Quarterly Communication

12 September 2018 
An address by the MW The Pro Grand Master Peter Lowndes

Brethren, it is a pleasure to see you all back after the long, hot summer, and I would like to particularly welcome again those younger members of our Universities Scheme and, indeed, anyone else making their first visit to Quarterly Communications this September.

Brethren, this year we will see perhaps the greatest change in senior leadership within the Craft that there has ever been - and I'm not of course referring to the three of us! No fewer than 12 Provincial Grand Masters and seven District Grand Masters will have retired and their successors Installed by the end of this year. With each Installation ride the hopes of not just the members of that particular Province or District but, to a certain extent, the success and longevity of the Craft itself. More than ever before we expect so much from our leaders. We hold them accountable for the guardianship of a heritage stretching back centuries, and also for the future of the Craft, its growth and development and, dare I say, the innovation and change needed to allow it to flourish and grow. 

If we are to attract and engage our membership, and those who might flourish as members, we need to be not only responsive to the society in which we live, but also mould and form the perceptions of that society. It is quite right and proper that I pay tribute and thank those who, often for a decade or more, steward and safeguard the Ideals of the Craft for future generations.

Historically we have been a melting pot for ideas, a Brotherhood where concepts at the forefront of science and social change could be debated. We have been fortunate to count amongst our members some of the greatest minds of any age, Alexander Fleming and Edward Jenner; Scott of the Antarctic and Ernest Shackleton; Pope, Trollope, Burns, Kipling, and, like Sir Winston Churchill, those who truly valued service above the external advantages of rank and fortune.

Then, as now, there was not a ‘Right’ way of thinking, but a respect for all ways of thinking - some orthodox, some challenging. If we, as an organisation have a ‘unique selling point’ ghastly expression, I know, we respect each other, irrespective of our beliefs.

I know that some of our members were uncomfortable with the direction the Law has taken on issues such as gender fluidity and the obligation that puts upon us as individuals who pay due obedience to the laws of any State which may for a time become our place of residence.

I know from the debates that have been held up and down the country that there are similarly a large number of you who feel that our response to recent changes in the Law is generous, decent and open minded and you applaud it. 

Throughout our history our members have held vastly different views on many different subjects. It is one of our great strengths to encompass this breadth of views. Unlike the echo chambers of social media, we meet people who are different to us, who think differently, but that does not set us apart, or put us at variance; it binds us together as it did for those many freemasons who have gone before us. 

Brethren, this is one of the mnay things that, in my view, we have to offer society, and that so many outside the Craft could learn and prosper from, and it is just one of the many reasons I am proud to be Pro Grand Master.

Hundreds of Freemasons from north, south and central America and the Caribbean gathered in Montego Bay, Jamaica, for the United Grand Lodge of England’s Tercentenary

District Grand Master of Jamaica & the Cayman Islands Walter Scott said it was ‘a signal honour for Jamaica to be named hosts of this historical event in the Americas’.

Walter saw the Jamaica celebrations as an opportunity for members of church, state and the community to gather in harmony and share their thoughts and ideas. Running over four days, events included a grand banquet, cocktail reception, special commemorative lodge meeting, a Jamaica Night themed party and a two-day academic programme under the subject ‘Looking back with an eye to the future’.

The District Grand Lodge of Cyprus was proud to host the visit of the Pro Grand Master Peter Lowndes on 20th October 2017, where he had the opportunity to meet many members of the District, visit a local lodge and attend a Gala Dinner

It was a very important day for the District with plans for the visit having been started by the District Grand Secretary Robert Humphries several months in advance.

Together with his own Director of Ceremonies Charles Hopkinson-Woolley, the Pro Grand Master visited Apollo Lodge in the village of Episkopi where they were welcomed by the Worshipful Master Alan Cook. During his visit, he was also introduced to Gordon Rowell, an active member of the lodge at the ripe old age of 89.

In common with other visitors to the rather ancient Nissen hut which houses Apollo Lodge, the Pro Grand Master was astonished to see the attractive and well maintained interior of the building, including the beautifully laid out dining room. 

