Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire><br /> <h1 class=The Provincial Grand Master
ADDRESS OF THE RW PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER

TO PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE
29th NOVEMBER 2007

Brethren just two years have passed since I had the pleasure of addressing you at our Annual General Meeting and Brethren, right at the outset, I cannot let this moment pass without expressing the heartfelt thanks of both Marlene and myself for the absolutely superb way in which you have supported us through a very difficult time.

The very many expressions of goodwill and good wishes for my recovery have, without question in my mind, had a very direct influence on my state of health today. I still have someway to go and will not be free of medication until early next year.

Brethren I feel that we have fought this disease together and your care and concern have been literally life changing for both of us. From the bottom of our hearts, Marlene and I, thank you and look forward to the continuing support of you all - our extended family.

Now Brethren my address to you each year should explain how we as a Province are progressing against the strategic objectives we set ourselves over two and a half years ago - can it really be that long since my installation!

The restructuring of our Province continues apace. Brethren, I have repeated my message on many occasions. I do not see this as bad news, in fact to the contrary; this is a natural progression to a size of Province that provides a healthy and an enthusiastic base of stronger Lodges which will accommodate the smaller number of brethren. We are well on our way to my own target of 200 Lodges, hopefully stronger and fitter to meet the challenges of Freemasonry in the 21st century.

After 2 years of strenuous effort by a great number of Freemasons our East Lancashire Masonic Charity and its Community Fund are beginning to be an established part of Masonic life in the Province. Nearly £80k has now been allocated to a number of Community Fund projects and, at the moment, £48k remains to be allocated. Well done - your generosity has enabled us to become involved in some exciting projects which are not only financed by the Community Fund and Lodges themselves, but which involves the active participation of Brethren.

You have built two sensory Gardens, you have helped to fund and construct a new scout hut, you have funded an outreach therapist for patients unable to attend a Cancer Centre, you are about to refurbish a kitchen in a Community Park and we have introduced the Teddies for Loving Care to 4 more hospitals, you mentor 15 disadvantaged teenagers, who have been abandoned by their parents and given no goal posts between which to lead their lives.

Brethren the latest edition of the Deacon has just been released and in it is an article by a young Freemason on his experiences as a Mentor , to one of these youngsters, it moved me so much that I have asked Brother Joseph Banks to attend Provincial Grand Lodge today so that he may read his article to you all. It is at the very heart of service to our communities. Would a ProvDepGDC please escort Brother Banks to the platform?

Brother Joseph Banks then read his letter.

“When I was first asked to write this article, I thought – “no problem. How hard can it be to write about my experience as a Mentor over the last year?” How wrong I was” You see, when I sat down and started to put something together I realised that over the past year, being part of the Mentoring Project has been one of the hardest things I have ever done.

To explain more I need to give you a brief background of who I look after. I will call him Simon [not his real name]. I was first introduced to Simon seven months ago and have been meeting him once a week ever since. Simons lives in a children's home after being thrown out by his mother when she sided with his stepfather after he had beaten him with a belt and the police became involved. He has little contact with his real father. Simon has been in and out of different homes for over 16 months when we were introduced. We meet up once a week for an hour or two and I try to introduce a bit of normality into his life. This can range from going to the cinema or can be as simple as just going for a walk. We try to talk about any problems he has and see if I can help in any way.

This is a boy who has been abandoned by his entire family and help can be as simple as sitting and listening to him over a burger. What always strikes me when we talk is how can we live in a society where children like Simon are simply abandoned and left to fend for themselves?

There are 145 male children waiting to get on the Mentoring Project and only about 42 male Mentors currently volunteering. These numbers are for the Bolton area alone and if you take this across the country then it adds up to a huge number of children in need of help, the majority of whom just need a guiding hand and to have a role model in their lives.

When people ask me why I am on the Project, it can be hard to answer. It is usually a thankless task and dealing with Simon has more downs than ups but what I do know is that if I were not in his life, he would be in juvenile detention or in a permanent drunken state (and believe me it happens). And therein lies why I do it. If I can make a change in his life and help him make a start in life just by meeting him once a week then what better sense of satisfaction can there be?

I believe I was asked to write this article in order to encourage other Masons to maybe look at volunteering. What I will say is that since becoming a Mason nearly two years ago, I have seen the immense amount we donate to charity.

