WINTER 2016 PAGE 1 A message from the Manchester Area Communications Officer Welcome to the Winter Edition of the District Newsletter which I hope you find interesting. We welcome contributions for future newsletters from Brethren and Lodges and please submit them via email if possible to [email protected]Richard Zoltie Communications Officer Manchester Districts 07768 467039 I must start this message with a big thank you to you all for your magnifi- cent support for the 2015 Festival. In the end we reached a very respectable figure of well over £2.6 million and money is still trickling in. I had a great night at St Georges Lodge just before Christmas when I presented them with a Festival Certificate for a 100% Lodge contribution. That will probably be the last one I will present but…you never know!! It is approaching ten months since the Provincial Grand Master transferred me from Eastern Area to be Assistant Provincial Grand Master with special responsibility for the Manchester Area and although it has been challenging at times I have enjoyed every minute of it. That is primarily be- cause of the warmth of the reception I have received from the Brethren of Derby and Sykes Districts. I have already visited several Lodges and I would like to ex- press my thanks to the Brethren of those Lodges for their kind hospitality. I intend to visit every Lodge within two years of my transfer so it will be quite a heavy schedule but one I am looking forward to. A Message From Chris Welton APGM Assistant Provincial Assistant to the Provincial Grand Grand Master Principals WBro J Chris Welton, PJGD EComp David Basger, PGStB DISTRICT CHAIRMAN DISTRICT CHAIRMAN WBro David Hudson, PProvJGW WBro Chris Prax, PProvJGW T˙ Man˜e‘ter Ma‘on The Newsletter for City Derby & City Sykes Districts
Transcript
WINTER 2016
PAGE �1
A message from the Manchester Area
Communications Officer
Welcome to the Winter Edition of the District Newsletter which I hope you find interesting. We
welcome contributions for future newsletters from Brethren and
Lodges and please submit them via email if possible to
I must start this message with a big thank you to you all for your magnifi-cent support for the 2015 Festival. In the end we reached a very respectable figure of well over £2.6 million and money is still trickling in.
I had a great night at St Georges Lodge just before Christmas when I presented them with a Festival Certificate for a 100% Lodge contribution. That will probably be the last one I will present but…you never know!!
It is approaching ten months since the Provincial Grand Master transferred me from Eastern Area to be Assistant Provincial Grand Master with special responsibility for the Manchester Area and although it has been challenging at times I have enjoyed every minute of it. That is primarily be-cause of the warmth of the reception I have received from the Brethren of Derby and Sykes Districts.
I have already visited several Lodges and I would like to ex-press my thanks to the Brethren of those Lodges for their kind hospitality. I intend to visit every Lodge within two years of my transfer so it will be quite a heavy schedule but one I am looking forward to.
A Message From Chris Welton APGM
Assistant Provincial Assistant to the Provincial Grand Grand Master Principals WBro J Chris Welton, PJGD EComp David Basger, PGStB DISTRICT CHAIRMAN DISTRICT CHAIRMAN WBro David Hudson, PProvJGW WBro Chris Prax, PProvJGW
T˙ Man˜e‘ter Ma‘on25 JAN 2016
Man wakes upBy MATT
InternationalMoose CountUnderway
By BOB O’BOBSTON
The UN-sponsored InternationalMoose Census got off to a flyingstart today with hopes for an increasein the worldwide moose populationcompared to last year’s disapointingfigures. Among the traditional earlyreporters were Egypt, returning fig-ures of six moose, a twenty percentincrease on 2011’s figures of five, andUruguay whose moose population re-mains stable at eleven.
According to Robbie McRobson,head of the UN Moose Preserva-tion Council, worldwide moose num-bers are expected to grow markedlyon last year due to the traditionalmoose strongholds of Canada and theUnited States, with the larger de-veloping moose ecologies also poisedto make gains. The largest percent-agege increase in moose will likelycome from China”, says McRobson,The Chinese government has investedheavily in moose infrastructure overthe past decade, and their committ-ment to macrofauna is beginning topay dividends”. Since 2004 China hasexpanded moose pasture from 1.5%of arable land to nearly 3.648% andmoose numbers are expected to riseto 60,000 making China a net mooseexporter for the first time. This isgood news for neighbouring Mongo-lia, a barren moose-wasteland whoseinhabitents nonetheless have an insa-tiable desire for the creatures. The in-crease in Beijing-Ulanbataar trade isanticipated to relieve pressure on therelatively strained Russian suppliers,
but increase Mongolia’s imbalance oftrade with its larger neighbour.
