A BIG DAY FOR DURHAM MARK MASONRY

In July 2000 Dr. Alan Davison, the Provincial Grand Master (Craft) for Durham, laid the foundation stone at Beamish of the new Masonic Hall, a major feature of the Victorian Village in the North of England Open Air Museum being constructed there. The Freemasons of the Province of Durham had already begun the process of raising £500,000 and they completed their task before the end of 2003. It took a little longer for the Beamish Museum authorities to draw their financial contributions together, but all was in place for work to begin in April last year. Throughout last year museum visitors have seen the rise of what will be a very impressive addition to the village by the end of this year.
    By November last year the entrance was taking shape, and the Craft Province paid a particular complement to the Mark Degree when they invited James Croft, Provincial Grand Master for the Provincial Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of Durham, to lay the keystone, ‘the most important stone in the building’, in the arch over the portico. The Provincial Grand Master attended the site for the stone-laying ceremony accompanied by his Deputy, Prof. Denovan Wilson and other members of the Mark Provincial Executive. Also in attendance was Norman Heaviside, Assistant Provincial Grand Master of the Craft, who has overseen the Beamish Project from its inception, and John Gall, the Deputy Director of the Beamish Museum, who kept a controlling eye on the morning’s proceedings.
    It was perhaps incongruous on a dismal morning to see five senior Mark Master Masons in full regalia and wearing hard hats standing aloft and surrounded by scaffolding on a building site while performing a ritual ceremony, although the museum was very quiet with not many visitors to watch the proceedings The event is commemorated by a goldeffect trowel presented to Dr. Davison by James Croft.
    Mark Master Masons throughout the Province of Durham are proud of the contributions that they have made to the Millenium Project, and never more so than to have that acknowledged by their Provincial Grand Master being given the honour of laying the keystone on their behalf. They and he have, ‘marked well’.

ROYAL AND SELECT MASTERS IN DORSET

History was made in a small way in the Royal and Select Masters Province of Dorset when Nigel Buckingham, Provincial Grand Master (Mark) for the Province of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, already a well-qualified and prominent Freemason in his own and other Provinces, was received into the King Alfred Council, No. 71 of Royal and Select Masters. As a mark of Nigel Buckingham’s masonic achievements, many Brethren and Companions came from Provinces far afield. It is a rare occasion for any candidate to receive all four degrees of the Order at one meeting, and as a result there were many high-ranking officers of the Order present. Nigel Buckingham commented on the beauty of the degrees conferred, and wondered why he had left it so long to join the Order.
    The Order of Royal and Select Masters covers a four-hundred year period between the Mark degree and the Holy Royal Arch. To qualify for membership an aspirant must be a Mark Mason and a Royal Arch Mason. The Order consists of four degrees. Keith Jackson has said that ‘to the serious and understanding masonic student, [the degrees] prove to be the essential link between the degrees of Mark Master Mason and Royal Arch Mason’.

RED CROSS OF CONSTANTINE MILLENIUM FUND

A vast number of organisations worldwide celebrated the Millennium in some way, shape or form. The Red Cross of Constantine was no different in that respect. It resolved back in 1998 to establish a Millennium Fund to be used for charitable purposes. In the first instance, it was envisaged that the initiative would only last until the Millennium year, but no particular projects were identified to fund at that stage.
    Unlike other voluntary groups, all charitable money is raised from the members themselves rather than the public at large. In addition, there are many calls on a Freemason’s charity, some would say perhaps too many.
    It was in that context that no target was set and no pressure to contribute put on the Knights of the Order. The only suggestion put forward was that those Conclaves who took a collection for charity might consider donating the proceeds of one of those collections per year towards the Millennium Fund.
    Money started to flow in almost immediately and it was very soon decided to focus on making one fairly large donation to help children in need. At the end of the Millennium year a donation was made to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for the purchase of a life-support ventilator at a cost of £20,000. There is some evidence to suggest that the donation of a tangible gift to such a worthy organisation inspired others, and money continued to flow in. From a total membership of some 7,500 masons, donations have been made totalling over £40,000.
    Most recently, the Grand Sovereign of the Order, Cdr. Ronald Albert Champion, wrote to all the Divisions suggesting that the Order might be able to assist with an orphanage or school affected by the Tsunami in Sri Lanka. An immediate grant of £5,000 was authorised and made available to Michael Dias, the District Grand Master for the Mark in Sri Lanka. By making a direct donation, it bypassed those charitable organisations who are burdened with administrative costs and enables the money to be used for identifiable projects. As a direct result of the appeal in relation to the Tsunami in Sri Lanka, by 11 February over £7,000 had been raised and more is coming in daily. At present it is envisaged that the Tsunami element of the fund will cease in some six months time and the Fund will revert to assisting children in need in this country. However, bearing in mind that the Millennium Fund was only established in 1998 for the millennium year only, it may well be that the Fund would wish to continue to be associated with assisting in the expenses of running of the orphanage or school in the future.

