Companions for the first time as Grand Superintendent it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all here today. Masonry has been a large part of my life for almost 40 years and the Royal Arch in particular for almost 30 years. I have had the pleasure of serving this Great Royal Arch Province in various capacities almost continuously for the last 15 years, and for the last 9 years as Second Provincial Grand Principal. I am thrilled to be your Grand Superintendent and look forward with eager anticipation to leading this province in the coming years. Having been a freemason for almost 40 years I am indeed fortunate to have both my proposer and seconder into masonry, who like me are old boys of Portsmouth Grammar School, here today. My proposer, Excellent Companion Lawrence Guyer, very kindly agreed to be my chain-bearer at the installation ceremony, and my seconder Excellent Companion Brian Bellinger who is currently the Grand Scribe Nehemiah was my chain-bearer when I was installed as Second Provincial Grand Principal some nine years ago. They both have much to answer for but I do thank them most sincerely for their confidence and bravery in bringing me into the Craft. I cannot let today pass without paying respect to my immediate predecessor Excellent Companion Roger Jago who brought me back out of the Masonic wilderness and appointed me as his Second Provincial Grand Principal some nine years ago. Roger served this province tirelessly for the last ten years as Grand Superintendent, with distinction. He led his Province from the front. He rapidly gained the full confidence and respect not only of the companions of the Province, but also of the Companions of many other Provinces that he visited regularly, and his fellow Grand Superintendents. He was once described to me by a very senior Mason as the best Grand Superintendent in the country and I am very sure that there are few if any here today who would argue with that opinion. He I know will miss the companionship of the Royal Arch circuit and the Companions of the Province will miss his wit and sense of humour. He will be a difficult act to follow. I have been fortunate to inherit a Province which is in a very good state of health. Our numbers are holding up well and most of the Chapters have a good supply of candidates. The systems in place are working well and in the main I do not propose to make any major changes. I do however very much share the concern of our Provincial Grand Master Excellent Companion Michael Wilks, over the number of masons, and in particular Royal Arch Masons, who have been lost to the Province for one reason or another over the last 20 years. My initial focus will be on retaining as far as possible the number of Royal Arch Masons within the province, and the recruitment of suitable candidates for the Royal Arch from our craft lodges. A few years ago, my predecessor, in conjunction with the then Provincial Grand Master, Excellent Companion Brian Bellinger, set up a system whereby each Craft Lodge within the Province would have a Royal Arch representative. It was to be the function of the representative to identify and encourage suitable Craft masons within their respective lodges to continue their journey into Pure Ancient Masonry by joining the Royal Arch. I intend to look into this system and ascertain just how well it is working. Our records will disclose the lodges from which our Royal Arch candidates are drawn. Some lodges will of course produce more suitable Royal Arch candidates than others in a year, but there are likely to be a number of lodges which do not produce any candidates at all. It is my intention to look at these lodges in particular, with a view to ascertaining the reasons why they are not producing Royal Arch candidates and addressing those reasons where possible. Candidates are of course the life blood of our great Order and looking at the ratio of Royal Arch Chapters to Craft Lodges within the province I have no doubt that there are many suitable candidates for the Royal Arch who, with just a little more effort and encouragement can be persuaded to join the Order. During his last year of Office, my predecessor, Roger Jago, together with the Provincial Almoner, Excellent Companion Malcolm Childs, looked into the Almoner system insofar as Royal Arch Companions are concerned and produced a very good and comprehensive booklet outlining the functions of the almoner within the Royal Arch. Almoners in our craft lodges already do a first class job in looking into and reporting on the health and well being of the brethren. The focus of the almoner within the Royal Arch is somewhat different, and should be to identify those companions who may have formerly attended their chapters regularly but have ceased to do so or who have either not attended their chapters regularly or at all since their exaltation. The almoners will look into the reasons why these companions have either ceased to attend, or to attend at all, and try to address those reasons and remedy the situation. I am confident that by doing so we shall be able to persuade and encourage many of them to become regular attenders of their chapters again and retain their membership of the Royal Arch with pride. I congratulate all of the companions of the Province whom I have had the pleasure of appointing and investing today. You have all earned your appointments through a combination of hard work and dedication to the Province, but it does not of course end there. Your appointment, be it a First Appointment to Active or Past rank or by way of a promotion is not only in recognition of your past services to the Province but also in anticipation of your efforts in the future and your continued commitment to Royal Arch masonry in the years to come. Many have burnt the midnight oil in preparation for today’s proceedings. In particular, I would like to thank the Provincial Scribe Ezra, Excellent Companion John Walker and his deputy and assistant, Mrs Mary Thorp in the Provincial Office, the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies Excellent Companion Trevor Slydell and his very able team of deputies and assistants, and the unflappable Excellent Companion Brian Wisbey who has been responsible for co-ordinating the mammoth task of the dining arrangements today. Special thanks also to Excellent Companion Colin Upton who in addition to his duties as Provincial Grand Secretary in the Craft and Deputy Provincial Grand Scribe Ezra in the Royal Arch and very ably aided and abetted by Brian Wisbey has managed to find the time to produce the very artistic table plans, menus and place names for the lunch. They have all worked tirelessly both behind the scenes for several months, and of course today in making the many and detailed arrangements and ensuring that all has run smoothly and without hitch. Thanks also to the Companions of the Provincial Grand Stewards Chapter many of whom have been here since the early hours of the morning and who willingly give their valuable time and assistance every year in preparing this auditorium for the Provincial Convocation. They also transport the furniture required for the Convocation to and from Portsmouth Guildhall and assist the Guildhall staff in clearing away the tables and chairs following completion of the lunch. Finally, my thanks also go to the catering and banqueting staff at Portsmouth Guildhall for all of their co-operation and assistance not only in connection with the use and preparation of the Guildhall for both the lunch and the Provincial Convocation but for all their guidance and advice leading up to today. This is a warm and friendly Province in which the Companions very much enjoy their Royal Arch Masonry. It is my intention to do everything I can to ensure that this continues throughout my term of office. I thank you all for your kind attention and for attending today in such large numbers and I wish you all a safe journey home and a very happy and healthy Royal Arch year ahead in this great Province of Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Alan Berman |