Historically the only competitorto China in the far eastern moosemarkets has been Singapore but thetiny island nation is set to report anet loss, expecting a decrease of morethan five percent on last year’s 50,000moose counted. The head of Singa-pore’s Agency for Agriculture, Jing-Feng Lau, explained to an incredu-lous Singaporean parliament yester-day that bad weather had contributedto this season’s poor showing, mostnotably when a cargo of 150 moosewere swept out into the Indian oceanin a monsoon.
Yet again the global demand formoose will be met largely by theUS and Canada. The recession-hitStates is taking comfort in its moosegrowth figures with gross productionexpected to break 700,000 and net ex-ports to grow by 2%. The worldwidedominance of Canada shows no signsof abating though with this year’smoose population expected to matchlast year’s record figures of one hun-dred million billion.
Europe’s rise as an internationalmoose power will slow slightly thisyear as a response to the EuropeanUnion’s move towards standardisingthe European moose. Stringent qual-ity controls are holding back the de-velopment of the eastern europeanpopulations compared to last yearwhen they contributed significantlyto europe’s strong growth figures.Norway, which is not an EU memberbut has observer status, strengthedin numbers relative to the Euro areawith numbers of Norweigian moose,known locally as elk” expected to risefor the tenth consecutive year, partic-ularly thanks to a strong showing inthe last quarter.
As moose season reaches its close,researchers world wide are turning toscience in an attempt to boost nextyear’s figures. NASA stunned thescientific community today with theannouncment of their discovery thatthe moon is significantly smaller than
previously believed. This conclusion,which is the conclusion of a ten-year collaborative project, will haveprofound implications for the moosecommunity as the gravitational fieldis now known to be of the rightstrength to support moose in orbit.
According to John Johnson, headof the NASA Moon Sizing Experi-ment the first delivery of moose intolow moon orbit could be achieved asearly as the third quarter of next year.The technology to nurture moose inspace is available now”, he said, ”allthat is needed is political will”.
Granny winsWorld WrestlingChampionship
By ROY MCROYSTON
Records were smashed inNicaragua’s World Wrestling Cham-pionship last night as 78-year-oldMaud Johnson, grandmother of five,became the first woman for fifty-sixyears, and the oldest competitor ever,to claim the gold medal. She walkedaway with her million dollar share ofthe prize money, runner up TommyThompson from Nigeria taking half amillion, and third place New Zealan-der John Smith receiving a warmhandshake from the umpire.
Having started the tournament arank outsider she began to impressin her second match when she tookUS number three Ron Ronson by sur-prise and subdued him in twenty sec-onds with her unique move that hasbeen dubbed "Maud’s Death Grip".The injection of a new wrestling styleinto the tournament was welcomedby spectators and Johnson’s pre- andpost-match breakdances have provedentertaining to fans. However, shewas still not expected to win inround three last Wednesday, facingoff against title-holder Paulo "Spine-
The Newsletter for City Derby & City Sykes Districts
TEH THE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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A MESSAGE FROM CHRIS WELTON APGM - CONTINUED
My thanks must also go to the hard working District teams and in particular the Chairmen and Secretaries for their support and guidance. They really do put in a lot of hours on your behalf.
I have made a point of inviting the District Teams and the Provincial Officers of the Year from Manchester Lodges to join me on my visits and I have to say that I am most grateful for the sup-port I have received. I believe it is important for the Brethren of the Lodges to see who is repre-senting them on their District and for the Team to meet the Brethren.
I think you all know that we have a dynamic Provincial Grand Master so it will not be any surprise to hear that there are several Provincial Projects coming your way in the next few months.
There is a new Recruitment Initiative where our own Mo Afsa is playing a prominent part. I saw Mo make a Presentation on the Initiative and it was first class. I am hoping that the Brethren of Man-chester will all be able to see the Presentation in the next few months so watch this space!!
