The Address by the Provincial Grand Master
to Provincial Grand Lodge

1st May 2007

Brethren, today is one for celebration and for thanks. I am particularly pleased to see so many here to enjoy this very happy occasion. Thank you all for coming in such numbers and I do hope you have enjoyed the meeting and in particular seeing our Brethren receiving appointment to, or promotion in, Provincial Grand Lodge.

It is always said, but it is important to repeat, that your new rank points out not so much what you have achieved but what is now expected. As members of Provincial Grand Lodge you are to set an example to the newer Brethren. Remember the words that it is only by paying due obedience to the laws in our own conduct that we can reasonably expect compliance with them from others. You are to be an example to the Brethren of your Lodges by your general conduct, in life, as well as in the Lodge. You are expected to support the lay brethren and encourage them on their early steps in their Masonic journey. You have great responsibilities now.

We also congratulate those Brethren who on the recommendation of the Province were appointed to, or promoted in, Grand Lodge this year and who were invested by the Grand Master last week. The Provincial DC will now conduct them to me so that I may congratulate them and Brethren you will wish to applaud.

I also congratulate all those Brethren, who hold membership in the Province and who were similarly promoted on the recommendation of other Provinces and London.

We have two new Assistant Provincial Grand Masters - W Bro John Holder and W Bro Bob King. Both are well known to you all. John is to take over the Charity brief from John Blew and Bob is to lead our Public Relations and Communications. That role was in the very capable hands of W Bro Charles Marchant who has agreed to take on a new brief dealing with recruitment and mentoring. W Bro Stuart Robbens continues with his role in charge of Education and Training and I must say how impressed I am with the way he grasped the task and for the excellent programme he arranged for 2006/2007. He is developing a similar programme for 2007/2008. Details will be sent out during the summer. I also thank those Provincial Officers who delivered the various presentations and had to put up with the “helpful comments” from me, and others at the rehearsals. The programme included a most interesting talk from V W Bro Graham Higgs on the Masonic Journey and I am particular grateful to him for his support and invaluable contribution.

There is also a new face over there at the Secretary’s table.  W Bro Stephen Chappell was invested by me in November as Provincial Grand Secretary. He has taken to the task with immense enthusiasm and ability due in part to the excellent training he received from his predecessor W Bro James Smethurst.

I am delighted to have this opportunity to thank James for his service to the Province and for so capably settling me in back in 2005 and then his successor during the handover period last summer. I hope James that you are happy with the proceedings today.

With the changes to the Senior Management made today I have taken the opportunity to adjust the day to day management structure by introducing a new PGM’s Committee. The existing Executive continues with the membership unchanged and will meet every 4 months or so to review strategic and long term issues. The new Committee will consist of me, my Deputy, the 4 APGMs and from the Royal Arch the Second Principal with the Provincial Grand Secretary in attendance. We will meet more frequently, but I hope for shorter meetings, to discuss immediate issues and concerns.

Today Brethren is truly one of celebration. Three years ago my predecessor, Bill Bryen, set the Province the task of raising £1m for the Benevolent Fund. Today I am delighted, and very proud, to be able to tell you that target has been reached. You have given generously, and the result is that the Province is now on a firm foundation for the future, properly funded to meet our obligations to local, national and international calls on our charity.

I congratulate those Lodges to whom I have presented Patronage and Grand Patronage certificates. I am aware that there are others who as result of the deadline to be included today may have just missed out. While the Appeal for the Benevolent Fund is now over, there is nothing to prevent a Lodge making a donation and the final Certificates will therefore be presented in 2008.

I wish to express my gratitude to W Bro Peter Powell who today has retired as Provincial Charity Steward. He has worked tirelessly for the Province and we are very fortunate to have had the benefit of his time and energy. Brethren I think you may wish to show your appreciation to Peter.

W Bro Philip May takes over as Provincial Charity Steward and has the immediate task of helping co-ordinate the change of accounts from the West Kent Masonic Charities Association to the Grand Charity Relief Chest Scheme. I know that while he has a hard act to follow he is going to make a lasting impression on us all in the way he will approach his tasks.

At the Festive Board after this meeting we are to be joined by representatives of 3 local charities. As last year I asked for suggestions from you for charities we might support. Out of nearly 30 the small committee that advises me came forward with 10 and that was finally reduced to 3. We decided that for this year we would mark the success of the appeal and we should give 3 cheques each of £5,000 and they are to Marlborough School in Sidcup for special speech therapy equipment, Headway at Tunbridge Wells who support those with brain injuries and their carers, and 358 Squadron Air Training Corps based at Welling who particularly help children and young people with dyslexia and attention deficit problems. Brethren you will hear more of these three charities at the Festive Board.

