Grand Secretary's Column

It would be very easy to sit in my office everyday and deal with the heavy workload that continually flows in. However, I remain keen to get out and about, within reason, whenever I can. I believe it essential to hear first hand how people in both the Provinces and Districts feel about the issues facing them.
     So, since last writing, I have attended Installations of Provincial Grand Masters or Grand Superintendents in Durham, Cumberland and Westmoreland and Guernsey and Alderney and the Installation of the Grand Inspector of Malta. I attended Northumberland’s Annual meeting. I accompanied the Pro Grand Master when he attended the Fifth Regional Conference of District Grand Masters and their executive teams in Bermuda. The Conference was a great success with the District Grand Masters of Bermuda, Bahamas and Turks, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Guyana, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands and Trinidad and Tobago.
     I have just returned from Singapore where I accompanied the Assistant Grand Master when we attended the 150th Anniversary celebrations of the District of Eastern Archipelago. I ran a very worthwhile business meeting which was attended by the District Grand Masters of North and South Island of New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bombay, Hong Kong and Eastern Archipelago.
     We are making good progress with the design and building of the new UGLE website as well as working hard on many of our other initiatives such as the Mentor and Orator Schemes.
     2008 has been a marvellous year for Freemasonry. I wish you and your families a wonderful Christmas and a very happy 2009.

Nigel Brown, Grand Secretary

Charities Can Weather Economic Storm

The Central Masonic Charities wish to advise that the global economic situation has not required any reduction in current or planned projects.
     The Freemasons’ Grand Charity, The Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys, The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution and the Masonic Samaritan Fund are fortunate to have diversified income streams.
     They are therefore in a better position to weather the financial storm than many charities which have to rely upon a narrow income base.
     The continuing success of the Festival system, coupled with a combination of legacy and investment income, has enabled the Central Masonic Charities to fund their charitable expenditure despite the detrimental impact on their investment portfolios.
     The investments of the four Charities are professionally managed, with the performance of the investment managers kept under the close scrutiny of their Trustees. None of the Charities have been affected by the much publicised problems of the Icelandic banks.
     What is not yet clear is what impact the credit crunch and recession will have on demand for support from the Charities as increasing financial hardship is experienced by Freemasons and their families.
     Although the unprecedented conditions within the financial markets have caused concern for many charities, it remains the view of the Central Masonic Charities that, providing the generous support from today’s Freemasons continues at present levels, they should be able to continue to meet the demands placed upon them for charitable support to Freemasons and their families.
     For further information about the support available from the Central Masonic Charities, please contact them direct by phone, email or letter.

Lord Northampton’s Message To All Brethren
Highlights Of His Address To Grand Lodge

Brethren, as this is the last Grand Lodge at which I shall preside I would like to take the opportunity to put on record some of my thoughts about English Freemasonry...
     When I became Pro Grand Master I said I wanted to integrate the Craft more and this I have tried to do by having better communication with London and our Provinces and Districts...
     I lost count of the number of times I heard Brethren in the Provinces question what London does with all their money. This was one of the reasons why I was keen to start the Rulers Forum, and give many more Brethren, through a group system, access to those who make the decisions. It provides a forum in which questions can be asked and new ideas put forward...
     The precedence of the Master and the sovereignty of the lodge are paramount. I have tried to impress on Brethren that they are responsible for the success or otherwise of their lodges, and to give them the freedom to explore ways of making their ritual more impressive for the candidate and more enjoyable for their visitors. Many bad habits have crept into our ceremonies over time which have nothing to do with the rituals and which only serve to increase the length of our meetings. We are trying to accommodate young men with pressures of time and money, family and business. We should consider anything which makes it easier for them to enjoy their masonry as long as it is within our rules. We should not be afraid to experiment with new ideas...
     I have been involved in and supported several educational initiatives to study different aspects of Freemasonry including the Library and Museum Charitable Trust, the Centre for Masonic studies at the University of Sheffield, Canonbury Masonic Research Centre and the Cornerstone Society. There are also many research lodges that do excellent work. The latest Grand Lodge initiative has been the Orator scheme which I hope will encourage masons to look deeper into the meaning of the rituals on their personal journey of self discovery...
     Every candidate should be given a mentor to help him understand what we do and why, and introduce him to the other members of the lodge...
     Arrogance has no place in an organisation which teaches Brotherly Love as its first Grand Principle...
     I have always thought that our second Grand Principle, Relief, is as much about the work of the Almoner as it is about that of the Charity Steward. Of course we must give generously to support not only our masonic charities but also those less fortunate than ourselves but relief is about having compassionate feelings towards our fellow beings. I interpret our ritual to mean that if the candidate comes knocking on our door with an open mind - a perfect freedom of inclination - then the system of Freemasonry will open his heart and make him a wiser and more compassionate person. Charity is therefore an effect of our masonry, not a cause...
     The amount of money raised for our masonic charities from Provincial Festivals never fails to make me proud to belong to such a generous organization, and the money we give to the Grand Charity for nonmasonic giving reflects well on the Craft. When I joined Freemasonry it was an unwritten rule that we did not talk openly about our charitable giving. I hope that has now changed. There is no doubt that the best, and probably only, publicity we can expect is from the local press and we should therefore concentrate our efforts on local causes...
     As we approach our tercentenary we can be rightly proud of what has been achieved by English Freemasonry since its inception. I know of no other organisation which teaches such noble virtues to its members. For me the two qualities which stand out more than any others are tolerance and trust. Tolerance reflects the universality of the Craft and trust enables its members to unite in peace, love and harmony.
     As the mother Grand Lodge of the world we have a responsibility… We are the arbiters of regularity and our recent conference on that subject left overseas Grand Lodges in no doubt where we stand on the matter. We take the view that it is the individual mason, imbued with the principles of the Order, who makes a difference in society and not Freemasonry itself. In other words Freemasonry is just the system which makes men better able to play a responsible role for the good of society...
     The efforts made by so many Brethren should now be channeled into attracting and retaining good men and improving the quality of our masonry. This will ensure our future and preserve one of the last great male initiation societies in existence today. I am sure my successor will have many ideas… I wish him well and he will continue to have my full support.
     I end by thanking my wife, Pamela, for her love and support without which my job would have been much harder and my enjoyment of it much less. She has always taken a keen interest in the positive psychological changes masonry brings about in men.
     I thank the Grand Master for appointing me as his Pro and giving me the opportunity of serving the Craft and the Royal Arch in such challenging and exciting times. His experience of all things Masonic stretching back over forty years has been invaluable and we are truly fortunate to have him as our head.
     I thank my fellow rulers past and present who have worked so hard to bring about change. And I thank all those Brethren who have supported me during the last fourteen years as a High Ruler. We have worked together to ensure that the Craft we all love and enjoy, and its Grand Principles of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth, will continue to inspire men for many generations to come.