STOWMARKET MASONIC oracleMasonic Hall, Violet Hill Road, Stowmarket
1ST APRIL 2017 Issue No.22
Thank you for all those who have kindly contributed to this edition. We look forward to all those who use the facilities at Stowmarket and welcome contributions to Oracle for future issues.
Please feel free to submit any articles you may feel of importance for Oracle to W.Bro. Codge [email protected], your secretary, or to the StowmarketMasonic Association.
THIS PUBLICATION WOULD WELCOME ANY ARTICLES FROM OTHER DEGREES WHO USE THE FACILITIES AT STOWMARKET
Please also feel free to submit any events your lodge may have arranged i.e. Ladies Nights etc.
In MemoriamW.Bro. George VoyleAla Lodge, Phoenix & Ala RoyalArch Chapter, Gipping Valley
Chapter Rose Croix
Almonersnotes...
Need an Almoner?Although the Lodgeshave a summer recess,the Almoner’s door isalways ajar - 24/7.Please keep these contact details where theyare clearly visible - like by using a magnet on afridge door.
Cut along dotted lineIN AN EMERGENCY RING ANALMONERPhoenix - David [email protected] 01359 230152 or07585 701230Ala - Keith [email protected] 01449 258406Bosmere - Tony [email protected] 240208 or 07759 442946Gipping Valley Rose Croix -Colin Barber - [email protected] 675548
LODGE ALMONERS
A big thank you to all those contributors, please keepsending articles events etc. to [email protected]
On Sunday 26th February I organiseda Group 9 Almoners meeting here atStowmarket and included Almoners alsofrom Groups 3 and 6. With the aid of theProv. Almoner Terry Lewis we finaliseddetails of the new Voluntary VisitingAlmoners for the Province. The new VVA’swill specialise in supporting local Almonersand Brethren in completing forms whenmaking applications for grants and supportfrom the MCF (Masonic CharityFoundation). This scheme hopes to be upand running during the Autumn.
We hope to launch a Stowmarket LadiesFellowship in the very near future buildingon the support we give to our Widows.Ladies Fellowships work well throughoutthe Province with Widows meeting up overlunch perhaps monthly to shareexperiences and offer support to each other.
Finally, brethren I wish to thank W.Bro.Barber for allowing me to have space onthe new Phoenix lodge website where youcan find copies of my reports and otheruseful information and more importantlythe Brothers Record Card which many ofyou have yet to complete.
W.Bro. David Frost
Last March Phoenix Lodge 516 had thehonour of the Provincial Deputy GrandMaster W.Bro. John Rice, accompanied bythe Provincial Deputy D.C James Orlop. Anescort was also formed in the temple, withtwo active officers present,
The ceremony of Initiation for Bro. Tiagowas led by the W.M. Brian Evans. During theevening tributes to W.Bro Scarff were givenby The RW Barry Ross, Past Pro. GrandMaster of Suffolk on Travers 45 years inFreemasonry. The festive board was wellattended, with port being supplied byW.Bro. Scarff, We look forward to Travers50 year celebrations in five years time.
CB
Phoenix Lodge 516 website has now been launched, it is still underconstruction, but please visit and add any suggestions or comments. Youwill need a password to visit Craft and Royal Arch areas, which are availableon request from the Secretary or Codge of the Lodge.
There is an area of News, Events. To assist our Dining Secretary theFestive Board Menu is also available, please contact him if you wish analternative well before meeting as he cannot provide an alternative on the evening.
PLEASE TAKE A LOOK:
https://phoenixlodge516.wordpress.com/
45 years in Freemasonry
BOSMERE LODGE are revivingtheir popular Aldeburgh Fish and ChipFamily Lunch on Sunday 7th May,details from the Secretary, W. Bro. RogerYoung. This will be followed by a visit andconducted tour of the Long Shop Museumin Leiston courtesy of the MuseumManager - W. Bro. Stuart Hines.COMBINED LODGES “get
together” in the summer has beenproposed courtesy of W. Bro. Traver Scarffand his Lady Jean.REMEMBRANCE DAY parade in
Stowmarket will be on Sunday 10thNovember. Last year was the first timeBrethren paraded in regalia by kindpermission of the Provincial Grand Master.Let us hope that this will become anestablished tradition and be wellsupported by all of the StowmarketBrethren and their families.
There will be a Combined LodgesCHRISTMAS PARTY at theStowmarket Golf Club, proposed date isSaturday 2nd December building onthe very successful night last year. Ticketswill undoubtedly be in great demand.THE COMBINED LODGES
CAROL SERVICE will be held onMonday 11th December. Furtherdetails to follow.TERCENTENARY CELE BRA -
TION DINNER AND DANCEwill beheld at Ashlar House in Bury St Edmunds onSaturday 24th June. Tickets are just£34.50 per head. Stowmarket Lodgesshould be able to fill a few tables but bequick as tickets are going fast.
Plenty to do and plenty of opportunities forthe Brethren and Families of all of theStowmarket Lodges to join together to makethis our Tercentenary year a great success.