The Pro Grand Master learnt a great deal about Apollo Lodge and the District Grand Lodge of Cyprus. On completion of his visit, he was then presented with a framed print of an original painting by Brian Howard which depicted the Apollo Lodge building and the surrounding gardens.

The day continued with a business lunch with the District Grand Master Theodosios Theodossiou and District Grand Secretary Robert Humphries. The main event in the evening was a Gala Dinner Dance in the Panorama Room of the St Raphael Hotel, which was attended by 160 Freemasons and guests including the Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge of Cyprus and the Grand Lodge of Greece.

During the evening, the Pro Grand Master addressed the assembly and explained some of the highlights of the Masonic year including visits to other Districts in the Eastern Archipelago and Sri Lanka, where he had witnessed first-hand the charitable work that the Districts had been involved in. He also thanked the District Grand Master of Cyprus and the organisers of the visit.

After rousing applause, Theodosios Theodossiou thanked the Pro Grand Master on behalf of the District and presented a cheque for €10,000 to the Masonic Charitable Foundation – to which, in reply, the Pro Grand Master expressed his heartfelt thanks on behalf of the charity.

Pro Grand Master Peter Lowndes was present in September when the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra, Ghana, received a $42,000 X-ray machine from the District Grand Lodge of the country as part of Freemasonry’s Tercentenary celebrations

The equipment will help in the effective treatment of all forms of kidney stones. Along with the Pro Grand Master, Ghana District Grand Master Isaac O Hood led a delegation in order to present the machine’s documents to KBTH chief executive Dr Felix Anyah.

District help for  Dominica storm relief

Last August the small Caribbean island of Dominica was hit by tropical storm Erika. Five hours of the storm’s intense wind and rain provoked flooding and landslides, destroying hundreds of homes in the process.

St George Lodge, No. 3421, which has worked on the island for over 100 years, enlisted the help of brethren in the District of Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, and took immediate steps to assist. The Freemasons’ Association of Jamaica, through District Grand Master Walter Scott and District Grand Secretary Robert Forbes, donated JMD 800,000 to The Salvation Army as its contribution to the Dominica Relief Fund. The presentation was received by the territorial commander, Commissioner Gerrit Marseille, and property officer Major Stanley Griffin.

Jamaica helps rebuild girls’ home

Walter Scott, District Grand Master of the District Grand Lodge of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, has presented a cheque valued at J$551,000 to Keith Sangster, chairman of the board of the Wortley Home for Girls, on behalf of the District. The donation will help the home recover from a fire that destroyed a section of the facility. 

Jamaica Grand Lodge funds children’s home

The District Grand Lodge of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands makes annual donations to the Jamaica National Children’s Home. These are funded by lodges making yearly contributions to District Grand Master Walter Scott’s Child Care month. Further donations are provided by the District’s Freemasons’ Association, a company that generates income by renting out its building space.

Ghana District sponsors university chair 

Working with the District Grand Lodge of Ghana (English Constitution), the Phillips family has presented GH¢20,000 to the Methodist University College Ghana to create a Chair in mathematics. It will be known as the JVL Phillips Chair of Mathematics, after the former District Grand Master of Ghana.

Presenting the cheque at the university campus in Dansoman, Accra, District Grand Master Kow Abaka Quansah said the doctor had served Freemasonry by establishing masonic charities such as the Samaritan Fund to cater for the poor and needy in society. ‘The late Dr James Villers Legge Phillips, affectionately known as “Uncle Jimmy”, was an icon who was eminently admired and respected.’

Quarterly Communication 
11 September 2013 
An address by the MW the Pro Grand Master Peter Lowndes 

Brethren, one of my pleasurable duties is, along with the other Rulers, visiting our Districts and in June I was in Trinidad and Tobago and, more recently, I visited Zimbabwe. Brethren before any of you start to think that the Grand Secretary and I spend all our time swanning around the world, I, perhaps could point out that our visit to Zimbabwe for two and a half days involved 17 hours of travel in each direction. However, I feel strongly that we should make every effort to support our Districts and endeavour, when possible, to install our new District Grand Masters. 

