Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire


Amalgamation / Closure of Lodges

THIS PROCEDURE DEFINES:
The members and responsibilities of the Lodge(s) Amalgamation Committee(s) and those items which must be resolved prior to any Lodge Amalgamation.

THE AREA COVERED:
It is applicable to all Amalgamation of Lodges within the Masonic Province of East Lancashire.

DEFINITIONS
UGLE
United Grand Lodge of England.

The Province
The Masonic Province of East Lancashire.

Amalgamation Committee
The Amalgamation Committee should be composed, at least, with the following from each of the amalgamating Lodges:

From the Lodge:
The Worshipful Master, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Almoner, A Senior Member of the Lodge
Plus Representative(s) of the Area / District (one or all of the following) Assistant Provincial Grand Master, District Chairman, The Deputy District Chairman or District Amalgamation Co-ordinator.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Lodge Representatives are responsible for presenting the views of their individual Lodges regarding any particular area of interest. i.e. Financial, Charitable and Representative(s) of the Area/District ensuring that all procedures are complied with.

PROCEDURE

Lodge Warrant
Which Lodge Warrant will be retained?
The Warrant from the oldest Lodge (i.e. the Lowest Number) is usually maintained. The cancelled warrant is displayed at each meeting and presented to the WM at Installation.

Lodge Name
The name of the Amalgamated Lodge must be clearly defined, both in terms of the name, the spelling and the capitalisation and be approved by Provincial Grand Lodge and United Grand Lodge.

The 'coat of arms' of the Amalgamated Lodge must be clearly defined and approved by Provincial Grand Lodge and United Grand Lodge.

By Laws
The By Laws must be agreed and amended with the 'new' name, number, meeting frequency, fees etc. (where applicable). These must be in accordance with the Provincial Template and approved by the Provincial Grand Lodge.

Officers
The officers of the receiving Lodge must remain in office until the Installation meeting following amalgamation. At this time new officers may be elected in the usual manner.

Meetings
The frequency, day and time of meetings must be agreed and approved by The Province.

Workings
Any changes to the workings of any of the amalgamated Lodges must be agreed by the Lodges.

Fees, Funds
The joning fees for the members of the 'joining' Lodge may be waived; Annual dues to both Province and UGLE must be paid up by all Lodges prior to amalgamation and Residual funds should be paid over to the amalgamated Lodge funds.

Artifacts
A sub committee, comprising representatives from all amalgamating Lodges, should be established to decide on all the artefacts from the amalgamating Lodges.

The sub committee should be given power to act independently from te amalgamation committee and all decisions of this sub committee should be accepted.

Care of Widows
The Almoners from each of the amalgamating Lodges must ensure that all widows are catered for (see guidance in Points to Note for Closing Lodge para 3).

Time Frame
The amalgamation Committee shall meet on a regular basis, not exceeding two months.

A reasonable and achievable time frame should be agreed to complete all of the required actions prior to Amalgamation.

Minutes
The receiving Lodge Secretary should keep accurate minutes of all meetings held which relate to the Amalgamation.
The minutes from each meeting must be circulate to all members of the amalgamating Lodges.

 

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