Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire><br /> <h1 class=The Past Provincial Grand Master

ADDRESS TO PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE
18 MAY 2005

First impression Brethren - very scary, very scary. A few moments ago you did me the honour of salutations immediately after I had been installed in this Chair. Brethren, it is an incredible and moving sight and I thought to myself that whenever any new leader assumes his new position it creates a level of expectation - I thought about the combined levels of expectation in all of you in this hall - how on earth can my team and I satisfy that - it was an overwhelming moment but my team and I will take on the challenge to the very best of our ability.

RW Deputy Grand Master, Distinguished Brethren, my Brethren of East Lancashire. I am reminded of the quote of Winston Churchill when referring to Lord Beresford of HM Opposition "before he gets up he doesn't know what he is going to say, when he is speaking he doesn't know what he is saying and when he sits down he does not know what he has said." Brethren I have spent some weeks crafting what I wanted to say today and I do hope at the end of it you do not all concur with Sir Winston.

First and foremost it is my very great pleasure to welcome the Deputy Grand Master and his team to East Lancashire. We have had such an enjoyable time with them since they arrived yesterday - dinner last night, the Chapter meeting this morning, lunch and now ending with the Craft meeting this afternoon and dinner this evening. So, on a personal note, thank you for doing me the honour of installing me as Provincial Grand Master of East Lancashire and, of course, to your team as well. You all have the grateful thanks of all the brethren assembled here today for the manner in which you have guided us through the ceremony - and Sir, from an East Lancashire point of view, how delighted we are that one of your team is one of our own.

I have a special request for you on your return to London; would you please convey to the MW The Grand Master and the MW Pro Grand Master our warm fraternal greetings and assure them that in this corner of English Freemasonry no stone will be left unturned in order to protect and nourish this great Order to which we are all privileged to belong.

You have been supported in the capacity of installing Wardens by a Brother just North of our border and another just South. RWBro s John Hale and Tim Richards have been so supportive to me in my term of office as Deputy Provincial Grand Master and how lovely it is to see them here today. My sincere thanks to both of you and brethren how privileged I am now to be able to refer to them as colleagues.

May I also welcome our many visitors from other Provinces together with the High Rulers of other Orders within the Province of East Lancashire. It is customary at our Provincial meetings to welcome all our distinguished visitors by name but I hope you will forgive me today for the sake of time. However, you are all most welcome and brethren perhaps you would demonstrate the warmth of our welcome in true East Lancashire fashion.

Before I get to my thoughts for the future I do want to say something about my predecessor. For reasons of protocol he is not with us today but on behalf of all Freemasons of East Lancashire we owe him a great debt of gratitude. He has overcome serious physical difficulties which have been getting worse in the last year or so and led this Province with enormous courage and good humour. Not once did he complain to any of us of the obvious pain that he was enduring. If it got really bad there was always an opportunity to revert to what the doctor ordered - gin and mixed, a lethal drink. He led us to what in the end was an extremely successful Festival and he took head-on the restructuring of lodges, a need which was so apparent when he took over. Brethren, we owe him our grateful thanks - he has earned his place in the sun.

So to the future, Brethren, our future together. We have an enormous task ahead of us and all of us need to be involved in that.

Freemasonry has been through a difficult time over the last 30 years or so but initiated by the Past Pro Grand Master and then taken on with so much energy by the current Pro Grand Master and his team things are changing.

Brethren, may I try and share with you all my own vision for Freemasonry in our Province.

Firstly: a Freemasonry at peace with itself knowing what it means to be a Freemason and exercising the responsibilities that go with being a Freemason.

Secondly: a changed public perception - Freemasonry confident about its place in the community and a community welcoming and comfortable with Freemasonry in its midst.

Thirdly: strong, confident lodges with a continuous flow of reliable and properly qualified candidates.

Fourth and last, Brethren, having fun in a rewarding environment. Lodge ritual done well and by heart but shared. Social Boards with a real crack, brethren leaving their lodge night and awaiting the next meeting with keen anticipation.

Is this a pipe dream or is it something worth fighting for? Brethren I would not have accepted this role if I did not feel passionately that Freemasonry properly explained and properly practiced is such a huge force for good in this troubled world.

So what are the themes which my team and I will start to advocate to deliver such a vision, to create an environment under which brethren will take up the challenge and invigorate this Province to great deeds.

First, Restructure. My predecessor was brave enough to take this issue head on and I entirely concur with his actions. Since 1999 45 lodges have handed in their warrants and 27 lodges have amalgamated. From 406 lodges in 1999 we now have 350, but there is still some way to go. We have around 8,000 brethren in our Province and I venture to suggest we need no more than 200 or so lodges. Whilst there are some exceptions, I personally remain convinced that numbers in the lodge or social board room are an essential part of the successful Masonic mix. It will always be a lodges decision what to do about the future but failing to plan is planning to fail. We will continue to encourage all lodges to address this key issue.

Secondly, recruitment. No, we will never use a billboard outside Piccadilly Station saying "why not become a Freemason." Our recruitment team should be the 8,000 brethren in the Province, talking freely, confidently and enthusiastically about their Freemasonry to their friends and social contacts. You know brethren, for many years I think we lost our confidence - every time we opened our mouth we spent the next period on the defence. We have a great story to tell, a great force for good in our communities - let's be proud enough to talk about it.