The visit to Harare in Zimbabwe was, indeed, to install our new District Grand Master. I was somewhat surprised that the last visit there from Grand Lodge was in 1989 and, as you can imagine, we were given a very warm welcome. I was even more surprised to find that two of our Lodges are in Malawi, where masonry thrives, there being 70 members and we can count Members of Parliament and High Court Judges among them.

Apart from meeting many of the local Brethren and their wives, we were driven to a school in a township seventeen miles west of Harare where, after a tour of the school, we were entertained to some vibrant and very moving African dancing and singing. Started in 1992, the number of orphaned children in the Education Support Programme is now 407. A trust fund has been set up to provide for example school fees, uniforms, books, a daily hot meal, healthcare and sports activities. All in all it was most impressive and exactly the type of Charity the District, if possible, should support. Later the same day, and back in Harare we visited the Masonic home, run to the high standard you would expect.

At the same time, it was also a good opportunity to catch up with the District Grand Masters attending from neighbouring Southern African Districts who attended the business meeting as well as the Installation. 

I have mentioned already that earlier in the year I visited the District of Trinidad and Tobago. The Caribbean Districts have met every year – for the last eleven – for a regional conference and we now attend whenever we can. As they meet regularly, they know each other well, sharing issues and enjoying each other’s company. They are a great example to follow.

Looking forward – I am attending the Centenary of our District of Nigeria at the end of October. Our stated philosophy is that if a District wishes to remain loyal to us we will remain loyal to it. Nigeria is a current example of this, preferring to stay in the English Constitution, rather than joining the newly formed Grand Lodge of Nigeria. As in Harare we will be running a business meeting for District Grand Masters from throughout Africa.

On this theme, I was pleased to hear that in early December this year the first conference for the Districts in Asia and Oceania is being held. This is being attended by the Deputy Grand Master. All these meetings are a sign of the strength of our Districts and long may that continue.

On another theme, and applicable to all Lodges wherever they are in the English Constitution, is the theme of making the Craft relevant to all generations.  Following the presentation at the Quarterly Communication this time last year on assuring the future of Freemasonry I challenged the Universities Scheme Committee to consider how the principles expressed in the address – particularly about shortening meetings and running them more efficiently – could be implemented across the whole Craft.

I have now had first sight of their report for consideration. A report which covers a series of evidence-based recommendations and examples of good practice from lodges around the English Constitution. This is an excellent document and I will be discussing the proposals and how to disseminate agreed recommendations through the Provinces and Districts to Lodge level. Brethren how often do we hear, only partly in jest, that any changes and progress in Masonry take an eternity. These recommendations have been put together with admirable speed and it is incumbent on the Rulers to ensure that there is no delay in passing them on.

We are, I believe, united in recognising the importance of recruiting and retaining younger Freemasons and these recommendations will give a better chance of strengthening all Lodges, however successful, whilst not alienating established brethren.  

District Grand Masters, District Grand Superintendents, and other District Grand Officers, gathered for the Third Conference of the Central Masonic Charities and District Grand Lodges at Freemasons' Hall on Tuesday 24 April.  Due to the increasing popularity of this annual event, the setting has now moved to Lodge Room No.1 to accomodate over fifty representatives from the Districts as well as representatives from each of the four central masonic charities.

Hugh Stubbs, President, Masonic Samaritan Fund, welcomed all members on behalf of the four Central Masonic Charities, and gave an introduction before members broke for the first of the group discussions.

Walter H Scott, District Grand Master, Jamaica & the Cayman Islands, spoke on the relationship between his District and the Central Masonic Charities, which led into the second group discussion.

Following lunch, James Bartlett provided an update on the Mentoring Scheme and, in particular, the Ambassadors for Freemasonry Scheme, and a presentation was given by Nick Cripps on the selection of Personal Mentors.