QUALITY, COMMITMENT AND PASSION

"The view from here is astounding", offered the Provincial Grand Master as he began his address to over 1300 Brethren at Provincial Grand Lodge. Jack Price's entrance into King George's Hall, accompanied by the Rulers of the Province, was welcomed with enthusiastic applause.

Provincial Grand Master's procession

Leaders of the Royal Arch Province - maintaining the indissoluble link

Assembled Leaders of the Province with distinguished guests and visitors from neighbouring Provinces
-all welcomed individually during Provincial Grand Lodge

The whole ambience of the afternoon in Provincial Grand Lodge was warm and uplifting - made even more so by the rousing and precise musical accompaniment given by our resident expert on the Organ:

Bro Paul Bowen, Provincial Grand Organist

One of Jack's first pleasant duties was to re-appoint his Deputy Provincial Grand Master (Left). "My dear friend Harold is made of stern stuff and is recovering well from surgery. He told me that this is our Provincial Grand Lodge, in our Province, that he was the Deputy and so it is his duty to be here. Harold is here today as a consequence of commitment, courage and love and we are delighted that you are with us. Without further ado I reappoint you as the Deputy Provincial Grand Master".

In response Harold pledged himself to continue to serve the Provincial Grand Master and brethren of the Province to the best of his ability.

Jack then went on to reappoint the Assistant Provincial Grand Masters (below) noting that they were the interface between him and the Deputy and their Areas and Districts. "We are fortunate to have men of such quality and calibre to keep the Brethren informed and to look after you".

The Brethren gave salutations to the Deputy Provincial Grand Master and then the Assistant Provincial Grand Masters.

The Assistant Provincial Grand Masters

The Provincial Grand Treasurer, Bro Robert Frankl (left), had great pleasure in presenting the accounts for Provincial Grand Lodge for 2009. Following a review of and consequent reduction in overheads and a review of rental terms accommodation costs have almost halved from £28k to £14.5K. Despite a fall in gross income of £6000 there remained a surplus of £9776.
We also received a rent rebate of £42,721 (backdated for prior years) meaning that the Provincial reserves had increased from £48, 890 to £101, 387.

So the Happy Treasurer of both Provincial Grand Lodge and Chapter is content with the current state of our finances and so is not seeking any increase in Provincial dues.

Robert thanked the Auditors, Aubrey Rothburn, Roland Adams and Alan Baxendale for their professional and courteous manner. In return, when giving their report, Aubrey Rothburn thanked Robert for his efficiency, care and dedication.

The Provincial Grand Master commented on how pleasing it was to have a healthy financial base but reminded the brethren not to lose sight of the fact that we all contribute to the Provincial finances and that the more of us there are, the easier it becomes to manage the accounts.

WBro Frankl was re-elected Treasurer for the ensuing year. The Auditors were also relected.

Provincial Grand Master's Address

The Provincial Grand Master referred back to his address given at Provincial Grand Chapter in March, where he expressed a vision for Freemasonry in East Lancashire. Today he said, "It is you, the Brethren, who have the potential and enthusiasm to make our goals a reality. The leaders of our Craft Province - my Deputy  and the Assistant Provincial Grand Masters, and their counterparts in the Royal Arch - share creativity, focus, balance, humour and, most importantly, passion. These are all attributes that will guarantee their service to the Province with achievement in mind. With the support of well-placed and adept District Chairmen and their Officers, we are continuing to build a framework to support our activities, but it will be you, the brethren, whose dedication and purpose will ensure our success.

Our focus must be on what we are trying to achieve – the outcomes if you like. There are many facets to Freemasonry but the core is that we are a band of men with high moral values and a willingness to search for more knowledge about ourselves. Beyond this we offer stimulating and challenging meetings, dining amongst friends, a fascinating history and philosophy, wonderful social opportunities, and well managed charitable activities. In each of these we must, with willingness and foresight, embrace the framework the Leaders and I are creating to achieve excellence and success in all that we do.

I will now remind you about some of our goals:

Let us take a moment to stand outside our Province and have a look inside – what should we be seeing?  Our Order should be one which enables the coming together of gentlemen, sometimes regarded as an old fashioned notion, but one that I feel is increasingly relevant in today’s world, men each possessing quality, commitment and potential, who enjoy male company, have a desire for personal improvement and the capacity to practise virtuous living both within and outside of Freemasonry? We are all very happy to enjoy good attendance in our Lodges or at masonic events, but the quality of the men therein should be paramount - if we can’t have quantity then we must have quality. Many of you will know potential candidates but remember, it is not just a numbers game, we should be attracting men of worth, who aspire to improve themselves and actively desire to lovingly support their family, friends and humanity generally. These are the men who will fit more precisely into our Lodges and who we should be recruiting. And if we do so, then numbers will follow".

