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Companions, I am delighted to welcome so many of you to this important Provincial event. It has been a pleasure to invest those I have appointed to, and promoted in, Provincial rank and I also congratulate those, who were honoured by the First Grand Principal in Supreme Grand Chapter in April. I look forward to working with you all in the coming year to further the advance of Royal Arch Masonry in Hampshire and Isle of Wight. You all deserve the honour that you have received and may wear your new regalia with pride. However, do remember that there are no free lunches in Freemasonry – your preferment comes with added responsibilities and demands from you an even greater effort in the promotion of, and recruitment to, our beautiful Order. In order to assist you in that task I have recently appointed a Royal Arch Representative in each of the Craft Lodges within the Province. While some Lodges have an associated Chapter, which many of their members will naturally wish to join, the Reps have been tasked with promoting the Royal Arch in general rather than a specific Chapter. Prospective candidates will be provided with information about the Order and the various Chapters meeting in their area, and encouraged to join the one that best suits their circumstances. Most of the Rep’s work will be undertaken behind the scenes, but it is expected that Worshipful Masters will allow time, at least once a year, for them to outline in Open Lodge the values of Royal Arch Masonry and its important place in a Brother’s Masonic progression. It is also hoped that their name will appear on the Lodge Summons. This initiative has been undertaken with the cooperation of the Provincial Grand Master and I am pleased to publically acknowledge the immense support that he gives me and our Order. The effects of the recession are to be seen in the statistics contained in the ProvGScE’s report – there having been a doubling of the number of resignations and exclusions in the past twelve months. Happily the number of candidates for exaltation held up and numerically we remain a strong Province. However, there can be no room for complacency and each Chapter must look to make savings in its expenditure – use desktop publishing to prepare yours summons, send them and other information electronically, when postal services are used stick to second-class stamps, consider cutting a course at dinner. I’m sure I do not need to go on, but if we can stabilise our subscriptions the rate of loss of members will undoubtedly diminish! In addition, Almoners should be on the lookout for those Companions on fixed incomes, who are experiencing financial difficulties and DCs must be aware of the time constraints on younger members, whose employment and family commitments must come before their Masonry. At the end of last year, the members of Georgian Chapter No. 6752 came to the conclusion that it had run its course and that the time had come to hand in their Charter. Its dissolution was commemorated at an especial convocation of Provincial Grand Chapter in February, when the Chapter’s achievements were honoured and the elements of consecration and Charter returned. On a happier note, the 225th anniversary of Royal Gloucester Chapter No. 130 was celebrated by a rededication ceremony. Last November, our Provincial Team visited Bristol to witness that Province’s unique ritual, during the course of which we all passed the veils. The following month we reciprocated this sharing of Masonic knowledge when a group of Bristol Companions visited Winchester and we demonstrated how Hampshire and Isle of Wight split up a ceremony using the alternative version of the Complete Workings. In addition during the year, senior members of the Executive, accompanied by many of the active Provincial Officers, made 45 official visits to other Chapters within the Province, and members of the Cabinet attended the annual convocations of the Metropolis and 22 other Provinces. I thank all our hosts for the generosity of their hospitality and the warmth of their welcome. As always, our thanks are due to all those, who have toiled behind the scenes to ensure the success of today’s splendid convocation – E Comp Brian Wisbey, the Caterers and the Staff here at the Guildhall, who ensured that our needs were well supplied at lunch; the members of Charles Dickens Chapter and the Portsmouth Lady Masons for loaning equipment; the Provincial Janitor and his helpers for transforming a dining area into a Royal Arch temple with such alacrity; the members of the Provincial Stewards’ Chapter for the many services that they supply, not least the welcoming of our visitors; the Provincial Director of Ceremonies, his Deputies and Assistants for the ceremonial; the Provincial Organists, present and past, for their stirring music; and finally the Scribes E and Mrs Mary Thorpe in the Provincial Office for their administrative skills. We regularly state that the three great principles upon which Freemasonry is founded are: “Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth”, but what do these terms mean? The first is self-explanatory being the Masonic definition of male bonding – a composite of friendship, camaraderie, loyalty and “having a beer with the boys”. The second, “Relief” is the practical extension of Brotherly Love to those-in-need, both within and outside Freemasonry – in simplistic terms the practice of philanthropy. The third, “Truth”, is not so well understood. Superficially, it is the antithesis of falsehood – the righting of wrongs and the correction of ignorance and error. However, “Truth” has a much more profound import for the discerning Freemason. It is the inner spiritual meaning of his existence, the true knowledge of himself – that body of knowledge known as the “Ancient Mysteries”. These are as old as time, but are difficult to attain as they are just beyond the threshold of our general awareness and consciousness. They premise the existence of a Supreme Being and support the view that a consideration of the Deity should be included in all human endeavours. They encompass those spiritual values that act as a bridge between our worldly existence and eternity, and in Masonic terms can only be attained by exaltation into the Royal Arch. To achieve perfection each one of us must look to incorporate these great truths into our lives, always being aware that success can only be limited, for to quote the address on Joshua’s robe: “Perfection is not given to man. Perfect Holiness belongeth only to the Lord”. Nonetheless, it should be seen as something to aim at, a symbol enticing us towards the light and the reason why it is every Companion’s duty to persuade those Brethren still in the darkness of their third degree to take the great and final step in Pure Antient Freemasonry by joining the Royal Arch. Companions, thank you for your attention – travel safely and may the God of our Fathers be with you all.
Dr Roger Hugh Jago |