The Education and Development Committee

This central Committee of the Province is involved with and develops many initiatives. In the main, our work is aimed at making Freemasonry in East Lancashire more understandable and enjoyable for all who take part. We also provide support to many other activities taking place in the Province. The work of the Committee is generally project-led, with a wide range of activities undergoing development or delivery at any one time.

Projects are undertaken by a number of sub-Committees each of which focuses on a particular area of activity. Committee members bring their experience from a broad background, both Masonic and vocational, which enables them to be highly effective in the work that they undertake.

We regularly link the work of the Provincial Mentor and Provincial Chairman of Communications, and they are ex officio members of the main Education and Development Committee. Thus the main Committee and its sub-Committees are able to support the Heads of each of these areas of activity and the work that they do in the Province for Communications and Mentoring. The other members of the main Committee largely comprise the Chairmen of the various sub-Committees. The whole structure comprises some 18 to 20 members.

The Materials sub-Committee comprises a number of brethren who have between them a very large fund of knowledge about Freemasonry. The members of this sub-Committee prepare papers, presentations, talks and the like, which support the Provincial Mentor’s programme and provide educational and informational material for the general use of Brethren, Companions, Lodges and Chapters.

The Conference sub-Committee has organised the very popular “Let’s Talk Masonry” Conference in the Spring of each of the last ten  years and has the next Conference scheduled for 2019.

The most recent sub-Committee activity is the development and delivery of support for Lodge and Chapter Secretaries which is being delivered by the Provincial Secretariat assisted by the Education and Development team.

Look under “Development News” for more information relating to our future programme for Lodge and Chapter Officers Workshops.

If you are interested in becoming involved in any of the work being undertaken by this Committee, please contact the Chairman, WBro Duncan Ferguson who will be very pleased to hear from you.

Further Information

Each month when we visit our Lodge or Chapter the evening should be special and memorable, so that we look forward to our next meeting with keen anticipation. That may involve ensuring the company is good, the venue, meal and service are excellent and, as far as the meeting itself is concerned, that we learn something in an enjoyable, dignified and entertaining manner.

The latter is where your Mentor, District Mentor and indeed this committee can help: There should never be a masonic evening in which the business agenda fails to contain some valued masonic education, a short talk, a paper followed by a debate, some questions and answers etc.

Similarly the mentor, or whoever has responsibility for guiding and supporting the new brethren in your Lodge or Chapter, may want access to material that helps him to explain the ritual and symbolism, leading the new mason progressively to higher planes of understanding. The material here will help with this too.

More ambitiously, you may be running a hosted meeting and desire a ritual walkthough and explanation, as where a narrator explains a ritual demonstration at various points during the workings. Such papers are available through the District Mentors.

The Education and Development Materials Subcommittee is responsible for the production of nearly all the material available through this page and the work of the committee is designed to complement and support to the best of its ability the work of the Provincial Grand Mentor and Provincial Grand Orator. The table below take you to various places where the range of educational materials available are displayed / downloadable.

We hope you find this helpful and we will be grateful to receive any comments, suggestions for future materials or other feedback.