The Festival is over but during the time it was operating our own Charity, the East Lancashire Ma-sonic Charity, took a back seat. It is now time to redress the balance (without it becoming a mini Festival) so you will be asked to consider a contribution to our Charity and I would like to think that you will be able to spare a little cash, in order that our Widows and less fortunate Brethren can be assisted. I think on the last count our Charity supports something like 500 Widows from Closed Lodges etc. and that is quite a big, but very important, commitment.
On 26th October last year, many of you attended a meeting relating to the Manchester Hall as it is now called. I am grateful to Worshipful Brothers Paul Rose, Henry Bentwood and Ian Connor to-gether with the Deputy Provincial Grand Master Very Worshipful Brother Derek Thornhill for their attendance and the information they were able to impart to us. We are all now benefitting from the discount on our Lodge Rents which was announced at that meeting but I would like you all to think ahead about what we as Manchester Masons may do when we move onto the Third Floor some-time next year. I am sure you will have seen the display in the “Marketing Suite” on the First Floor at Bridge Street and had an idea as to what our new home will look like. Now is the time however when we should start to consider how best we can use that new home to our advantage and to promote Manchester Masonry and hopefully attract new members to our Lodges.
I know we have many talented business men in our ranks and I am looking for ideas from you as to what we can do to promote the “brand” of Manchester Masons, how we can utilise our new fa-cilities to aid recruitment and how we can use it to engage with the Manchester communities.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I will finish this message by reiterating my support for the Royal Arch, I have been well supported by our Assistant to the Provincial Grand Principals, David Basger and his team and I am happy to support them. The Royal Arch should be the first Order you consider joining after the Craft. Other Orders are important and enjoyable in their own right but there is plenty of time to explore them and choose whichever suits you best, indeed some of them require you to be a Royal Arch Mason before you can join them anyway.
Thanks again for your support,
THE THE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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MANCHESTER MASONS NEW YEARS HONOURS
LEFT: WBRO HENRY DONN OBE
RIGHT: WBRO ALAN ROBERTS BEM
LEFT: BRO SIR NORMAN STOLLER
THE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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MESSAGES FROM THE DISTRICT CHAIRMEN
On behalf of both Manchester District teams we send you and your families our very best wishes for 2016.
As Chairmen of the two Manchester Districts we have very busy Masonic lives. Ranging from regular pas-toral visits to our respective lodges to supporting our Assistant Provincial Grand Master WBro Christopher Welton in the management and guidance of both Districts and indeed supporting our own private Lodges and Chapters along with other Masonic Orders that we are members of. On the surface we may appear calm when you may meet us at Manchester Hall but appearances can be deceptive and our duties are made considerably easier by the dedicated support of our District Officers to whom we owe a debt of gratit-ude for all their hard work.
During the last twelve months numerous changes have taken place within Manchester Masonry, especially within City Sykes District. Last March we welcomed WBro Chris Welton as our Assistant Provincial Grand Master replacing RWBro Stephen Blank. As we now know, Stephen was appointed the Provincial Grand Master for the Province of Cheshire last October. RWBro Blank served Manchester Masonry well during his time as APGM and we wish him well in his new role.
WBro Welton was already an Assistant Provincial Grand Master in the Province serving both Rochdale and Oldham Districts, though Chris is a Manchester Mason. He has already made a several changes; one, be-ing accompanied on his pastoral visits by both District teams and those Manchester Masons who hold an active rank within the Province. This is working well and it gives those Brethren the opportunity to meet other Manchester Masons and see how their Lodges operate.
Sadly in the early part of 2015 we lost our good friend WBro Jack Levene to the Grand Lodge above. Jack worked tirelessly not only for the District but also the Province and East Lancashire Mark Masonry. Jack served Manchester Masonry well having been appointed the Area 2015 Festival manger alongside his role has District Charity Steward for City Sykes.
It was always going to difficult to find his replacement, though we are pleased to say that WBro Steven Thomson of Arkscroll Lodge has settled in well as Jack's replacement. We wish Steven well in his role and in helping WBro Mo Afsa Charity Steward for City Derby in leading both Manchester Districts in the coming months in supporting our own East Lancashire Masonic Charity. You will be hearing more news about the ELMC in the coming months.
