Grand Lodge News

GRAND LODGE NEWS – MARCH 2005

At the recent Quarterly Communication held on 9^th March Grand Lodge fees have been raised for Registration, Certificates etc., by approximately 3%. Details as affecting our District will be circularised by the D.G.L. Office.

A reference was made in the agenda to the Grand Board of General Purposes encouraging Lodges to save time by distributing the Minutes of the previous Meeting to Members with the summons, but to avoid too much detail in recording the ceremonial and administrative aspects.

At this meeting, reference was also made to the proximate possibility of having the entire Book of Constitutions available on the Grand Lodge’s Website and the Grand Lodge has no objection to Brethren periodically down-loading the text of those Rules and Regulations. However, it recommends that an official bound version of the Book should continue to be presented to every initiate and every Brother joining from another Constitution.

GRAND CHARITY NEWS – MARCH 2005

The Grand Charity has allocated further £300,000 for Tsunami relief applications over the next three years, particularly for aiding children through recognised charities.

The total donated amount to the TSUNAMI Masonic Relief chest to date is £321,400 and continuing.

A total sum of £2.84 million was paid out to 1731 Masonic beneficiaries, averaging 1641 per grant. Former beneficiaries of the RMBI received an additional £1.54 million for the year to 30^th November 2004. The number of active beneficiaries was 1484.

Brethren attending Grand Lodge today have received on entry a copy of the Supplemental Report of the Board of General Purposes, dated today, recommending the recognition of the new Grand Lodge of Mauritius which is due to be formed on Saturday. I believe that the logic of granting recognition in advance is clear from the Supplemental Report, but I should like to stress that this is an unusual situation which is unlikely to occur often.

This Grand Lodge has on more than one occasion granted prospective recognition to a new Grand Lodge when one or more of our own Lodges are participating in the formation, but the present situation is rather different. It is only because of the unusual situation in Mauritius, with very substantial cross-membership between our own Lodge and those under the Grande Loge Nationale Française, coupled with the fact that our own Brethren would otherwise be unable to participate in the activities of the new Grand Lodge, that the Board has brought forward the recommendation as urgent business. That said, the Board has no hesitation in making the recommendation in the particular circumstances and trusts that the Grand Lodge will endorse it.

Asbestos
I am pleased to be able to report that the programme of works to remove asbestos from Freemasons' Hall is progressing satisfactorily. It has been a major project, not just in financial terms, but in planning and execution.

The Board is indebted to the Grand Secretary and his staff, and particularly those who have been actively involved, for all their efforts.

Unfortunately, Brethren attending meetings at Freemasons' Hall have had to put up with lack of heating, particularly in the recent cold spell. This is unavoidable because until the asbestos has been cleared we cannot use the heating and ventilation system. It has not been feasible to install short-term electrical heating as it became apparent early on that this would put too much strain on our electrical system. I can but apologise, and thank those affected for their forbearance. I hope that we will shortly be experiencing warmer weather.

The work is planned to run through to August, and is on schedule. It is anticipated that the heating and ventilation system will be back in use when the Masonic season starts again in September.

Dues
I would now like to refer to Paragraph 5 of the Board's Report which explains why it is recommending a substantial increase in Grand Lodge dues. The Board recognizes that this increase, together with the proposed increase in the Grand Charity contribution, will result in a significant burden on Lodges and their members.

Unfortunately the cost of running Grand Lodge in recent years has been subsidised by investment income, and although General Expenditure has been reduced where possible, the recent increased cost of maintaining the fabric and structure of Freemasons' Hall, our flagship headquarters, means that this is no longer a sensible policy if the finances of Grand Lodge are to remain sound.

Masonry in England and Wales has for many years been relatively inexpensive, particularly when compared with the rest of Europe and elsewhere. In real terms, however, the annual dues payable to Grand Lodge and the contribution to the Grand Charity are not great when compared with the cost of other social activities.

Nevertheless the Board is fully aware of the impact of any increase in dues particularly for those on fixed incomes. Every effort will therefore continue to be made to keep expenditure as low as possible, while at the same time ensure that those Lodges who use Freemasons' Hall continue to bear a realistic proportion of the cost.

I would also like to draw attention to the paragraph in the Report headed "Circulation of Lodge Minutes". Our Masonic forebears in the eighteenth century were extremely cautious in committing any detail of Lodge meetings to writing. I would not wish to suggest that present-day Secretaries should exercise quite the same degree of reticence, but there are an increasing number of examples where the minutes of Lodge proceedings are giving to much detail of the ceremonies and actions of the individual members. This is unnecessary particularly as the legitimate reader will be well aware of the content of the ceremonies. The Board therefore strongly recommends discretion in the interest of brevity.

Finally, Brethren, it has come to the Board's attention that there is an irregular body styling itself the "Regular Grand Lodge of England" which is governed by something called "the Masonic High Council for England and Wales". It claims a number of members and at least one Lodge. Whilst this body appears to draw its members from Brethren of other Constitutions rather than our own, I must remind members of the Craft that any Freemason under this Grand Lodge who does in any way become associated with it, as with any other irregular self-styled Masonic body, must resign from the Craft or render himself liable to Masonic disciplinary proceedings.