Audio version of the address:
Brethren, it is a delight to see you all here on this special day for the Province. Once again, I welcome our distinguished guests and thank them for joining us and for the generous hospitality they have extended to us throughout the year.
To those receiving first appointments or promotions, this Annual Meeting is your day of recognition and celebration. It is my distinct privilege to invest you with your new ranks and acknowledge your contributions to the Craft. Wear your new Honours with pride; you have all earned them.
I thank last year’s Acting Officers for their support during our visits around the Province. I hope you have enjoyed your year as much as I have enjoyed your company.
In addition to W Bro Richard Olliver, our outgoing Provincial Grand Secretary, particular recognition goes to W Bros Sean Kulan, Pat Whelan and Les Matthews, who retire as Provincial Grand Almoner, Provincial Grand Communications Officer and Provincial Assistant Grand Secretary respectively. Brethren, your contribution to the Province has been outstanding and we are all deeply grateful. I also thank Mrs Julie Kent for all her assistance with the administration of the Provincial Office. Her enthusiasm and professionalism have been an inspiration to us all.
I welcome in their new roles in the Secretariat Bros Stuart Hogarth, Garry Townsend and Philip Gray. I also welcome Bro Michael Knight as Almoner and Bro Neill Rhodes as our new Provincial Grand Communications Officer. Neill has already been hard at work producing this year’s Annual Review, which is available today. It is a fine reflection on all the commitment and dedication shown by you throughout the year. It fills me with immense pride.
Today, I am pleased to formally launch the ten year UGLE Centenary Hall Stone Appeal in our Province. It is led by our Assistant Provincial Grand Master, W Bro Paul Tomsett, who will provide further details after this meeting. I encourage you all to throw your weight behind this national initiative.
The Masonic buildings we enjoy today were entrusted to us by those who came before. Through this Appeal, we can ensure that they remain in good order and are handed on to future generations in the same fine condition in which we received them.
This Appeal will extend across all Provinces and Districts, helping to keep our meeting places welcoming to members and open to the communities around them. By supporting it, we will protect the buildings that bring us together, not only in London but also closer to home, so that the brethren who follow us may enjoy them as much as we do.
Here in Berkshire, Freemasonry continues to develop apace as we discharge our responsibility to ensure that the Craft thrives. Attracting men of quality and retaining our existing brethren remain key priorities, but, above all, we must stay steadfastly focused on the welfare of every member.
During this Masonic season, you will hear much about Contemporary Freemasonry and our place in modern society. Freemasonry matters because it brings men from every walk of life together as equals, building friendship, trust and stronger communities.
For our members, it offers fellowship and a practical guide to living well, encouraging honesty, self-discipline and care for others. In return, it asks each of us to live by those values, to contribute as fully as our circumstances allow and to represent Freemasonry well in our daily lives.
Tradition alone will not secure our future; that depends upon our understanding and living the principles behind it and handing them on stronger than we found them.
As I have said repeatedly, lasting change can only be driven by individual brethren working within their Lodges. Without focus and a determination to succeed, no Lodge can survive. It is critical that we welcome initiates into Freemasonry and ensure that every member truly ‘belongs’ to their Lodge, to the Province and most importantly to Freemasonry as a whole.
Earlier, we have heard from W Bro Matt Walker about the Cornerstone Charter drawn from Berkshire members themselves, not from a directive by UGLE or the Provincial Executive. Based on the Building Together framework, it asks Lodges and Chapters to submit evidence across six areas: Attract, Engage, Care, Retain, Develop and Community. It is about inspiration, not inspection and I urge every unit to take part both in the Craft and the Royal Arch.
To reinforce this focus, I have asked our new Provincial Grand Secretary to include an item on the agenda of every Installation Meeting. Using information drawn from the recently developed Lodge Pulse, the outgoing Worshipful Master will present a brief report on the health of the Lodge. This will require no additional work from Lodges but will provide valuable insight. Further details will be sent to Lodge Secretaries and the same approach will apply to the Royal Arch.
Additionally, we want every member to be well informed and to have access to recent developments, which are designed to help individuals and Lodges get the maximum enjoyment and benefit from their membership. To that end, I have asked our Provincial Grand Wardens to help ensure that all members of the Province are signed up to Portal through the Berkshire Explorer App. It really is a game changer!
I am grateful to W Bro Mickey Labana, who leads on Provincial Strategic Innovation and Harmonisation, for the developmental work he has undertaken. We must continue to embrace technology, working smarter rather than harder, to support member development, growth and enjoyment.
One of the keys to Masonic enjoyment is ‘fostering curiosity and developing understanding’. I thank our outgoing Provincial Grand Mentor W Bro Owen Doe and our current Provincial Grand Learning & Development Officer W Bro Steve Ricks for all they have done and continue to do in engaging with new members and helping them truly value and benefit from their Freemasonry. I welcome our new Provincial Grand Mentor, W Bro Jamie Clark, whom I know will bring equal enthusiasm to the task that lies ahead.
I am grateful to the new Chairman of the Light Blues Club, W Bro Marcus Hilsdon, for taking on the role and wish him and his team every success in their work to engage our newer members. The Club is a great success and makes an invaluable contribution. I look forward to joining you at the Club’s visit to the Emulation Lodge of Improvement next month with members of the equivalent clubs in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. I have no doubt it will be an impressive demonstration. It always is!
I thank the Heads of the Companion Orders with whom I meet monthly. Our informal discussions shape my thinking and enable us together to enhance the quality of Freemasonry throughout this The Special Province of Berkshire.
I remain indebted to the commitment and enthusiasm of the whole Executive now comprising the previously separate Craft and Royal Arch Executives. Whilst separate portfolios remain, harmonisation has been the catalyst for a new spirit of dynamism and cooperation that can only deliver success for the Province. I thank them sincerely for all that they have done and continue to do to make Berkshire so special in so many ways.
Last but by no means least, I extend my thanks to my outgoing and incoming Provincial Grand Secretaries and to my Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, W Bros Richard Olliver, Stuart Hogarth and Bob Spooner, together with their teams, for ensuring the success of today’s Annual Meeting.
I remain humbled by what is being achieved in individual Lodges but, as the new Lodge Pulse has shown me, progress is not evenly spread. Unashamedly, I make the point once again that apathy and inaction, if left unaddressed, will stifle and snuff out progress, engagement and enjoyment.
Aim high and refuse to settle for second best. Ignite the fire of ambition, break the chains of inertia and raise the banner of excellence within your Lodges. You do not have to do this alone; help is on hand within the Province and beyond, so use it.
Brethren, may the Great Architect of the Universe remain with you and those whom you love in the year which lies ahead. May brotherly love and affection ever distinguish us as men and as masons.
