indifferent expression which can create the illusion that he is completely unconcerned as to what is going on around him – but don’t ever play poker with him for it is a terrible con. Nothing escapes his beady eye, nor his encyclopaedic brain. His understanding of our Book of Constitutions – and I have to be very careful how I express this – is, dare I say - in the Graham Redman league! And I thank him once again for all his efforts during his 10 years on the Executive. Similarly, Geoff Rayner and Brian Lown have both stood
down today as APGMs. They too have given tremendous service to the Province.
So much so that I have asked both of them to continue with the projects
in which they have been so successful. Another part of the retention strategy is the mentoring scheme. Our Provincial Mentor, W.Bro David Wakefield now has five Centre mentors who are there to guide and assist the mentors of Lodges and Chapters which are based there. Training will soon be offered to all mentors, after which they will receive a certificate and a lapel badge, which bears the emblem of a chisel on it.Because mentors are to take a more active role in instructing and guiding their candidates I have reduced the frequency of all the seminars, apart from the one for New Members which will continue on an annual basis. Our Provincial Orator, W.Bro Mike Karn has been in greater demand this year and now has a team of orators to help him. Brethren, if you have a short ceremony why not include a short oration or if you have no ceremony to perform why not request a longer 30/40 minutes oration. They really are most interesting and provide a much to a better understanding of our organisation and its history. Mike Karn can be contacted through Provincial Office, so do please make use of him and his team. They are there to help us get more enjoyment out of our Masonry. Another team, lead by Michael Goody is following up resignations. As soon as they are made aware that a Brother has resigned or drifted away they contact him to find out why. Predictably some are due to health, travel or financial reasons, but a positive result is also occurring. The fact that someone has actually shown interest or concern for them has caused some Brethren to rejoin, which is great news. This clearly shows why it is imperative that Almoners take particular care to keep in touch with any member who misses a couple of meetings. During the year our Lodges give money to a variety of charities, Masonic as well as Non-Masonic. But have you ever wondered what sort of sum that is. Well, let me tell you that during the year 2009, the total, as reported to our Visiting Officers was just under £46,000. This sum does not include the thousands of pounds that you are still paying by way of covenants into the Festival Fund or into Lodge Relief Chests. Nor does it include any donations made by our Chapters. This is purely a Craft figure. So how much of that £46,000 do you suppose went
to Masonic charities? It is a colossal sum by anyone’s standard, (other than a Banker’s I suppose) but how much recognition does it attract or receive? Virtually none! No recognition. No exchange of information. No change in attitudes. What I would like to happen is for Lodges and Chapters to put their donations on hold and to notify our newly appointed Information Officer, W.Bro Stewart Graham of the charity they wish to support. We can then invite the recipients to a Charity Presentation Day at one of the Centres or to the PGO Club or the Light Blues Club so that you, the donors can present the gift to an actual person or representative yourself. There is no doubt in my mind that it is this connection, this face-to-face meeting between donor and recipient that builds such a strong bond and makes for a much better understanding of each others purpose. It would also gain better publicity for both parties. This positive, friendly interaction with the general public is clearly demonstrated by W.Bro. Clive Pigram, and his team when they go out to events in and around our Province with our ‘Freemasonry in the Community Trailer’, otherwise known as ‘Clive’s Cart’ or ‘The Bishop’s Bus’. I know some express unease about soliciting for members, but you have to see Clive and his team at work - thoroughly enjoying themselves and drawing people to them– to see the true value of this venture. Again, the Masonic Fishing Charity is another shining example. Look at its success rate. Purely by giving time, not just money, to help others ‘catch a smile’, laugh and enjoy their lives. Money isn’t the answer. It is laughter. Brethren, lets be honest, seeing others enjoying themselves and hearing their laughter is one of the greatest human attractions. How many of us have stood quietly alone at some party or other, envying the group who are obviously having a great time. And how glad we have been to have been drawn into it by some thoughtful