Congratulations also to WBro Richard Bermitz on his appointment last October as Deputy Chairman for City Sykes and a special thank you to Derek Smith on his retirement as Deputy Chairman.
Richard had been our Communications Officer for four years and has now been replaced by WBro Richard Zoltie capably assisted by Bro Matthew Phillips. Both are members of Zion Menorah Lodge.
Finally, a warm welcome to WBro David Green of Mellor Lodge. David will work together with WBro Elliot Moss of City Derby in the important role of Lodge Mentoring.
We are delighted to support all our newsletters as it is an ideal means of keeping yourself up to date with District activities and what is happening within our Lodges and Chapters. It provides useful information of recent and forthcoming events for you to report on within your respective lodges.
If there is anything you feel you would like to contribute by means of submission please contact the editors of this newsletter, Richard Bermitz ([email protected]) or Roger Bower ([email protected] ) or our Communications Officers who will no doubt be pleased to receive anything you care to send them.
WBro David Hudson & WBro Chris Prax
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Let’s Talk Masonry! The 8th. Northern Masonic Conference
“Your opportunity to meet, discuss and shape the future”
On Saturday 19th March, 2016, 9-45 am to 3-45 pm
Hemsley House,
Salford Masonic Hall, The Crescent, Salford.
M5 4PE
A Conference Hosted by the Province of East Lancashire www.pglel.co.uk
The Past. John Acaster will help to guide you through the early years of Freemasonry.
The Present. Tony Baker will be discussing Masonry as it is today and how you see it.
The Future. Padraig Belton will take a look at the future of Freemasonry and how you view it.
Cheques to be made payable to: “Provincial Grand Lodge of
East Lancashire” Application forms are on the web site.
Saturday 19th. March, 2016, 9-45 am to 3-45 pm. Registration from 9-00 am.
Tickets are £20 per person and Includes the cost of the conference,
notes, buffet lunch, tea and coffee.
Bar will be open & Free Car Park in the Grounds.
For more information, or an application form view the Education & Development section at www.pglel.co.uk or contact your District Mentor
All of these sessions are interactive.
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WBRO PAUL ROSE - REPORT ON MANCHESTER HALL
At the Meeting in Manchester in October I outlined the proposals for the redevelop-ment which are illustrated in the marketing suite in the Towns dining room which is available to all.
It will be seen that the ground floor will be occupied by three restaurants which will be primarily for members of the public but of course will be availed for Freemasons to use.
The restaurants will be high quality and will be Mexican, Indian and pan Asian.
There will be three separate entrances all with state of the art access for the dis-abled. One will provide access for Masonic and conference use,one for the two restaurants which will occupy the ground floor and one for the Mexican which will be located where the garage is at present.
The Masonic and conference access will have the benefit of an adjacent bar/ coffee and meeting facility and whilst the Masonic and conference facilities share the same entrance there will be a separate lift going to the third floor ,access to which will be secured to Freemasons.
As has previously been explained all Masonic activity will be on the third floor whilst the catering will be provided in the rooms on the first and second floor which are used for dining at present. The exception is that the Golbourne Lodge room will be available for large meetings which are defined as an attendance of more than eighty.
The rooms on the first and second floor are to be refurbished for conference and catering use. And a roof terrace is being created which will be available for separate hire for private functions and will have its own separate access.
In October I explained that the detailed programme of work had not been finalised because final planning permission had not been obtained. I am pleased to report that the planning permission has now been approved and it is expected that the works can now begin in the next two months. In particular it is hoped that the major structural works and installation of the disabled access and new lifts can be carried out during the summer recess.
As soon as the final programme is settled I will report further.
UPDATE: At present the time table looks as though it will be :
New front entrances - July - AugustLift structure - August - fit out September - there will be one lift operational from the Derby Ante Room during this periodThird Floor commencement July
All subject to confirmation
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WHY DO WE DO?
This is the first in a series of articles in which WBro Fred Lomax provides detailed explanations of various practices and pieces of ritual.
GLOVES?
You might ask; Why do we wear white gloves? Actually we do not need to, it is up to the Master to decide whether the members of his Lodge wear gloves or not.
In many lodges – and I am a member of one where gloves are not worn – it was decided that it should be that way at the consecration of the Lodge and has remained so ever since.