In addition at the recent East Kent Provincial Grand Lodge I was delighted to present, together with their Provincial Grand Master RW Bro Michael Bailey, a cheque for £10,000 on behalf of the Grand Charity to Kent Air Ambulance. In addition in view of the importance of their work in bringing rapid assistance to the injured in our respective Provinces, Michael and I decided we should unite to match that donation. Brethren, that would not have been possible for us to do just a couple of years ago.

Now Brethren as you know our next Festival is for the New Masonic Samaritan Fund in 2015 and we therefore have about 2 years before the appeal is launched. I want you to take time to rebuild your funds and replenish your personal bank accounts in readiness. Some may wish to start putting money aside now. However there is some housekeeping to do. We have to deal with the changes to the West Kent Masonic Charities Association and each Lodge now needs to set up new arrangements with the Grand Charity Relief Chest scheme. The next two years give us time to put our house in order so that we move into the 2015 Festival with every aspect tidy and in good repair. The WKMCA and the Charity Committee will be working with the Charity Stewards of each Lodge to help and guide them through the process. I assure the Charity Stewards not to fear the process you will have proper support.

Brethren during the coming year there is a particular charity that I believe deserves our special attention. Many Lodges and individual Brethren already support Demelza House Children’s Hospice at Sittingbourne. Many of you will know that they have just started work to build a Hospice at Eltham and an appeal has been launched. This new unit is to provide facilities for the some 800 children and their families who have life threatening, or life shortening conditions, in South East London. In addition to 6 inpatient beds they will also provide what is known as Hospice in the home where the nurses assist the family in caring for the child in their own home for as long as possible.

At the April Charity meeting I received unanimous support for the launch today of a special relief chest to be known as the West Kent Masonic Demelza House Appeal. Details will be supplied to all Charity Stewards in the next few weeks and I encourage all Brethren and Lodges to support our own Demelza House by donating to this Relief Chest. The Demelza House Appeal Co-ordinator will be speaking to us at Provincial Officers Mess in October and I am sure there will be a large attendance to hear what he has to say. The Relief Chest will run for one year and the proceeds will be presented at Provincial Grand Lodge next year. I am not setting any targets for Lodges but I am sure you will contribute what you can to this very important appeal and ensure a suitably large cheque is presented to mark our support for their work.

Brethren, it makes a real difference to any Charity to receive donations in this way rather than modest donations over a long period which take time and cost to acknowledge and process.  I do urge you to use this route for your support of this Appeal.

I said at the start that this has been a year to celebrate, but I cannot omit to express my sadness that in the year three Lodges have closed. West Kent Invicta, Courage and Loyalty have struggled over the last few years and in the end it was better to allow them to close rather than continue supporting a lost cause. The closure of a Lodge when its work is done is part of Freemasonry. There is nothing shameful in this. It is important to look to the future and make sure that the affected brethren, who so wish, all join or are already members of, other Lodges.

I would like to acknowledge the work done by W Bro Fred Halligan and his support group in assisting our weaker Lodges. They have greatly contributed to turning round a number of Lodges who were losing heart and I am most grateful for their time and energy.

As an aside I should stress that having lost Courage and Loyalty in one year that the Lodge of Sincerity is in great heart! 

During the coming year we will be welcoming into the Province The Camellia Thea Lodge. This is a London lodge which for some time has been meeting, by dispensation, at Welling, and we look forward to the contribution they will make to the Province.

In 2006 over 200 brethren were initiated and they are all most welcome. They represent the future of the Province and it is the duty of each and every brother to make sure they feel wanted appreciated and encouraged to play a full part in the life of their Lodge and the Province. The retiring Board of Provincial Grand Stewards have organised an Initiates’ Dinner Dance at Oakley House on Saturday 9^th June. This will be an opportunity for our new Brethren to meet their colleagues, and the Executive, and I hope will make lasting friendships. Please make sure that those in your Lodge who were Initiated in the last year make every effort to attend.

Sadly at the other end we have had a distressing number of Brethren passing to the Grand Lodge above. More of our members died last year than in the Province of Essex and they have twice the members. Brethren this has got to stop! Please help the Province by staying safe, fit, and healthy in the coming year. We need and want you here, with us, not looking down from above.

I conclude my remarks by thanking all the officers who have served the Province during the last year and especially my Deputy. Derek you are a great support to me and the Province and I look forward to the coming year and its challenges with much more confidence with you alongside to assist in the execution of the work.

Brethren thank you all for your attention. Finally I draw your notice to the programme where you will see on page 49 at the conclusion of the meeting we are to sing two verses of the National Anthem. The additional verse we are to sing is not the usual one which starts “Thy choicest gifts in store..” but is another, I think it is the 4^th verse, which I heard for the first time at the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and is particularly appropriate. I suggest you find the page, and get your specs. ready.

May God Bless you all.

Jonathan Winpenny.