The PGM's Page

The PGM's Page
The Provincial Grand Master's address to the AGM - Thursday 25h March 2010

Once again I welcome you all to our annual meeting; particularly those who have received an appointment or promotion this afternoon; to Master Masons and any other Brethren for whom this is their first visit to PGL and, as I have already mentioned, our valued guests and friends from other Provinces who have given of their time and in many cases travelled long distances to support us.

The climax of the day is always the investiture and promotion of Brethren to Provincial Grand Rank but today it has been a special occasion because of the appointment of a new Deputy and Assistant PGM. To them, and all those who have received appointments we extend our congratulations and good wishes for continued happiness and success in their new roles. In all cases the honours awarded are in recognition of valued service given by Brethren to their Lodge, the Province and the Craft. With those appointments of course go added responsibility and an earnest that personal skills, enthusiasm and commitment will develop more and more to the benefit of all but particularly those Brethren now making their way through their Lodges and who, one day, will also look forward to receiving a Provincial Collar.

Our congratulations also go to those Brethren who have been honoured by the MW GM and will be invested as Grand Officers next month :

W.Bro.Ken Sherring PAGDC, W.Bro.Mike Webb PAGDC, W.Bro.Derek Wilton PAGDC, W.Bro.Pat Morrisey PGStdB

W.Bro.David Hobbs to PJGD, W.Bro.Rodney Pring to PAGDC, W.Bro.John Peters – Grand Steward

and in Supreme Grand Chapter: E.Comp. Barry Woodside PGStdB, E.Comp. Arthur Rowe PAGDC,

E.Comp Walter Cole to PAGsoj

To those who today will complete their year as an active officer of the Province go my warm thanks for their great support and loyalty. We have enjoyed their company immensely and hope the year has provided them with enjoyment and the opportunity to make new friends from around the Province. Our two Wardens have been splendid ambassadors and travelled the Province comprehensively receiving a warm welcome at the all Lodges they have visited. The retiring Provincial Grand Secretary Bryan Kenna and PIO Peter Elmont have given sterling service during the past three years and we wish them well, and in both cases – improved health in the future.

The Provincial Office at Wedmore remains busy and on your behalf I thank our Provincial Grand Secretary, the Asst.PrGSec and our Pauline Smith, for the fine job they do in handling the administration of the Province; and I reiterate our thanks to Graham Bowerman for so willingly standing-in. The Provincial Reference Book team, the Editor of Compass, the Provincial Information and Communications team including the Provincial Information Officer and Provincial Grand Mentor have all again done sterling work, and another very successful year enjoyed by our Provincial Grand Orator and his Assistant. The Provincial Director of Music and the musicians and choristers of St.Cecilia Lodge have continued to give the Province sterling support and loyalty in providing music at Team Visits and at the Somersetshire Lodge in London and we are as always extremely grateful for all they do. The Teddies Scheme continues very successfully with some 14,000 bears having so far been delivered in Somerset Hospitals. Last but far from least our thanks to the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, his Deputies and Assistants for the fine work they carry out here and throughout the year.

A number of things have happened during the past year, which have been encouraging and helpful. Foremost among these is the success achieved by UGLE in the matter of discrimination and the Ministry of Justice. The result of our determined efforts has resulted in all references to membership of Freemasonry being removed within the judiciary. It represents the final hurdle in the matter of public bodies who insisted on disclosure of membership meaning our Brethren can now apply to become magistrates or any other public office without unwarranted intrusion into their private lives. The Quarterly Communication of March includes membership statistics showing that in four out of the past five years there has been increase in the issuance of GL Certificates over the previous year despite a year on year drop in the number of Lodges. This increase in membership is very good news and a pattern mirrored here in Somerset where overall we have been fortunate in continuing to attract a consistent flow of excellent candidates. They, and indeed all Brethren, have the benefit of the new Initiates Guide and supporting Degree Booklets (available on sale today). The Hospice movement and Air Ambulance continue to receive valuable support from the Grand Charity, and where there are disasters in the world they are foremost in providing help. It’s particularly good to have had WMs and Lodge members carrying out the presentations of grant cheques thus providing them with the opportunity to see first hand how Masonic charity makes a real difference in society.

Looking to the future we have a number of events this year including the Biennial Church Service at Wells Cathedral on the first Sunday in June at which the preacher will be the Dean. It would be good to see the Cathedral full and to have the opportunity of welcoming all our families and friends - Masonic of not. For those who have not yet seen them, the Porch Stones (replete with the Provincial Banners) now grace the Pilgrim’s Porch entrance - they represent a permanent acknowledgement by the Dean and Chapter of the great assistance given by Somerset Masons in the recent six year re-development plan. Other events include The Armed Forces Day being held at WSM at the end of June, Cadogan Court Summer Fair on 12^th June (thanks to VW Bro. Peter Layzell and his team £6.5K in 2009), and a Provincial Charity Variety Show at the Playhouse here in Weston on November 28^th. 2011 is being planned for another “Freemasonry in the Community” initiative – many of you will remember the great success of the last scheme held in 2003 where many of our Masonic Halls in Somerset hosted a variety of events. I believe there is generally a greater degree of genuine interest in Freemasonry. And it is through such involvement in the community that we have the opportunity to tell people what the Craft is really all about.

