Delivered by the Provincial Grand Master, Paul Gower at the Annual Meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge on Wednesday, 25 September 2019 at Freemasons’ Hall, London.
Brethren,
It is pleasing to see such a good attendance at this Annual Meeting of the Province, after what has been a particularly busy year and especially since it is taking place so soon after our very successful Festival Dinner at Guildhall in July.
The Guildhall dinner was the grand finale to a five-year fund raising effort in support of the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys; at which it was announced that a total of £3.63 million had been achieved.
I have mentioned in my foreword to the brochure for this meeting the tremendous work carried out by my Festival Committee but I now wish to publicly thank Dick Knifton, Chris Noble and all of the Festival Committee Members for their untiring efforts to ensure the success of the Festival.
I am pleased to inform you that, in recognition of your achievement in raising this magnificent sum, the Grand Master, His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent, has been pleased to approve the 2019 Festival Jewel as a permanent jewel for Brethren of the Province of Hertfordshire, to be worn in perpetuity.
Elsewhere in the Province: the continuing popularity of the Visiting Officer Scheme which is producing much valuable information on the progress being made by our Lodges and is especially useful in identifying suitable Brethren for advancement in Provincial Grand Lodge.
Likewise our young Masons club, the Fleet House Light Blues Club, moves from strength to strength. Now boasting in excess of one hundred members, the Club has sufficient confidence in its abilities to pitch for the role of hosting the 2020 Young Masons Conference and we wish them every success in their endeavours. The club is well managed and undertakes a significant number of events throughout the year. Very notably, in the summer, a charity walk organised by them raised in excess of £3,000 for the Mind charity in memory of a deceased member.
My Provincial Mentor and his team have been busy producing a series of booklets for Candidates for the First, Second and Third Degrees. These booklets have been carefully thought-out and designed to answer questions but also to stimulate interest in what follows next. I hope that they will be well received by individual Lodge Mentors; all of whom will receive a copy of each booklet.
The Secretary of our Sporting Association, Bob Curson is standing down following his appointment as an Assistant Grand Master in Bedfordshire. I take this opportunity to thank him for the work that he has undertaken and I am delighted that he will continue to act as Secretary for Golf whilst John Clark takes over as Secretary of the association as a whole.
Work on the new Provincial website is far advanced and should be launched later this evening following a great deal of work by the Comms Team; led by Terry Mitchinson and supported by James Davis, Dan O’Connell, Tom Golds, Tom Day and Clint Childs. These Brethren have been working very hard over the past year and I thank each of them for their commitment.
Brethren, outside of regular Lodge meetings a considerable amount of work is undertaken towards the efficient management of this relatively large Province (we are ninth largest of the forty six Provinces within the United Grand Lodge of England; with 186 lodges and about 5,000 subscribing members.) Various Provincial Officers organise seminars for newly-initiated Brethren; for Almoners; Secretaries; Mentors and Directors of Ceremonies and many of the same Brethren are involved in the management of this meeting, including the Provincial Grand Secretary and his team at Fleet House; the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies and his Deputies and Assistants; the Provincial Grand Stewards (who so often work unobtrusively in the background to ensure smooth running of events) and, of course, John Vasquez and his team here at Freemasons’ Hall. To all of these brethren I express sincere thanks on behalf of the Brethren of the Province.
One of the principal functions of this meeting is to confer Provincial Honours and these fall into three distinct categories:
A first appointment recognises steady but sure progress from Initiation to a date usually, but not always, sometime after their Installation into the Chair of their Lodge. It is recognised that not every Mason will be a first class ritualist or even desire to be Worshipful Master but very often such Brethren will have made a significant contribution to their Lodge by undertaking the role of, perhaps, Almoner or Charity Steward; both of which fulfil a very necessary and important function within Freemasonry in general and which will be rewarded where appropriate.
A promotion is given after a period of time ranging between four and seven years in respect of subsequent, more senior, work within the Lodge; perhaps as a Treasurer, Secretary or Director of Ceremonies.
An active rank of any level, given at any time, is a prize beyond rubies. It indicates that the individual Mason has been identified as a Brother with serious potential for advancement in Provincial Masonry and beyond and every such appointment receives very careful consideration.
The award of the Certificate of Service is the highest honour that a Provincial Grand Master can confer. It ranks immediately behind Grand Rank and recognises dedicated and sustained service over a considerable period of time.
To all of the recipients of the Certificate of Service, together with those appointed and promoted within Provincial Grand Lodge today, I offer my warmest congratulations and hope that they will be encouraged to strive towards yet greater achievements.
Brethren, whatever your rank continue to demonstrate the high ideals and standards that we adhere to and encourage your friends and acquaintances to become members of this wonderful fraternity of which we are all so very proud and, above all else, continue to enjoy your Freemasonry.
At the close of this meeting I will have completed twenty five years’ service as an Officer of this Province; having been first appointed as an Assistant Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies in 1994.
For the past six of those twenty five years I have been proud and honoured to hold the highest provincial office; that of Provincial Grand Master for Hertfordshire.
It has been a most satisfying and rewarding experience and I have enjoyed almost every moment of it but on Saturday of this week I will reach my 73rd birthday and, Brethren, it is time for me to make way for a younger man.
I have therefore communicated to the Grand Master my wish to retire as Provincial Grand Master, on a date to be agreed, but before the Annual Meeting in 2020.
Brethren, I would not have been able to undertake this office without the help and support of so many members of this very happy Province and I thank you all for your goodwill and encouragement.
To my successor, whoever that may be, I offer my very best wishes and congratulations on being appointed to one of the most prestigious roles within English Freemasonry and I charge you, Brethren, to treat him with the same courtesy and kindness that you have always exhibited towards me.
May God bless you all.