	ADDRESS CONTINUED... "The Province’s Mentoring framework is of ‘A-Class standard’. The Provincial Grand Mentor, Bro ‘Tony Costello (left), and his team of District Mentors are there to support you in providing that attention, care and brotherly love within the Lodge, whilst at the same time ensuring that every meeting is inspiring, valued, educational, enjoyed and looked forward to. The feeling that we have at the end of a great night out, the enhancement to our lives that Freemasonry brings, is very, very special and we must work together to ensure that this happens for every Freemason throughout the Province, especially the newer members. The mechanism is there brethren; it is down to you, with our support, to put it into practice". ****             "The Education and Development Committee, under the chairmanship of Bro Peter Messum (left), has been working on a number of initiatives to further enhance mentoring. There is a large and growing body of material available to you to ensure that no masonic meeting is without enjoyable work. The series of Let’s Talk Masonry Conferences is entering its third year and in April 2011 the theme will be ‘Ritual Unravelled’ – which we hope will meet with even greater success and attract further interest from our neighbouring Northern Provinces. A ‘Short Papers Competition’ will be launched shortly inviting brethren to write a piece on a masonic subject of their own choosing".             "One of the Characteristics of Freemasonry in today’s world is Charity and, while not our raison d'être, this is often what springs to mind when Freemasonry is mentioned in the wider world. The expression of charity embraces so many of the virtues we profess to practise in our lives – generosity, compassion, gratitude, love and prudence to name a few. Twelve months ago I launched the RMBI 2015 Festival Appeal and I am especially grateful to you, the brethren of the Province, who despite significant other financial commitments in trying times, have thus far given a total in excess of £400,000 and I am grateful to Bro David Thompson and the Appeal Committee for the excellent manner in which this Festival Appeal has been launched, managed and communicated. I implore you, your colleagues and Lodges to continue to make support of this Appeal your first charitable priority. In the last 12 months, 27 East Lancashire beneficiaries have benefited from RMBI support to the extent of almost £87,000. We all need to know what our money is being used for and I recommend most strongly that you consider inviting the Deputy Chairman of the Appeal Committee (my Charity Steward), Bro Brian Sigsworth (left) to come to your Lodges, Committees and Halls with his excellent Road show. Again under the guidance of prudence and as a second priority, please do not forget our own Charity, the ELMC. The Charity looks after the needy of our Province, brethren, ladies, widows and children through its Benevolence, Young Children’s and Comforts Fund Committees. It also runs Hewlett Court – our own residential home". We must, at this juncture, offer our gratitude to Bro Philip Crumbleholme on his retirement after giving 32 years of dedicated service to Hewlett Court, during which time he has been much loved by the residents and brethren generally. We must also thank Bro John Holt, the outgoing Chairman of the Hewlett Court Management Committee, who is retiring after 17 years of service and those members of his committee who have also retired. We welcome Bro Alan Smith as the new Chairman (whose energy and enthusiasm is well known and has already been recognised) and the members of his new committee together with Mrs Julie Ward, our excellent ELMC Manager, who will be working from and looking after operations at Hewlett Court. The new Team has a rigorous programme for the future development of Hewlett Court.   I began this speech by referring back to Provincial Grand Chapter earlier this year and it seemed entirely appropriate that I should finish by returning to our Sister Order. Those who are members will understand the importance of the Royal Arch; those who are not members should consider joining. As in every Order changes in those that serve the Province in High Office are inevitable. My dear friend over many years, Comp Allan Bennion, has expressed his desire to retire as Deputy Grand Superintendent so as to spend more time with Olive. Allan has been in that Office since 2008, prior to which he served as Second Provincial Grand Principal from 2004 and formerly was an Assistant to the Most Excellent Grand Superintendent from 1994 until his title became Assistant to the Provincial Grand Principals in 1998. Allan has expressed his wish to relinquish Office at Provincial Grand Chapter in March 2011. I can now announce that at the meeting, I will be appointing as his successor Comp Bill Porter, currently the Second Provincial Grand Principal. This will leave a large space which I intend to amply fill with our well known and much loved Royal Arch Grand Director of Ceremonies, Comp Wesley Marchant, together with Comp Henri Lyons as the new Royal Arch Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies. The world never stands still and we must continue to select worthy and distinguished brethren and companions to lead, now and for the future. I hope as many Royal Arch Companions as possible will attend that very happy day in this ‘splendid’ period in the history of the Royal Arch Province of East Lancashire". EComp Henri Lyons - Provincial Grand DC Designate
Visitors from the RMBI - Peter Williams (Head of External Affairs) and James Newman (Chairman of the Trustees)
EComp William Porter, Deputy Grand Superintendent Designate
EComp Wes Marchant, 2nd Provincial Grand Principal Designate

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