Gloves have always carried a certain symbolism, even from the Middle Ages, in military, legal and court circles, and in our case, along with the white lambskin apron, they are symbols of innocence and purity of heart. We also know that employers provided masons with gloves in addition to their wages. For instance the records of York Minster c.1335 show that masons were provided with gowns, aprons, gloves and clogs.
However their use today in Masonic Lodges is controlled by Grand Lodge. An extract from the Board of General Purposes minutes of 10June 1964:
Grand Lodge Regulations state:It is left to the discretion of the Master of each Lodge to decide, after considering the interests of members generally, whether to request that they should be worn.
The Board considers that when such a request is made it should cover all present butsometimes this applies to the Officers of the Lodge only. The Board recommends the Grand Lodgeto rule that if gloves are to be worn they should be worn at all times except:
By the candidates for the three degreesBy the Master Elect when actually taking his Obligation on the VSL
Gloves would thus not be removed by the Master (or Wardens or temporary occupant of their chairs or by any other Brother assisting them) in the course of entrusting or examin-ing candidates or when investing Officers.
The Board sees no objection to Entered Apprentices and Fellow Crafts wearing gloves when not actually being passed or raised.
It’s is usually printed on a Lodge Summons if white gloves are to be worn, but why theungloved hand during the obligation? In the Masonic exposure – Masonry Dissected 1730,during the obligation a candidate speaks of ‘my naked right hand on the Holy Bible.’
It therefore makes sense that nothing should intervene between the human hand and theVolume of the Sacred Law when a solemn obligation is being taken.
If there is anything particular that you want to know more about please let us know.
WBro Fred Lomax PProvSGWManchester Lodge For Masonic Research No. 5502
TTHETHE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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MANCHESTER AREA CELEBRATIONS
Clockwise from top left:
Ron Proctor 50thNorman Bower 60thRodney Evans 50thLen Rose 50thOld Mancunians with Mt Sinai 7-Way Initiation
THE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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The central Masonic Charities (The Freemasons’ Grand Charity, Royal Trust for Girls and Boys, The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution, and Masonic Samaritan Fund) collectively provide funding, advice and a range of services to support Freemasons and their families. The four charities operate through the generous donations of the Masonic community.
The Presidents of the central Masonic Charities (CMC’s) recently led a review of their work which has recommended that the work of the four organisations be consolidated into one new charity. The organisation will be called “Masonic Charitable Foundation” and will become operational in 2016.
The Masonic Charitable Foundation will provide the full range of support currently available to Freemasons and their families and hopefully expand these services.
There will be a simplified application process and a single set of eligibility criteria, with support more readily accessible and responsive to the multiple needs of Freemasons and their families. The Masonic Charitable foundation will also continue to award grants to external charities that Freemasons are keen to support.
Currently anyone may be asked to act as the Visiting Brother to complete an application to the Freemasons Grand Charity, Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys or Masonic Samaritan Fund (the charities). In the Manchester Districts I am quite often asked to appoint a Visiting Brother to complete an application and more often than not that task will fall to a Lodge or Chapter Almoner.
The Charities have been made aware that the gathering of detailed personal information can be quite challenging and overall the process is difficult. Furthermore, a visiting Brother/Almoner might only ever complete one application mean-ing that they have no opportunity to gain experience of what is required. As a result, the applications submitted are of-ten incomplete or incorrectly filled in leading to delays in processing the information and difficulty ensuring that the help given truly reflects the needs of the individual. In fact, it is estimated that up to 25% of the applications made to the Charities are incorrectly completed.
Following careful consideration, the Charities have decided to work with a small number of provinces to pilot the use of Provincial Welfare Officers. East Lancashire is proud to be numbered amongst the pilot provinces, the new scheme will begin in early 2016. The pilot aims to reduce the number of delayed applications and ensure that everyone receives the best possible package of support for their needs.
From January 2016, anyone applying for support from the Central Charities will be visited by a fully trained Provincial Welfare Officer who will assist with completing and submitting the required application form and supporting paperwork. This change only affects the way in which the application form is completed.