Although the 2020 Festival for the Grand Charity seems a long way off, it can never be too early for Lodges to plan their support in the most effective way. The Province has set up a Relief Chest, which will enable Lodges to deposit ring-fenced funds, and we are in talks with the Grand Charity to consider providing attractive incentives, as was done by the RMBI for the 2007 Festival. Lodge Charity Stewards have been fully briefed on the advantages of Gift Aided contributions and the relatively painless manner of giving on a modest but regular basis. An average £1 per week per member, with tax refund and interest would see the Province able to raise £3M+ over the period. The alternative to that is a concentrated Festival campaign occupying much of our charitable fundraising efforts for up to 7 years prior to 2020. I am totally convinced that the regular gift aided route is the more user-friendly option and hope that Brethren will recognise the advantages of the scheme and support their Lodge Charity Stewards. It is a significant statistic that the current level of support given to our Brethren, their children and the sick from the four principal Masonic Charities equates to approx. £3M taken as an aggregate figure over the period between the last and next Festival.

The re-arrangement of the Provincial Grand Lodge Benevolent Fund is now complete. Under the umbrella of the Somerset Masonic Charity, we now have a vibrant Management Committee, Chaired by the Provincial Grand Charity Steward and with members elected from within our Lodges. They receive and consider grant applications from qualified charitable activities within Somerset, and will in future have the benefit of the parallel Provincial Fund being administered by the Somerset Community Foundation. They were able, through the Government Grass Roots Challenge, to match pound for pound our investment resulting in a fund now standing at £200,000. The new Committee has so far made grants of about £10K to local worthy causes.

Three years have been spent in the preparation of a new book celebrating 275 years of Freemasonry in Somerset. It has been a tremendous task requiring countless hours of research and compilation, a huge amount of photography and thousands of miles in travel around the Province searching out our treasures and artefacts. I must pay a great tribute to W. Bro. Martin Yates who took on the role of Editor and has with dogged determination pressed forward with the task when many might well have given up. The team supporting him also deserves a real pat on the back; Malcolm Shearer, Paul Mallon, Malcolm Toogood, Pat Morrisey and Stuart Hadler, but not forgetting Bro. Keith Gardner who did a tremendous amount of preparatory work prior to his death two years ago. 450 pages, 800 colour photographs, A4 format and weighing in at over 2Kgs it is a tome of substance and will I’m certain provide great interest to all who read and browse through it. It will be printed in Frome and should be available for delivery towards the end of May. The recent Compass Magazine included an Order Form and I hope most Brethren will have now placed their orders through their Lodge Secretaries.

Before closing Provincial Grand Lodge I would again wish to put on record our considerable gratitude to W.Bro. Keith Britton and his hard working team who have made all the arrangements for today’s meeting here at the Winter Gardens; to St.Kew Lodge for the use of their furniture and to the management and staff of the centre for the great help and assistance they provide. Also to the three Brethren from Coleridge Lodge representing St.John Ambulance, and W.Bro.Ken Sherring for providing our music.

We’re frequently reminded that Masonry is full of new beginnings and today is no exception. We have seen a number of important changes in those charged with Ruling and administering the Province, and it’s just under one year ago that we saw the appointments of the new Pro and Deputy GMs. Change, providing it embraces the structural integrity and proven foundations of the organisation, should be welcomed and embraced, for it is through the progressive nature of Freemasonry that we today are able to reap the benefits of the wisdom and foresight of Brethren who gently adjusted the trim of the ship over many hundreds of years. It is our job to see that future generations of Masons benefit from our actions now. There is no doubt whatsoever that the Craft has become more open, interesting and accessible to the requirements and needs of the 21^st century and that it is more of a family concern than ever before. It’s really good and encouraging to see so many younger faces at our Lodge meetings and to witness their enjoyment of Masonry where the common distinctions of the wider world fortunately play little or no part in our affairs; it’s always as much a pleasure to welcome an 20 year old into a Lodge as it is to make a presentation of a 50^th,60^th,70^th and in the case of W.Bro.Herbert Hatch a 75^th Anniversary Certificate.

‘ A favourable opinion pre-conceived of the institution’ really is a tenet that can be applied equally to a candidate as it can to a member of the general public. We should not spend too much time worrying about ‘when’ we were created but rather ‘why’ we were created - as a progressive science leading from darkness and ignorance to light, knowledge, wisdom and enlightenment aided by our Grand Principles of Friendship, Charity and Integrity.

Thank you all for being here today. I hope the Grand Design of Freemasonry guide your thoughts, words and deeds – please always continue to be happy and communicate happiness. David Lloyd Jenkins, PGM