We belong in Masonry to a world-wide Order, crossing barriers of language and colour. At the consecration of a new lodge, or a centenary, an oration is given by a chaplain. He may be a rabbi for a Jewish lodge, or a guru for the Sikhs or Hindus, or he might be me: a Christian chaplain. There is a lodge in Kenya where the IPM is a Sikh, the WM a Hindu, while the members of the lodge are Asians, Kenyans, Indians and Pakistanis: united in the Craft. How wonderful – when even the countries of Europe can’t agree – that we belong to a world-wide fellowship, spanning the continents of the world.
    Every good gardener knows that you only get out of the soil in proportion to what you put into it. If you go on taking out, you’ll be all right for a time, but there comes a point where unless you put something in, you are left with a dust bowl. The same is true of a lodge; the same is true of life. I believe that Freemasons are those who understand this truth as well as anyone. They don’t put something into Masonry simply for the sake of what they can get out of it. They have learned that brotherly love is a principle by which to live. It is this fellowship that makes the world go round, and it would be difficult to find a purer form than that which characterises our Order.
    Freemasonry came into prominence in this country in the early 18th century at a time of great moral laxity, dishonesty and vice. Into this difficult situation came lodges of men who promised to improve the situation, obey the moral law, trust and assist each other, and to give generously to assist others in need. Indeed, the care for others and the charitable giving by our Order is outstanding.
    If we were only a social and dining club, Freemasonry would not have attracted so many intelligent men from so many divers backgrounds, and it would not be flourishing today. Refreshment, as we all know, has its honoured place within the masonic tradition, but we attach great importance to labour as well. It is in the work, our ritual, that we learn the principles of our living as masons, both within and without the lodge. This is the reason why Masonry has attracted men all over the world.
    Freemasonry has attracted men such as Winston Churchill. It attracted Bishop Wilson, Bishop of Singapore, who showed such bravery in the face of Japanese interrogation after the fall of Singapore. In the Province of Gloucestershire, it attracted Dr Edward Jenner, who so long ago was Worshipful Master of the Royal Lodge of Faith and Friendship – a doctor responsible for saving more lives in the history of medicine than anyone else. Dr Jenner cured smallpox and gave us immunology.
    In days such as these, when in the world at large there is so much discord instead of harmony, when so many factors crowd in to divide men rather than to unite them, it is remarkable that something so essentially founded and fixed on unchangeable principles should flourish; for it could be fighting for its very survival, instead of forging ahead in strength.
    Many members of our lodges are also leading members in their various places of worship. Alongside their busy, active lives they worship every week and work hard for their churches. I am proud to say that so much of our ceremony in the lodge is devoted to prayer. We open and close our meetings with prayer and say grace at meals. At special ceremonies such as the consecration of new lodges and the dedication of banners, prayers are offered to our Creator God. As masons we are to build our lives on a sure foundation, as we strive to succeed on this journey of life. Just as each stone in a building must be square, level and upright, so each part of our life must have the same qualities.
    May the strength and support given in our beginning to King Solomon ever uphold the occupants of his chair in our lodges throughout the world. We remember with grateful thanks the many who have worked so hard to found and sustain our Order over its long history, and all today who take their lodges forward in strength.

The Rev Curwen Rawlinson MBE gave this oration at a recent centenary celebration.