When a Lodge or Chapter is made aware of a Freemason who is in need of support through the Charities then it is im-portant that the Lodge Almoner contacts either Karen Hall or Julie Ward at Hewlett Court, Newcombe Road, Holcombe Brook, Bury, BL0 9XJ (01204 88 7531) who will then ensure that a Provincial Welfare Officer is appointed to arrange to visit the Freemason in person.
In East Lancashire there will be 12 Provincial Welfare Officers who will be responsible for visiting Freemasons and their dependents to complete applications. As the Manchester District Almoner I was extremely proud to be invited to be-come a Provincial Welfare Officer by the Provincial Grand Almoner Brian Carter.
Alongside the eleven other new Provincial Welfare Officers (PWOs) I undertook training at Ashday Lea recently in order to prepare for my new role. The training was conducted by Alex Taylor, Learning and Development Manager at Great Queen Street and Elaine Hansen from the Advice, Care and Support Team and was multi-facetted covering areas such as making the visit, communication skills and completing the forms. The training was to an excellent standard and there will be more to follow as the plans are that the PWOs meet monthly at Hewlett Court for updated and ongoing training and to exchange knowledge regarding the new role.
It is important to stress that all the other important support and assistance that the Lodge/Chapter Almoner provides will continue unchanged. The Almoner’s role remains one of the most important offices within a Lodge or Chapter and it is crucial that our members and their families receive the highest possible standards of pastoral care that we are able to offer.
PAUL O’CARROLL, MANCHESTER AREA ALMONER & DISTRICT WELFARE OFFICER EXPLAINS HIS ROLE
THE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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The East Lancashire Masonic Charity (ELMC) continues to play a leading role in organ-ising our benevolent activities and should be a source of great pride for us all. Through its several committees, the ELMC continues to champion the role in supporting hundreds of our beneficiaries; as well as many local charities and good causes across the communit-ies throughout the Province.
With the successful conclusion of the RMBI 2015 Festival following its Banquet last Octo-ber; it is time to make ELMC a priority in our charitable contributions. By doing so, not only will we render our donations and efforts more organised and more effective; we can make a progressively greater impact on our communities.
In the recent years, this has been consistently highlighted by the Grants made through the ELMC Community Fund for numerous causes across the Province. Recently, Manchester Districts have once again had a number of successful applications to the Community Fund, reports of which will be published in the next Newsletter. If you consider a local charity in our area worthy of support and/or active involvement; an application can then be made to Grant Making Committee (the new name of the Community Fund Committee). Your Lodge and District Charity Steward would be pleased to assist you with this.
Following the recent floods in Cumbria; the ELMC has supported the Province of Cumber-land and Westmorland in granting funds to support the affected communities. In East Lancashire, our Provincial Grand Charity Steward has called on us to ascertain the cur-rent situation in our own particular local communities, with a view to requiring practical and/or charitable help and assistance in the immediate future.
For more information about the ELMC in general (including recent structural changes) or the Grant Making Committee in particular; please refer to the ELMC Website (no doubt you check this regularly). We now have a brand new Fundraising Committee with their own web page!
As your two Charity Stewards in Manchester please contact us and we will liaise with your Lodge or Chapter Charity Steward, offering information and support; and we are available to assist with any aspect of charitable work by the Lodges/Chapters or by the members themselves. From fundraising ideas and activities to community projects; please feel free to contact us for any assistance or if you wish to share any news or information.
Recently the Brethren of Social Lodge 62 in the Sykes District donated £500 to the Mur-ray Parish Trust, a charity dedicated to raising funds for paediatric intensive care and sav-ing hundreds of young lives each year. Additionally, this donation will subsequently be en-hanced via a corporate matched giving scheme, doubling its value.
MO AFSA (CITY DERBY) & STEVE THOMSON (CITY SYKES), DISTRICT CHARITY STEWARDS PROVIDE AN INSIGHT INTO THE ELMC
THE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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City Derby District
Portico Lodge No 6070 Manchester Shofar Lodge No 7441
Ashbury Lodge No 1459 Loyal Lodge No 5040
St Georges Lodge No 1170
City Sykes District
St Thomas Lodge No 992 Zion Menorah Lodge No 1798 EL Centurion Lodge No 2322
Column Lodge No 5813 Social Chapter No 62
Lodge of Friendship No 44
Manchester Area Lodges where 100% of the membership has donated to the
East Lancashire RMBI 2015 Festival
THE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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Have you ever considered what is involved in being a Dora, a Dis-trict Officer Royal Arch? We have had Doras in our system for some time now and they dutifully go about their business in an efficient and quiet manner but I just wonder if we really appreciate the work that they do.
