Essex Freemasons Spread Charity

Following a recent meeting of the Stanford-le-Hope Lodge, No. 5217, at Orsett in Essex, representatives of several charities were invited to give a short talk on their respective organisations, and afterwards were presented with cheques totalling £7,000 by the Lodge.
    Stephen Stock, the Master of the Lodge, commented that it was the first time they had invited recipients into the Temple to receive cheques. Freemasonry had come a long way from the days when the doors of the Temple were closed to all but Freemasons. ‘It is a good thing,’ he said, ‘to know exactly where the money is going, and to be able to put faces to names of people in the various charities.’ In this way, the Brethren could learn more about the use to which the money would be put. Stephen Stock continued: ‘Meeting charity representatives in this way helps to cement relations with the community, and members of the public are able to see that Freemasons are no different from anyone else doing their bit for charity.’
    Mr. John Wakeling of the Parents, Staff & Friends Association of the Cedar Hall Special School, said that his organisation normally only raises £5,000-£6,000 in a year, ‘so that news of the £1,000 donated on that evening was fantastic and completely out of the blue’.
    Kirsty Bass of the charity Adventure Playground, for people with special needs, said she was impressed with the generosity of the Lodge, and was pleased to accept the donation of £1,500 as well as the Lodge’s offer of a working group at the playground should it be required.
    Other charities who received donations that evening were: Special Need and Parents, £1,000 received by Nicola Hitchcock; Little Haven Children’s Hospice, £1,000; Tim Perkins Motor Neurone Trust, £1,000 received by Susan Perkins; Cancer Research, £500; The Donkey Sanctuary, Somerset, £500 and Riding for the Disabled, £500, a spread of charities which represented a good cross-section supporting the needs of society. The Lodge places importance on making donations to as wide a spread of charities as possible.
    This initiative on the part of the Stanford-le-Hope Lodge mirrors a county-wide charity push by the Province of Essex over recent years. The Province lays emphasis on lodges becoming involved with local projects, not only with financial donations, but also by encouraging the lodges in the Province to become involved on a person-to-person basis with the administrators and staff of these charities.

Dorset Provides Air Ambulance

As part of its continuing commitment to aid the local community, the Provincial Grand Lodge of Dorset recently started a fund-raising initiative to help support the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. The proceeds were presented recently at the special celebration event to mark the 5th Anniversary of the founding of this vital service.
    At the presentation, there were invited guests, volunteer helpers and local dignitaries, assembled in a marquee erected in the grounds of Sherborne Castle in Dorset. They heard from Nichola Howkins, DSAA fundraiser, how the service relies entirely on charitable support, and of the considerable cost of providing this lifesaving service for the benefit of the local community. With no government funding, the £80,000 a month running and operational costs, plus the capital needed to acquire the aircraft itself, places a considerable burden on the dedicated team of fundraisers; yet the service goes from strength to strength.
    Just as Nichola Howkins announced the imminent arrival of the aircraft, the first of the air ambulances soared low over Sherborne Castle and landed in a coned-off area just 20 meters from the assembled guests, to be joined moments later by the new air ambulance in its red livery.
    The Provincial Grand Master for Dorset, Harry Barnes, accompanied by the Provincial Charity Steward, Chris Hubbard, presented a cheque for £13,000, the amount raised in just a few months by contributions from Dorset Freemasons.

Cornish Freemasons’ Medical Assistance

Doctors from the health centre in Mullion, Cornwall joined local Freemasons to display the equipment which the St Mellyon Lodge, No. 7422 had provided as part of their 50th aniversary fundraising. They were shown the equipment, comprising a 24-hour blood pressure monitor, an electro-cardiogram machine, and a pulse oximeter, used in assessing the level of oxygen in a patient’s blood.
    The 24-hour blood pressure monitor can be used by patients in their own homes. The electro-cardiogram apparatus, measuring about 20 x 10 x 5 cm, which supplies a printed readout, replaces a machine which was the size of a two-drawer filing cabinet.
    The doctors were welcomed at the dinner after the regular lodge meeting. The Mullion Health Centre covers a large area through the Lizard peninsula. The Lodge has been raising funds from various events over the past year and more, and the members intend to give £10,000 to local causes. They have already given £1,000 to the Shelter Box appeal for the tsunami.