Roger Young, Bosmere Lodge
EVENTS
PHOENIX LODGE PRESENTS A
Filipino Banquet & Quiz Night
SATURDAY 29 APRIL – MASONIC HALL £15.00PPTickets from Bros. R. Florey and C. Davies
W,Bro. Joe Naughton, accompanied bythe treasurer, W.Bro. Graham Mason, andBro. JW Graham Fielding presented acheque to the Stowmarket Air CadetSquadron No.1331 of £400 at 19:15pmon Wednesday 25th Jan 2017.
This cheque was accepted by SquadronLeader Flight Lieutenant Paula Houghtonon behalf of the squadron.
This was one of the charitypresentations made by the Ala Lodge IPMto commemorate his year in office.
The ATC are a registered charity andthe Stowmarket squadron are trying toraise funds to replace their ageing minibus,which is so important to attending variousadventure exercises that help the cadets intheir development.
They are a uniformed youthorganisation affiliated to the RAF withaims to encourage leadership, team-working and an adventurous outlook on lifefor young people aged between 13 and 20.There is no requirement to join the armedforces but joining is an excellent way to seeif the forces life would suit a youngster.They take part in a huge range of activities- flying, gliding, shooting, adventuretraining, sport, camps in the UK andoverseas, Duke of Edinburgh's AwardScheme and many others. It is also possibleto obtain BTEC qualifications through theATC, many of which are provided freeof charge.
Graham Fielding - SW Ala Lodge
CEREMONYOF THEEMPTY CHAIR
Several members of Phoenix Lodge No516 joined a host of visitors at AbbotBaldwin Lodge tonight in Ashlar House.The ceremony of "The Empty Chair" wasvery moving and performed brilliantly bySuffolk Provincial Stewards Lodge. Thefestive board was delicious, representingtypical food from WW2.
If you get the chance to see it “Go”
NEW MASTEROF ALA
Several members of Phoenix Lodge No516 visited Ala Lodge, in Stowmarket.
The Ceremony was flawless and festiveboard was to its usual good standard.
Congratulations to the out going masterW.Bro. Robert Crozier on his past year,what a fantastic year he had. Welcome toWB Paul Anderson into the chair of KingSolomon. If the ceremony last night wasanything to go by I am sure he is going tohave the experience of a lifetime.
Bro. R. Florey
ALA GIVES TOEACH
W.Bro Joe Naughton and I visitedEACH in Ipswich to present a cheque for£400.00 to Melanie, one of the EACHCharity co-ordinators. Melanie gave us aguided tour which I can assure theBrethren left Joe and I with a completelydifferent perspective as to the great workthat EACH do. It is definitely not a placeof gloom but is very peaceful with anabundance of various activities for thechildren to take part in.
Melanie informed us that the donationwe gave then would pay for up to 10 MusicTherapy sessions.
W.Bro Graham Mason
ALA LODGE SUPPORTINGLOCAL ORGANISATIONS
WISBECHVISIT
WB John Shaw and myself(Columbyne Lodge of Mark MasterMasons,No 1866) enjoyed a visit toGuildof Good Fellowship Lodge of MarkMaster Masons, No1410 in Wisbech lastnight. We were made very welcome bytheirmasterW.BroH.M. Philpot and histeam. An excellent demonstrationceremony of advancement, and goodfood and fun at the festive board
I met Peter Green when I was amember of Bury St Edmunds RoundTable and when I left, he asked if I wasinterested in becoming a Mason. As itappeared that Masonry was very similarto Round Table I decided to join and wasinitiated into Phoenix Lodge in October1988. I stayed the course and becameMaster in 1998. After which I becameSecretary, a post I held for eight years.During this time I was voted onto theStowmarket Masonic Association and inMarch 2009 I had the honour ofbecoming the Chairman of theAssociation.
I retired from the Association thisyear after 8 years as Chairman. Duringthis time we made improvements to theHall by redecorating the external part ofthe building, the Temple and Diningrooms, renovating the bar area andtoilets. All of which I hope has made it abetter place for the Members of theAssociation to hold their meetings andsocial events.
Spotlight - W.Bro. Mervyn Wake Phœnix Lodge
A betterplace for
themembers
THE ALA LODGE TERCENTENARYCELEBRATION BAR-B-Q
To be held at the Paddock in Onehouse on Saturday 5th Augustbetween 2.00pm and 7.00pm.
The cooking will be in the very capable hands of W.Bro Rob "The Burger" Mullinsand W.Bro Dave "Onions" Edgley. I myself will be happily dispensing refreshments at avery reasonable price and I have it on good authority that girls will be doing somelovely salads and puddings. Vegetarian alternatives will be available please just let meknow in advance so that I can provide sufficient.
The tickets will be priced at £12.00 and all the profits will be going to the 2019Festival. I hope many of you will be able to join us and make it a memorable day.