I progressed through the District system over many years taking each office from Charity Steward to District Chairman and worked with many Doras, some of whom have used their experience in this office and progressed further in their Masonic journey, but it is only since becoming an APGP that I truly value and appreciate their work. The Dora is effectively the eyes and ears of the APGP and in all honesty I would find my job impossible without their val-ued assistance and counsel.
One of their main tasks is promoting the Royal Arch within the lodges in my area of Manchester and Salford. Each Dora has at least 10 lodges to visit and are generally well received by the brethren. Each visit is self funded and the Dora must fit these visits into their busy diary of District Meetings, their own lodges and chapters and various other commitments. The demands on their time are great. Once they have visited a lodge they forward a report to me on their visit highlighting points that might need attention.
The Dora’s key ally within the Lodge is the Royal Arch Representative (RAR) whose role is to encourage those members of their lodge who are not in the Royal Arch to consider joining a Chapter and progressing along their Masonic journey. To try and ensure that the brethren understand the importance of becoming a Royal Arch Mason. The Dora will therefore build strong and lasting relationships with the RAR and hopefully create a stronger connection between the Craft and RA.
Another important job for the Dora is to liaise with Chapter Scribe E’s when dealing with report forms and the annual Provincial Honours forms collating them for the APGP. All this work is invaluable for me.
So the next time a Dora visits your lodge spare a thought to the important work that they do, give them your full attention and support, and if you aren't a Royal Arch Mason then speak to him – he’ll be only too happy to help.
Remember your Dora needs you!
David Basger APGP
A DORA’S LOT
THE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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My Journey in Freemasonry
As a Freemason over the last years, I learnt that our values and principles are es-tablished on the three great pillars of wisdom, strength and beauty. I joined Freema-sonry nearly two years ago and I am a proud member of Old Mancunians with Mount Sinai Lodge and more recently Ark and Menorah Chapter. One of the main reasons of joining this Fraternal organisation was my desire to actively participate and contribute positively towards our community and society. As we all know Freemasonry, is one of the largest charitable givers and has helped millions of peo-ple round the globe showing its philanthropic image. Besides this, I come from a Masonic family where both my father and brother back home in Athens are Freema-sons.
My journey in Freemasonry has been very interesting and exciting so far; I have made long lasting friendships and met people from different countries and diverse backgrounds. As Freemasonry is universal, the sense of belonging everywhere is unique. Therefore, I believe that the most enjoyable part is visiting other lodges be-cause you get to know other Brethren and witness a slightly different ways of con-ducting ceremonies. Since joining, I have visited several lodges in all parts of the UK where I had the opportunity to validate the aforementioned values and principles to other lodges - not only in the province of East Lancashire, but also in Oxford and London. Over these visits I managed to deeply comprehend additional virtues in life such as ethos, respect, integrity and mutual support.
I have a strong passion in learning rituals and conducting ceremonies and I am do-ing my best to help out my Lodge and my fellow Brethren. I strongly believe that Freemasonry teaches us moral lessons about life and makes ourselves better as-sets for society. Ever since I joined, my self-confidence and self-esteem have raised significantly and this is something that can be noted in my everyday activities. In ad-dition, Freemasonry and our rituals have taught me to improve myself constantly and discover my esoteric world.
I can assure everybody that these two years being a proud member of our Order have been the most exciting in my life. I hope there are many more to come in which I can show my gratefulness to our exceptional Fraternity.
ARIS NAFPAKTITIS, A MEMBER OF OLD MANCUNIANS WITH MT SINAI LODGE REFLECTS ON HIS JOURNEY AS A YOUNG FREEMASON
THE THE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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Welcome to what we hope will become a regular news feature from the Manchester Masonic Hall Company in which we will share news with you regarding the Hall and any developments that are taking place specifically around the third floor which as you are aware Manchester Masons will be occupying exclusively in the not too distant future.