Museums Group Visits Sindlesham

The Masonic Library and Museum Group was hosted by Berkshire Provincial Curator, Robin White and his assistants. A record number of members attended the Berkshire Provincial Library and Museum to enjoy a full and interesting programme.
    Mark Dennis gave an update of what has been and will be happening at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry, Great Queen Street, London. Yasha Beresiner then spoke on Collectors and Collectables, stressing the value of preserving original newspaper reports, prints, postcards, bank notes, jewels, tokens and even playing cards.
    Clive Bates and Alistair Grunert of the Berkshire team demonstrated how to make durable sleeves for pamphlets etc, with an explanatory hand-out for each member. The morning was completed by the regular ‘Antiques Roadshow’ where members brought along strange artefacts, regalia and certificates for identification by the assembled experts.
    The afternoon started with Roger Coles showing a video and talking on how museum objects should be correctly marked, without causing damage. This was followed by a hands-on workshop on marking up regalia and jewels.
    The programme finished with a general question and answer forum, mainly based on all that had been seen and learnt during the day. In summing up, the Chairman considered it had been a good meeting with participation by everybody. The Group will next meet in London, possibly in the Canonbury Centre, on 24 September 2005.

Medical, University and Legal Lodges

The Association of Medical, University and Legal Lodges was set up some years ago to promote links between those lodges, and since then there has been an annual festival. The forthcoming AMULL Festival, the fifth, is being hosted by Chancery Bar Lodge in Lincoln’s Inn in London on Saturday 17 September. All Freemasons with university, medical or legal links are invited to attend, whether or not they are members of such lodges, and to bring ladies and other non-masonic guests.
    Lincoln’s Inn is one of the four Inns of Court, which have their origin in medieval times. The Old Hall is well known to readers of Dickens’ Bleak House.
    The organisers hope that visitors will perhaps learn a little more of the work of AMULL. Included in the events is an inter-faith service, held in the Chapel of the Inn, where John Donne was once Preacher.
    The day will begin with coffee at 9.45; at 10.30 there will be a presentation in the Great Hall, comprising a literary, legal and Masonic anthology, followed at 11.15 by the inter-faith service, a champagne reception at 12.30 and lunch at 1.15. Cost £65 per person. Nearest undergound: Holborn.
    Contact: Leigh Sagar, 12 New Square, Lincoln’s Inn, London WC2A 3SW. Tel: 020 7419 8000 Fax: 020 7419 8050 or e-mail: leigh.sagar@newsquarechambers.co.uk

Songs of Praise in Bletchley

The debate regarding the compatibility of Freemasonry with Christianity has been aired for many years, but there are many instances of the two supporting each other. One such is Saint Martin’s, a brick built church in Bletchley, which has stood as a beacon of the Christian faith since it was completed in 1730. The Provincial Grand Master for Buckinghamshire in 1908, Lord Addington, in full masonic regalia, laid the foundation stone for the extension to the building of St Martin’s Church.
    For the last eight years an annual carol service has been held for the families of masons attached to lodges which meet at the Bletchley Masonic Centre, walking distance from the church. The leadership of these services has been shared between Father Bullock, the resident incumbent, and the Provincial Grand Chaplain, and this year the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, Don Varney, was present.
    Three years ago the Eric Deung Lodge donated £165 for the purchase of a nativity crib and the associated figures, for the use of the church.
    Peter Perkins is the present Secretary of Eric Deung Lodge, No. 9695 and has also been the Church Warden of St Martin’s church for over ten years. This year he invited his cousin, BBC presenter Pam Rhodes, to share in the service by reading one of the lessons.

