The Mentor’s conference for Lodge, Chapter and Personal mentors was held on Saturday 23rd March at the Wokingham Masonic Centre. The event was run by W.Bro. Owen Doe who is both Provincial Grand Mentor for Craft and Royal Arch.
40 brethren attended, representing both Craft and Royal Arch. The morning got off to a fine start with 34 of the participants tucking into an excellent cooked breakfast.
Owen made the initial introductions before the formal welcome from E Comp Peter Oakley, Third Provincial Grand Principal. Peter was keen to reinforce that these joint meetings are an important way to show how Craft and Royal Arch are parts of a single organisation.
Owen then followed up by talking about the office of mentor, which has never been more important than it is now. The Lodge or Chapter Mentor cannot be expected to do it alone though and should expect support from fellow officers. It is important to remember that mentors are concerned with retention as well as recruitment. Both of which are addressed in the Membership Challenge. We were then given a task to consider a number of topics based on making the Lodge or Chater meetings more accessible and friendly for the members.
W. Bro. Brian Smith then presented some thoughts on Personal Mentoring, which tends to be one of the more difficult, but least talked about jobs. The personal mentor must have synergy with the candidate and be prepared to answer any questions. There is no such thing as a silly question!
W. Bro Kevin Barclay provided a number of genuine situations to illustrate the importance of Engaging and Supporting the members. He spoke of the development of a supportive culture in the Lodge or Chapter where everyone must be caring, supportive and friendly, reminding us that members tend to be most vulnerable and likely to leave just after joining, especially if they do not feel welcomed and valued.
To provide everyone with their daily advancement in Masonic Knowledge, W.Bro. Iain Marnock, Assistant Provincial Grand Master, presented us with a quiz with 10 questions on different aspects of Freemasonry. The prize being a bag of sweets.
Then W.Bro. Andy Needham and W.Bro. Matthew Sharp explained how and where mentors can find the information they need on the Provincial Website and in particular in the Mentoring Matters section.
W. Bro. Ray Mills talked about the need for effective reporting by the Mentor. Reminding everyone that the Mentor’s Report should be included in all meetings minutes, and even if the brethren and companions did not always read it, the report was an important source of information for the Executive and Provincial Mentoring teams.
After everyone was reminded about the Family Fun Day at Sindlesham on 19th May and the Lodge Membership and Mentor’s BBQ in Wallingford on 11th August, the meeting was closed at 12:30.