Who are we?
The Manchester Masonic Hall Company (MMHC) is a company which is Limited by Guarantee which means that it is not for profit. The company has been established to represent the interests of Manchester Masons and to administer and oversee the booking of Lodge, Chapter and Other Or-ders meetings within the Hall. The MMHC is not responsible for anything food or bar related, this is the sole responsibility of the new owners of the Hall.
The MMHC Board consists of eight Board members all of whom are Manchester Masons and who have been specifically chosen by the Provincial Grand Master. The Directors are:
Henry Bentwood - Chairman
Mo Afsa - Secretary
Ian Connor - Finance Director
John Porter
Ashley Hayman
Alan Twigg
Chris Hicks
Paul O’Carroll
The current Board will serve for three years after which time one-third of them will retire, and fur-ther directors will be voted for by the members.
The new company is your company and in so much the Board represents your interests. The mem-bers of the company will be all the Lodges, Chapters, and the Other Orders that regularly meet at Bridge Street. A representative of each will be invited to attend and vote at the AGM each year.
Moving forward the MMHC Board wants to ensure that there are effective lines of communication open so that all of the members are up to date regarding any developments to the Hall and also any news which is relevant to the Lodges, Chapters and Other Orders in general and we have a number of ideas as to how this can be done which will be revealed in the future.
It is clear to see, for anyone who has visited Freemasons Hall recently, that the work to refurbish the building has begun. Furthermore, at the last District Representatives meeting, WBro Paul Rose detailed the exciting developments which are planned to take place at the Hall and it is undoubted that Freemasons Hall will be a first class facility for us to meet at in the future. It is hoped that the work at the Hall will be concluded in time for the three hundredth anniversary celebrations in 2017.
THE MANCHESTER MASONIC HALL COMPANY -GETTING TO KNOW YOU
TTHETHE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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The Manchester Masonic Hall Company-Getting to Know You. - CONTINUED
For those members that haven't already viewed the developers exhibition in the Towns Dining room then it is highly recommended that you do so as you will be able to judge the superb standard to which the refurbishments at the Hall will be carried out, the third floor alone is due to have one and a half million pounds of capital investment made by the de-veloper to improve the facilities and to bring them up to an unparalleled standard amongst Masonic Halls.
Clearly, change can bring uncertainty and the Board sees it very much as its role to en-sure that you remain well informed throughout the development process. We also want to make it clear that should you have any questions or queries that you would like to pose then you should feel free to do so. The Board is keen to operate with complete trans-parency so that you the members feel a real stake holding in the Manchester Masonic Hall Company and that the third floor, once completed, is a place that you look forward to visit-ing time and time again.This Current Season.
So far on the behalf of the members the MMHC has mandated a 10% discount on room rental for the 2015/16 season on top of which a moratorium on rent for a period of 12 weeks’ will come into effect once that the work on the main elevator begins.We hope that this is very much the start of the shape of things to come in terms of ensur-ing that any benefits, whether financial or otherwise, are passed onto the members as and when they become available. However, it is important to remember that this is the com-pany’s first trading cycle and it is essential that as a Board we apply care to how we man-age the finances of the MMHC until we have a realistic understanding of the costs in-volved in running the company moving forward.
In summary, the MMHC is driven to create an environment whereby Manchester Masonry can thrive and be as vibrant as it once was and we recognise that the Hall and the third floor developments can play a major part in driving a resurgence in Freemasonry in the city centre. This is why we are committed to providing the existing members with a first class product and service and to listen objectively to your views and opinions because it’s only with your support that we will be successful in achieving our aims and be united in our ambitions for Manchester Freemasonry.
THE THE MANCHESTER MASON WINTER 2016
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NO ORGANIST??
Did you know that Manchester Hall reception has a CD Player available to Lodges and Chapters who either do not have an Organist or who do not have one on the night.
They also have 2 separate CDs - one for Craft and one for Royal Arch. Both contain all the music usually heard for all ceremonies together with detailed track lists and timings. Although inevitably not as good as the real thing, we do hope this facility will enhance your ceremony.
COMPETITION TIME
QUESTION: NAME A FAMOUS ASTRONAUT (OR TWO), THAT WERE FREEMASONS?