Provincial Grand Master Acts as Junior Deacon

How much is a Provincial Grand Master worth? The Brethren of any Province ought to say that their Provincial Grand Master is invaluable, but as a result of an innovative challenge to all its members, the Province of Surrey has been able to identify a sum of £35,000. The Province put a unique opportunity to all its Lodges to make a bid by auction for the Provincial Grand Master and all his executive team to carry out an initiation ceremony. The bids poured in both from lodges and from individual members, and in the final event Coveham Lodge, No. 4212 and its members were successful with a total bid in excess of £10,000.
    Rather than conduct the ceremony himself, Provincial Grand Master Denis Phipps felt that the occasion would have more significance for the Candidate if he were to be Junior Deacon. His hand was accordingly the first to be offered to the new Mason on his initiation at Croydon Masonic Hall, when the ceremony was conducted before a gathering of 170 members and guests, with all the current Executive either taking one of the other offices or delivering lectures. The presentation of the gloves and the mode of preparation were also included. The event captured the imagination of the Province completely, and many lodges that had bid unsuccessfully made a donation of a like amount enabling the total of £35,000 to be raised for the Surrey 2008 Festival on behalf of the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys.

Charity Initiative: Sussex 4 Sussex

Earlier this year over a thousand Sussex masons with their wives and partners attended a dinner at the Brighton Centre. This special celebration was held in order to hand over of a cheque for £4,104,896 to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
    In addition to this success, the Province has plans in place to continue their giving and to support local Sussex charities. This initiative was to be called Sussex4Sussex.
    In the second half of 2003, before the 2004 RMBI Sussex Festival had drawn to a close, the Provincial Grand Master, Ian Lay, announced that he was anxious to harness the enthusiasm, determination and exceptional generosity of Sussex Masons.
    Each Lodge and Chapter in the Province was, and still is, encouraged to nominate local charities that they would like to see supported by this steadily rising fund. At a recent presentation evening the first group of cheques was presented to ten local charities. These included a presentation of £20,875 was made to Worthing Air Training Corps towards the cost of a new minibus, of £13,750 to St John Ambulance, Rye towards the cost of a new ambulance, of £7,500 to Chalk Farm Project to fund the cost of two fitted mobile classrooms and four laptop computers, and £5,000 to the Clock Tower Sanctuary providing support for insecurely housed young people, of £2,500 to Headway Hurstwood Park Brain Injury Centre. The total came to £62,125.
    Since then the fund has continued to grow, and the Province is now planning to hold a much larger presentation evening, where they are aiming to present cheques in excess of £120,000

North Wales Wheelchair Curling

Recently, John Norbury, Chairman of Group 6 Lodges in North Wales was approached for help in providing a sports wheelchair for Mike Preston, to enable him to pursue his sport of wheelchair curling. In less than six weeks, the Brethren in the Group raised more than £1,300 which enabled him to receive the wheelchair in time for the World Curling Championships.
    Mike said: ‘I have been a Mason for nearly 30 years but never thought I would be in a situation to need masonic charity myself. I thank the Brethren for helping me to pursue a sport which I can do, and also helping me to represent Wales. The chair has made it much easier for me to compete.’
    Mike has been captain of the Welsh Wheelchair Curlers for three years and attended the World Championships in Scotland in January, where his team beat Japan, Bulgaria and Russia and drew with America to take the Welsh team’s world ranking from 15th to 11th.

Black Country Masonic Tradition

The founders of the Black Country Heritage Lodge No 9702 set out to create their lodge in the Province of Staffordshire. Amongst their aims were to practise their own unique ‘Black Country Working’, and to establish a 19th to early 20th century exhibition lodge at the Black Country Museum in Dudley.
    The ceremony closely follows emulation ritual, so if the audience cannot understand the language, at least they can follow the story. The workings themselves claim no historical merit, but provide an interpretation of the ceremony using simple terminology with a touch of Black Country logic. The intention is to provide an evening of masonic fun and enjoyment. In the course of the ceremony, the demonstration team marches into the lodge with decorum and takes complete control, carrying out a complete evening’s work. Every mason present is deemed to be a member of the ancient ‘Black Country Lodge’. Fines are imposed for the slightest transgression, resulting in most of our audience being fined before the ‘lodge’ finally closes. Their records show that in the three years the team has been performing, they have made in excess of five thousand pounds for the charities of the host lodges.
    For details contact Frank Pressdee at fpressdee@blueyonder.co.uk