The problem is it is not money these children need but someone's time and guiding influence. So I would ask you to consider that if you have a spare hour or two a week, give someone a chance they might not otherwise have.”

Thank you, Brother Banks.

All these and other examples of our Brethren reconnecting with their communities are a quantum step forward and are now beginning to place the public perception of Freemasonry in a wholly different light - and brethren ask those involved - it can be great fun also.

I feel so proud of what you are all beginning to achieve and I trust that over the next year we will embark together on a further range of projects which will bring our Freemasonry into the lives of those communities where we live and work.

So having spent 2 years rejuvenating our Charity and perhaps reminding ourselves of the important part it should play in our lives, we are now ready to move on to address a new initiative connected with recruitment, retention and retrieval.

Brethren in this area some of our Freemasonry needs to evolve and do some of it very quickly. You will all know this little book - our ritual. Brethren, I strongly believe that when this book is used wrongly and our new members are introduced into our Order incorrectly, it can be the scourge of our Freemasonry.

On the other hand, used correctly and new members introduced with care and attention, it could produce the answer for which many of us are searching. Use this book the way our forefathers intended it to be used and it is a valuable item of beauty and content - used incorrectly, it becomes an item of fear and trepidation.

Come with me on two separate journeys. We welcome a new brother and what is the first thing we do? We present him with this book - don't we and then we inform him that he has to learn it – “oh ‘and by the way you will do the first degree tools next month at our Installation, whether you like it or not.” Unfortunately a significant minority see this approach to this little book as a mantra which is to be chanted with almost religious fervour. A deep belief that allows our ritual in their Masonic world to be learnt and practised in only one way - that being the way it has always been done.

In my opinion, this method can make the air in our Lodge rooms stale and stifled, where there is anxiety and trepidation. Here, a new mason is not present to be made a better man, but to propagate a society and assist them to continue the bloodline and, I am afraid, a damning indictment of some of our colleagues. They are so fervent in their drive to get new men through the door, they are at times blind to the situation that can turn that new Mason around and for him to go back straight through that door and never be seen again.

It can be a lonely place. Indeed, a threatening and challenging environment which surely is inconsistent with an organisation that considers itself a fraternity; a place of brotherly love. Compare this to the path that Brethren trod over 200 years ago. Here Freemasonry was practised in a different manner. The Right Worshipful sat at a table in Lodge surrounded by the Brethren running a question and answer session. This not only tested knowledge but also reinforced and reminded each of the brethren of the fundamental features of the ritual. Features that when known and understood would I imagine, have assisted so much in the learning of that ritual.

Brethren we still have many Lodges when without a Ceremony are content to Open and Close and, perhaps, throw in the reading of the odd By Law for good measure just to pad out the evening. God forbid that we actually have a dialogue in a Lodge meeting involving the content and meaning of the ritual and which does not have to be memorised. Can you imagine, in Lodge, the WM saying "I am going to put aside the summons for a moment and call off whilst we have a discussion on the relevance of the charge after initiation as it relates to standards of life and work in the 21st century.”

But I wonder Brethren whether sometimes that is exactly what we should be doing and by that means helping the Brethren of the Lodge to understand just exactly what it is that they have joined. I personally believe that the single greatest influence on the loss of Masons and their lack of engagement, lack of belonging, lack of worth, is a fear of ritual and all that it brings with it. So what are the alternatives?

Brethren, now come with me on a different journey, perhaps where the beauties of this book are unleashed. A Brother just initiated a few moments previously is welcomed back to the Lodge and sat next to the senior member of the Lodge. At the Social Board, he is placed next to the Master. The evening is his; he has joined a place of brotherly love.

A few weeks after his Initiation he meets with the Lodge Mentor, or another suitable Brother, to go through the Ceremony in order that he begins to understand its teachings. A Brother who has missed a meeting or two is telephoned by his Lodge mentor who enquires if every thing is ok and then told that we all look forward to welcoming him to the next meeting.

A new Brother who, when handed the Ritual by his Mentor , will be asked if in time, he may wish to take part in the ceremonies. In addition, he is assured that he will be asked to do no more than he can handle, but emphasise that the commitment to memory and the satisfactory delivery is one of the real pleasures of Masonic life and if you don't believe me, ask one of your colleagues who did the First Degree Tools for the first time or a Master who has successfully Installed his successor.

