Grand Superintendent’s Annual Convocation Address 2026
Companions, it is both a privilege and a genuine pleasure to see you all here today, to be able once again to welcome our Honoured Guests, to thank them for taking the time to be with us and, in some small measure, to return the generous hospitality that they extend to us when we visit their Provinces.
I offer a particular welcome to our newly Exalted Companions and to any who are attending Provincial Grand Chapter for the first time. I hope that today gives you a clear and inspiring sense of the journey that we are on together.
As always, preparations for an occasion such as this are considerable. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to our Provincial Grand Scribe E, Bob Rance, our Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, Paul Youngman, and to both their teams for the diligence and dedication that they bring to the Royal Arch in Berkshire and to making days such as this run with the smoothness and dignity they deserve.
To those receiving Provincial Honours today, whether a first appointment, a reappointment or a promotion, I offer my heartfelt congratulations. The Annual Convocation of Provincial Grand Chapter is the principal occasion when I am able to recognise your contribution to Royal Arch Masonry.
This is your day. It belongs to you. Wear your new rank with justifiable pride and let it serve as both a recognition of what you have already given to the Royal Arch and a commitment to all that lies ahead.
I ask each of you to carry your honour actively. Demonstrate to the Craft, in every Lodge you attend, that the Royal Arch is vibrant, relevant and genuinely transformative. Be the living proof that our Order offers something of real and lasting value.
Three years ago, I stood before you and described this Convocation as a watershed moment for the Royal Arch in Berkshire. I set out a clear direction that:
- We must operate as ‘One Organisation on One Journey,’
- Be laser-focused on the needs of our members and
- Replace a culture of ‘no because’ with a culture of ‘yes if.’
That transition is now complete.
Companions, you continue to exceed all reasonable expectations but our successes can only be achieved by demonstrating to the Craft that the Royal Arch is vibrant and relevant, offering a meaningful and transformative experience and then by actually practising what we preach.
The evidence is clear: personal contact remains the most effective approach. It accounts for around 80% of our Exaltations and rejoining members. Each of us is a Royal Arch Ambassador and what we say and do is noticed and matters.
The transformation of St Hilda and Hungerford Chapters, from ones facing the surrender of their Charters to becoming two of the strongest in the Province, has shown us all what a resolute and determined few can achieve. These are not isolated examples; they are a template for the future.
However, I will not stand here and pretend that the picture is uniformly bright. Results across our Chapters remain uneven. Not every Chapter has grown or strengthened its position and it is important that we are honest about that.
Every Chapter must take a long hard look at the physical attendance of its Companions and, through personal contact, make every effort to welcome back those whose regular attendance has dropped away. Bring them back, make them feel warm and welcome and give them a real sense of belonging. Make each of your Convocations a genuinely special celebratory ‘go to’ event.
So where do we stand today? The honest answer is in a stronger position than at any point in recent memory and with greater clarity about the work that remains.
Our Royal Arch Representative scheme, relaunched in November 2023, is now well-established. The Visiting Officer Scheme provides a clear and effective conduit between individual Chapters and the Province, enabling us to spread good practice and address challenges before they take root. Our Care Teams are identifying potential losses early. Our Support Teams are providing the breathing space that Chapters need to recover sustainably. The Companions Club, launched by our Second Provincial Grand Principal to help newer Companions integrate and build a genuine sense of belonging, has already made a tangible difference.
Companions, these are not small achievements. They are the product of consistent effort, collective commitment and a refusal to accept the status quo and the dead hand of ‘this is how we have always done things’.
Progress within the Province does not exist in isolation. It takes place against a backdrop of a broader and compelling national conversation about the place of Freemasonry in contemporary society.
The First Grand Principal has been unambiguous in setting out both the opportunity before us and the responsibility we share. He has said:
“There is now a real opportunity for us to re-establish the reputation of Freemasonry as an important and active contributor to our civic society and in terms which will resonate in the current era.”
Companions, this is not a request for a communications exercise. It is a call to arms to change how we live our Freemasonry, day by day. The message is clear. The next stage of our strategy requires:
- resilience,
- consistency,
- adaptability and
- endurance.
Companions, that next stage must happen right now.
Contemporary Freemasonry comprises of four key interlocking elements that must guide us going forward:
- the intellectual underpinning of what we do,
- our visibility within our communities,
- the modernising of our language, and
- the enhancement of our social impact.
We are no longer defending a secret society. We are celebrating a civic one which enhances the communities in which we all reside.
Freemasonry enhances individuals and society alike. It acts as a manifest force for good. It addresses social isolation and the loneliness that afflicts so many in modern life. It enables cross-generational bonding of a kind that is increasingly rare. These are not abstract virtues, they are the lived experience of our Companions and they are the story we must learn to tell with confidence and clarity.
The question I posed three years ago remains as pressing as ever: ‘Are you part of the solution, or part of the problem?’ Our Provincial strategy can only succeed if every individual Companion embraces his role as an Ambassador for the Royal Arch and for Freemasonry more broadly.
The Modern Freemason is a person of character, committed to personal and intellectual development, to integrity and to good citizenship. He is a role model in daily life, an example of Masonic values through practical action and someone who is genuinely engaged with his wider community, not merely a passive spectator.
That is a high standard. It is also an entirely achievable one and it is precisely the standard that our newly honoured Companions are now called upon to embrace and to embody. The rank you carry from today is not merely a title. It is a requirement to lead by example.
Looking ahead, our aim remains unchanged: a steady and sustainable rise in Royal Arch Members and Memberships, delivered through a bottom-up, member-centric approach that places the experience of every Companion at its heart.
We will continue to seek out and to celebrate talent wherever it is found and however fresh it may be. Our success has always depended on the energy and commitment of individuals who are willing to step forward and I am grateful to each and every member of the Royal Arch Executive for their unwavering commitment and dedication.
The Royal Arch in Berkshire has made remarkable progress. But progress is not a destination, it is a direction of travel. Let us keep our eyes fixed firmly on the horizon of possibility and resolve together to continue moving towards it.
In Closing Companions, the path ahead is clear and the foundations we have laid are strong. The Royal Arch in Berkshire is in good heart. I am proud of what you have achieved and I am confident about what we will achieve in the year to come.
To our newly honoured Companions, congratulations once more and welcome to your new responsibilities. Wear your rank well, serve with distinction and remember always that the measure of any honour lies not in its receipt, but in what we do with it thereafter, so that when the King of Kings shall summon us into His immediate presence, from His hands we may receive a crown of glory that shall never fade.
Companions, I thank you for your attention. I look forward to what this new season will bring, in the certain knowledge of your continued commitment to the Royal Arch. God bless you all!