person who noticed our loneliness. And that is exactly what the MTFSC as well as Clive and his team are achieving because men they have spoken to are now being initiated. And it is not only the men being spoken to, it is the wives and partners who, on finding what Freemasonry is all about, are actually encouraging their men-folk to join. Now is the ideal time for me to publicly thank Clive and his team of volunteers, as well as Bill Latter and the MTSFC members for all their efforts and to congratulate them on their undoubted success. The trailer will be out at the Ickenham Festival Gala Day on Saturday 19th June; at St. Margaret’s Community Fair, Twickenham on Saturday 10th July as well as at the Grand Family Fete at the Girls School at Rickmansworth on Sunday 18th July. But if you know of any forthcoming public events in Middlesex where it might be taken then please contact Clive through the Provincial Office. Brethren, if you want to know what is going on in the Province then look on our website. It is already much easier to use and in June the completely revamped version will be lunched incorporating virtually every aspect of Middlesex Craft & Royal Arch Masonry. Our thanks must go to Robert Paulden and Ian Ferguson for their expertise, enthusiasm and commitment to this project. Similarly I must thank the team who run the Middlesex Mercury for us, and make a special mention of Nick Johnston who after many years wonderful work now wishes to stand down as Editor. Brethren, it gave me enormous pleasure to invest Alastair, Stuart, David and Michael in their respective roles as Deputy and Assistant Provincial Grand Masters, and indeed all of you who have been appointed or promoted by our Provincial Grand Master, today. Both he and I congratulate you all. However, it is only fair to remind you that your appointment or promotion, whilst a reward for all that you have done so far, now imposes greater responsibilities on you, both with regard to your Lodge and the Province. For those of you who have just been appointed, you are now eligible to join the Provincial Grand Officers Club for the meagre annual subscription of just £5. The Club meets twice a year and like my predecessors I am using it as my main channel of communication to you, the senior members of this Province. No doubt you will be aware that the gradual decline in our numbers is still continuing, albeit at a slower rate, and we have now fallen below 6000 members in Middlesex. This is not really surprising in that those who were part of the great influx in the 50s and 60s have now passed to the Grand Lodge above, and the young men of today are very often over-committed both with their time and money to consider joining an organisation which they possibly perceive as out-dated. However, like all of us here, I believe that they are missing out and might indeed join us if we had a better understanding of each others hopes and ideals. Consequently, at the Provincial Grand Officers Club the other evening I announced my vision for Middlesex; call it my Mission Statement if you are into modern jargon, and that is:- ‘To ensure that Middlesex Freemasonry becomes relevant to today’s society and meets the aspirations of the Brethren, particularly of younger and potential Freemasons.’ Brethren, all of us here have a love of the Craft and we have the will to take it forward. All that is lacking is the key. A phrase which the more discerning of you will know is actually inscribed in Latin on the Chapter jewel. My intention during my time in office is for us to find that key or a strategy which enables us to connect more positively with like-minded young men who will then be keen to join us. If you have any positive ideas about how this can be achieved do feel free to share them with me or your AProvGM. Brethren such a day as this doesn’t just happen. It takes a tremendous amount of time and effort on the part of many people. I would therefore like to thank W.Bro Phil Lowe our Provincial Grand DC and his team of Deputies; W.Bro. Gus Fielding our Provincial Grand Tyler including our Past Provincial Grand Tyler Who still does so much for us; W.Bro Fred Chandler and the members of the Provincial Choir together with our organist Ian Shaw; all the Provincial Stewards who add so much to the ceremony; and lastly but by no means least, W. Bro Michael Dean, our Provincial Grand Secretary and all the hard working staff in Provincial Office. We owe them all a tremendous vote of thanks. Lastly, Brethren, my thanks to all of you for attending today and making it such a special occasion. I look forward to meeting with you in and around the Province in the months that lie ahead and particularly at our Provincial Service which is to be held on the 7th November at Guildford Cathedral. Until then Brethren, where ever you go may the Great Architect go with
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