A Lodge where on evenings of no Ceremony, the Brethren agree to have a lecture in which the relevance of the words of the Ritual are explained, in language everyone can understand. Districts, where new members of Lodges are introduced to each other and gather for evenings of Masonic learning, or, perhaps, visit a Lodge which is holding a Ceremony, which they can witness - getting together and experiencing that special fellowship.

Brethren this is 21st Century Freemasonry and the basis upon which mentors across the Province can now lead us. During the last year, our Education and Training Committee and District Mentors across our Province, have been working on a new Mentors Manual, which is available to all Lodge mentors from today. Presentation evenings have already been held in one or two Districts and these will be continued until all Lodge Mentors have had the opportunity to understand their new and enhanced role.

Let us keep the words and the great tradition of this little book, but make its words sing by helping our Brethren to understand what it all means. This is going to be the focus of our mentoring for the next year. Could it also be possible that the side effect of all this would be Freemasons, who can walk out into the world and when asked what Freemasonry is can verbalise the principles and tenets embodied in the book.

Speak of Freemasonry in the every day common language of the man in the street and his family, not just what the Fraternity is, but also why it is, and, so important of all, what it means in today's world. So where does this take us?

Perhaps, Brethren I expect too much, but a place where new masons are presented with a Freemasonry populated with men who know what they are part of, understand the basics of the narratives and the stories that all combine to weave a Masonic fabric of fable and fact, of allegory and actuality.

A Freemasonry where members immerse the newest Masons in an understanding, supportive, guidance and nurture led network. Freemasonry, where the learning of ritual is not the rite of passage but a large part of an appropriate understanding of the order leading to the way we live our lives. Brethren if you enjoy something you want to experience it again and again - you will stay – and that will lead to retention of our members. Brethren, if you enjoy something you will want to tell your friends about it, which in turn, will lead to more recruitment.

Challenge a man and give him new enjoyable experiences and a dimension to his life and you fire his imagination and desire to quench that hunger for knowledge, self improvement and service – Brethren all the good things that this little book can do.

So In officially launching our new Mentors Programme today, I thank most sincerely all who have contributed and, in particular, the Past APGM Malcolm Worsley, who started the work and Robert Mitchell, the current Chairman of the Education and Training Committee, and all the many Brethren who have contributed to the initiative so far.

Brethren, this is an honest and sincere attempt to provide assistance to Lodges and Chapters across our Province, to deal with the important issues of recruitment, retention and retrieval. The Committee has worked with great diligence and the meetings they have already held in some Districts, have been very well received. But there is one crucial element that your Province cannot provide; only you can provide. If you want to embrace this initiative, my appeal to you all, is to ensure that your Lodge has the right Mentor and that is not always the case at the moment. I do not believe that I exaggerate, if I say, that perhaps, the most important element in the future of your Lodge is the quality of your Lodge Mentor.

Choose him well, a Brother of stature and standing in the Lodge, a Brother with empathy and a good understanding of the Order, and Brethren above all a passion for the future wellbeing of the Brethren in the Lodge. So Bro Mitchell you and your team have fired the imagination of your colleagues; you and your team now have the very considerable challenge of firing the imagination of the whole Province.

Brethren, before closing my address, I want to thank all those have been involved in today's proceedings. You all give so much of your time freely and voluntarily and I want you to know that it is sincerely appreciated. May I also add my own personal thanks to our Provincial Grand Secretary, Alan Garnett and his team at Bridge Street for all that they do for us throughout the year.

Thanks also to the other teams – to my Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, Norman Cope and his team for the wonderful way in which they have presented this Provincial Grand Lodge – to Bro Roger Norris – to Brother Eddie Barlow and his medical team – to the Stewards from the Blackburn and Rossendale Districts who guided you into the Hall today – and to Bro Arthur Renshaw and his security team. This meeting could not function without you all and I do thank you.

So Brethren return to your Lodges with renewed energies. You all know that in our Freemasonry we have something very special in this troubled world. If we can present our message in the right way, both to ourselves and the public at large, I remain convinced, that there are many men out there looking for what we enjoy. Please, be determined to do something because for the future of our great Order doing nothing, I put it to you, is not an alternative.

Brethren, thank you for listening so patiently.

RWBro Paul JE Rink, OBE