Thirdly, Retention. Whilst the job of the proposer and seconder is important I believe the role of the Lodge Mentor is crucial. Choose your Lodge Mentor well, a man of stature within the lodge, warm and approachable with an easy manner, full of empathy, a good listener.

Fourthly, Charity. My predecessor suggested a rest from personal charitable giving for a year after the Festival. Commencing in November of this year a full 18 months after the Festival ended, I would like to ask all Freemasons in East Lancashire to think about our own charity, ELMBI, and make an annual promise to give. It is a commitment you made on the day of your initiation, it is a responsibility you owe to yourselves in particular and to the Craft in general.

Fifth, Care. The work that the Grand Charity and our own ELMBI do for the needy in East Lancashire is really wonderful. The British people are very caring, witness the amazing personal giving following the Indian Ocean disaster last Christmas. Much of that generosity will have been catalysed by the truly awful pictures we saw on our television screens. Sometimes I wish we could show you the sad plight of some of our own people here in East Lancashire. I have little doubt it would bring an out-pouring of charitable giving. We will do all we can to raise the profile of the Lodge Almoner and to train him to understand the role of caring for those families who have fallen on hard times. Brethren, we should not rest until we are satisfied that every needy case in our Province is met.

Lastly, Community. So many of you do wonderful things in your communities but until recently rarely under a Masonic banner. Whilst as you all know we must look after our own ELMBI, I welcome the fact that so many lodges give to local charities in their local communities. Brethren, I am sure that as well as financial assistance you give of yourselves in many different ways. Could I encourage you to do that in an open way as Freemasons. A lodge might adopt a local charity, a local school, a local hospice, and give of your time. Let us become and let us be seen as men who are active in our local communities, keen to add value and improve the quality of life for each other and for local people.

So there you have it brethren, 3 Rs and 3 Cs - restructure, recruit and retain - charity, care and community and what binds all 6 together is the fourth C - Communication. Communication between us all as Freemasons to continue to work on ways of communicating the positive story of Freemasonry in a modern society. As we move around the Province over the next 12 months my team and I will develop on these various themes so that together we can deliver that vision for our Freemasonry.

Simply put, brethren - a band of men with a belief in a Supreme Being but embracing all faiths, endeavouring to lead their lives through a strong moral code, deriving pleasure from the fellowship they enjoy together and caring for each other and their fellow human beings - and being respected in the wider world for doing just that.

To my new Deputy Provincial Grand Master, the 6 Reappointed Assistant Provincial Grand Masters and the 2 new Assistant Provincial Grand Masters, thank you for doing me the honour of accepting Office. I have worked with you all over many years and we value each other as good friends. Life as a Deputy or an Assistant is no sinecure , it is hard work but immensely rewarding as together we build for the future and provide an environment in which the brethren will embrace that change which needs to take place if Freemasonry is to flourish in the 21 st century.

To the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies and his team thank you for all the hard work you have put into this day in support of the Grand Director of Ceremonies and his team.

And, of course, to the Provincial Grand Secretary and his team at Freemasons Hall in Manchester. Brethren, the support that he has given to me over the last 3-4 months has really been very special. You cannot imagine the many elements that go into making such a day as this happen - and Alan if, at the end of this day, the brethren judge it to have been a success it will in no small way be due to the dedication of you and your staff. They have the grateful thanks of all of us for a devotion to duty well above the norm.

When RW Bro Peter Walthall addressed his Provincial Grand Lodge for the first time in November 1999 he mentioned that he was the 5 th Provincial Grand Master in the last 100 years from Social Lodge No.62. I am the first from my small but treasured lodge in Bury, Prince of Wales Lodge No.1012. When I joined at the age of 28 the next youngest to me was 58 years old. Six years later when I went through the Chair everyone of my officers was under the age of 40 and they are all here today with many others from the Lodge. I treasure the friendships that I have built in the Prince of Wales lodge and would like to thank each and every one of them for their wonderful support and encouragement.

Finally brethren I would like to end with some words of advice, which my father gave to me just before I was married. Dad had wonderful values and a great tradition of family and these words of advice could apply equally to our Province of East Lancashire as it did to the marriage I was about to embark upon.

He told me that any great organisation is built on three grand principles; (1) the tradition handed down from generation to generation; (2) the spirit which each generation brings to that tradition; (3) whether you are concerned, brethren of East Lancashire, to pass these traditions on better for the future. The great traditions of a moral code enshrined in our ritual / a respect and love for our fellow human beings / of the enjoyment we derive from the friends we make through our lives in the Craft / of being of a charitable nature not only in financial terms but in kind within our communities / and of being true not only to our friends but to ourselves. Be concerned brethren about passing these great traditions on better for the future. My team and I will do all we can to provide the environment in which you might be persuaded to do just that.

Brethren, thank you for coming, you have made it a priceless day for me by your presence. A safe journey home and return to your lodges and I leave you with one final thought attributed to CP Snow:

"Jam today and men are not at their most exciting, jam tomorrow and one often sees them at their noblest."

Thank you, Brethren.

RWBro Paul JE Rink, OBE
Provincial Grand Master
Installation Meeting
Wednesday 18 May 2005