On 15th February 14 members from “Phoenix LodgeNo 516” visited “Lodge of Perfect Friendship No 376”in Ipswich to lay claim to the “Traveling Gavels”. We hadcompetition from “Prince of Wales Lodge No 959” whoalso brought 14 members
it was a fantastic night, floor work in the temple for1st degree was very good, festive board was unbelievable.Both competing lodges had to undertake question onhistory of Freemasonry, Then do renditions of "Old McDonald". These performances byboth lodges as a forfeit needed to seen to be believed, Paul Rutland’s (POW Lodge)impression of a chicken "WOW" but the highlight of the evening was watching GrandOfficer “Traver Scarff ” strutting down the centre of the tables imitating and making thenoises of a pig was hilarious. Unfortunately POW lodge piped us at the post and took theGavels. Thank you to Lodge of Perfect Friendship for hosting such a good night. Thank youto POW Lodge for being great sports.
At the recent, well attended AnnualGeneral Meeting of the StowmarketMasonic Association, held on 21st. March2017, at the Stowmarket Masonic Centre,a presentation was made to W.B. MervynWake, our retiring Chairman, after 8 yearssterling service.
After a short speech, highlighting themajor achievements during Mervyns’tenure. W.B. Peter Turner, DeputyChairman, presented Mervyn with aninscribed gavel, on behalf of the gratefulmembership.
For the benefit of those unable to attendthe meeting, here is a summary of theprojects undertaken to improve theMasonic Centre during the last 8 years:-
• New central heating system• Installation of a stair lift
• Upgrade the building, fire detectionand evacuation system to the latestFire Regs.
• Replacement of the decaying columnsto the front entrance portico.
• Minor repairs and completeredecoration of external elevations
• Hearing loops installed in the Templeand dining room
• Alterations and decoration of theTemple and furniture
• Structural alterations to create largerbar area and access to the Diningroom
• Design and construction of new bar,refurb. of dining room c/w. with newtables and chairs
• New retaining wall between car parkand neighbouring gardens• Remodelling and installation of newLadies and Gents toilets
• New boundary fenceThe departing chairman paid tribute to
the two Secretaries, two Deputy Chairman,and two Treasures and the many fund raisersand financial backers who had supportedhim during his term in office.
The wooden truncheon was presentedto Mervyn when he retired from full timeemployment! ! !
Mike Hart
The next major project for the SMAwould be new facilities in the vault (cellar)with extensive improvements to themystical goat room, where new feedingstalls will be provided. A new stair lift willalso be added from the cellar to the templeto assist our ageing goat ‘Jason’ who inrecent years is finding the stairs verydifficult to climb for our ceremonies. It wasalso remarked that the Vet fees and feedingcosts were also becoming expensive, andthe committee has decided to sell goatsmilk instead of alcohol in the bar area toincrease the bar funds.
On a serious note we are looking fornew members to look after Jason, we meet
only three times a year with a rehearsals.You will only need a proposer and aseconder. Application forms can beobtained on the 1st April this year.
I recently got back from a great night from“Bosmere’s 25th Anniversary Meeting”.Three presentations:
• “The Founding of BosmereLodge” - W.Bro. Ian Mason.
• “Minutes of the consecrationand 1st meeting of BosmereLodge” - W.Bro. Roger Young.• “Bosmere Lodge - The First 25
Years” - W.Bro Kaz Kossowski andW.Bro. John Ford.All three presentations were most
informative and interesting with a lot ofmemories being brought to the fore.
Festive board was excellent, lots offrivolity and banter. WM David Tombs dida marvellous job in the temple and after inthe festive board. The attached photosummed it all up.
Roger Florey
The Stowmarket Masonic AssociationANNUAL GENERALMEETING - MARCH 2017Chairman’s Report:
Another year, has past althoughnot as industrious as the last fewyears. The boundary woodenfencing has finally been replaced.There is now a rolling 5-yearinspection system to keep on top ofthe things that need attention orupgrading. This year the externalrepainting will be carried out.
The Association will also beadopting a new system of dealingwith the notification of itssubscriptions for the use of the Hall.They will now be notified to theappropriate Masonic units soon afterthe Annual General Meeting andcommence in September to coincidewith the Masonic Year. Hopefully tohelp the Treasurers set theirsubscriptions for the full year.
This is a sad time for me as I havedecided not to stand for re-electionfor the position of Chairman or as amember of the Association’sCommittee. My time as Chairmanhas been a most rewarding and veryenjoyable experience.
I was elected Chairman in 2009and since then there has been anoverhaul of the Masonic Hall, withwork carried out to the externalwoodwork, the Temple, Dining roomand Bar, and the toilet area. We alsolooked in to the expenses of the Halland reduced them whereverpossible. I believe we have madethe members of the Masonic Unitswho meet at the Hall more aware thework and what the SMA represents.
I have to thank the members of theCommittee for assisting, advising,co-operating and helping me throughout this period. My thanks are alsodue to my two Deputy Chairman,Mike Hart and Peter Turner, twoSecretaries, John Kirk and BernieNunn, and my two Treasurers, MartinHall and Jim King, for keeping meadvised and in check.
Having looked at the list of theBrethren who wish to be elected ontothe Committee, I know that I leavethe Association in good hands.
Yours sincerely and fraternallyMervyn Wake - Chairman