KENT MARK MASONS INTO PUBLISHING

The office of Provincial Almoner in the Mark Province of Kent is a varied one, dealing with many situations ranging from health and welfare, deaths and distressing circumstances, but also happy events. A very unusual request came up some time ago. A Brother asked if the Mark Benevolent Fund would sponsor the publication of a book written by a young lady who has suffered from Spina Bifida all her life. The Book was called Living the Way I Do by Wendy Williams, and relates the story of her life, with very few punches pulled, bringing to the fore what she has had to endure, still has to endure, and will continue to do so. She was unable to get her book published for lack of funds.
    It was felt that this project would not be appropriate for the Mark Benevolent Fund because of the precedent it would set. However, the Provincial Almoner Ron Jakes, with the assistance of Brian Holland of North Kent Mark Lodge No. 1682, who has some printing experience, arranged for Wendy’s book to be printed. Wendy together with her family and friends are now actively selling her book and donating the proceeds to Charity.
    This is an example of three Mark Masons exercising true masonic compassion to help enable a less fortunate person. Wendy’s book is now being promoted at several events, where Freemasonry benefits from welcome publicity. This includes an interview on Radio Essex and a book review in the Southern Country Music Magazine, as Wendy is a Country Music Fan. One Brother said that there are simply no limits to what masons can achieve when they put their minds to it.
    Readers wishing to purchase a copy of Wendy’s book Living the Way I Do should contact Ron Jakes on 01892- 832414. The cost is £5, including packing and postage.

MARK MASONIC ANTIQUES ROAD SHOW

Earlier this year the Masonic Antiques Road Show rolled into Leicestershire. the RMBI House at Devonshire Court was chosen to host this event, to an audience made up of seventy Brethren, their guests, and thirty-five residents. The evening was sponsored by the Stony Gate Lodge of Mark Master Masons, No.751, celebrating their 250th meeting, on behalf of the Leicestershire and Rutland 2008 Festival Appeal. The Provincial Grand Master Michael Herbert, the Deputy Provincial Grand Master Anthony Morris and Brethren from several of the sister lodges in the Province were present.
    Many of the guests and residents brought with them a wide variety of antiques, curios and family memorabilia. These were assessed and valued by the star guest of the evening, John Gilding from Gilding’s auctioneers of Market Harborough. He was taking a busman’s holiday from his very successful career in antiques, which now includes regular appearances on television programmes such as ‘Bargain Hunt’, ‘Flog It’ and several others.
    The owners of each item discussed were asked to add any further information that would be of interest to the audience. One item turned out to be two Victorian ink wells. It transpired that they were ‘stolen’ from Charles Street police station when it closed down.
    John Gilding stressed that although he was happy to give a commercial valuation guide to each item, the sentimental value of family heirlooms handed down from generation to generation can be far more important than financial values.
    During the interval a raffle and tombola were held, which raised £312. This, when added to the donations received and the surplus from ticket sales, gave a total sum of £779 for the 2008 Festival Appeal. A cheque for this amount was presented to the Deputy Provincial Grand Master at the March Installation Meeting.

CHESHIRE MARK MASONS TARGET CHARITY

What frequently matters most to Freemasons is the giving of Charity where it is most needed. Following the gift of £2,000,000 to hospitals throughout the country by the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England, three hospitals in the Mark Province of Cheshire have benefited to the tune of of £227,000.
    In January this year the Mark Provincial Grand Master for Cheshire Bryan Ogden, accompanied by his Deputy, David Alldred, attended Halton General Hospital at Runcorn in Cheshire. The object of their visit was to present ultrasound equipment purchased for the Urology Unit at the Hospital, to be used in the fight against prostate cancer.
    Bryan Ogden went on record as saying ‘We are very pleased that the Grand Lodge of Mark Masons has made available this magnificent gift for the treatment of Prostate Cancer and that Halton General Hospital has been provided with equipment to this end. The gift, which follows other major donations to the Hospice Movement and more recently to St Johns Ambulance will, we hope, greatly assist in the fight against a serious illness affecting so many in our community’.
    Halton General Hospital was awarded a total £44,407 and as a consequence was able to acquire a new ultrasound machine. Mr. Robert Ewing, Consultant Urologist at Halton Hospital, said of the gift ‘This will replace our current ultrasound machine which is now over ten years old. Many of the new features on this system will allow our clinics to make additional checks to aid diagnosis and therefore assist in early intervention against this form of cancer. We plan to use this equipment in three out-patient clinics, in addition to aiding the work in the urological unit. We are extremely thankful to the Mark Master Masons for the gift of this equipment, which will mean so much to the communities we serve’.