FREEMASONS’ GRAND CHARITY ONGOING GRANT TO SCOUT ASSOCIATION

 

The following is an outline of how the Major Grant of £500,000 awarded by Freemasons’ Grand Charity in 2008 to the Scout Association is being applied to scouting groups throughout England and Wales.

In 2008 Freemasons’ Grand Charity committed to donate to the Scout Association the sum of £500,000 over a period of 5 years. At the end of the first three years, it is clear that this money has made a significant difference to an organisation that shares similar values to our own and that it is doing good work in helping young people to become responsible members of society.

So far the money has helped to start over 360 new sections (Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts and Explorer Scouts) each year, bringing into Scouting more than 12,000 young people and 2,000 adults. Part of the money has also been used to develop new programme materials to help provide challenging, adventurous and enjoyable programmes.

From 2010/2011 a large portion of the money will fund county or area based activities or projects focused on encouraging or expanding Scouting. Each year the Scout association will award ten Activity Grants to local scouting groups in ten different areas of England and Wales which have been selected in consultation with the Grand Charity. Relevant Masonic Lodges will be informed of the successful groups that have been awarded funds and the Scout Association will encourage these groups to develop a relationship with the local Lodges and Provincial Grand Lodge. The first ten Activity Grants awarded in 2011 have been very successful and positive reports have been received by Freemasons’ Grand Charity from the Scout Association of the growing relationship between local Scouts and Masonic Lodges.

The ten successful scouting groups throughout England and Wales that will receive awards in 2012 will shortly be selected by the Scout Association and these will be announced in January.

Although this Province may not presently have been affected by the Activity Grants, many local scouting groups across the country have also received Start Up Grants. These Start Up Grants, typically £100 each, provide funds for regions where there is a desire among young people to join Scouting, but insufficient resources and adult provision means that they have been unable to take part. Funding has been allocated to grow 250 new scouting groups in England and Wales each year.

Recognising Joseph's Talent

Young Joseph McDermott’s talent was identified at voice trials and he was subsequently offered a place in the choir in September 2008.  The RMTGB agreed to support Joseph in July 2009 and they currently assist with fees for the Minster School and music tuition for Clarinet and Horn.

As a beneficiary of our Choral Bursary scheme, Joseph, age 10, does not have a Masonic connection.  His mother has brought up Joseph on her own and although she works full-time she was not in a position to meet the costs for Joseph to enjoy the benefit of joining a prestigious choir.

In his time as a chorister, Joseph has recorded two CDs with the Minster choir (“Lead me, Lord" and "A Year at York"), performed a solo in the 2010 school carol service and several small solos in the choir.  The RMTGB will continue to support Joseph subject to annual review until summer 2014, when Joseph will leave The Minster School.
I am sure that all the brethren from this Province wish Joseph all the very best of luck with his studies.

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HULL INTERFAITH LUNCHEON, SEPTEMBER 2011

The Immediate Past Master of The Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge, Sam Judah welcomed over fifty guests to an ‘Interfaith Luncheon’ at The Masonic Hall Beverley Road. Faith Groups represented included Anglican-Quaker, Greek Orthodox, Hindu, Roman Catholic, Church of England and both Reform and Orthodox Jewish. The presence of Reverend Michael Mewis, Provincial Grand Chaplain and Reverend Tim Boynes a member of St Cuthberts Lodge No 630 were examples of the ecumenical tolerance that was integral to the talks which followed.

The aim of this initiative was to disseminate information about the nature of Freemasonry. It is hoped that any misconceptions about the Craft may have been dispelled. It has been suggested that Freemasonry’s poor press in the past might dissuade men of different religious persuasions from becoming involved and may likewise alienate their wives, partners and families. A further aim of this pilot event was to address this issue which was raised by one of the guests Mrs Mary Munroe-Hill, Chaplain to The University of Hull.

Jeffrey Gillyon, The Deputy Provincial Grand Master, gave an erudite presentation titled ‘Freemasonry: not a religion but an Approach to Life’ explaining how the Craft does not possess a theological doctrine and forbids the discussion of religion and politics. He stressed the nondenominational concept of The Great Architect of The Universe embracing all religions and compromising none. The Deputy Provincial Grand Master described Freemasonry as ‘an approach to life’ which reinforces concern for others, kindness and care for the less fortunate, honesty in business, courtesy in society and fairness in all things.

Philip Daniels a member of The Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge spoke about the history of Freemasonry and the links with the operative stonemasons in the middle ages. He referred to the documentary evidence of the seventeenth century and described features of the Lodge Room, relating how they had evolved with time.

There were many questions, skilfully fielded by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, Sam Judah and Philip Daniels. Sam Judah thanked the speakers, and invited the visitors to luncheon, where further questions could be asked. The fish and chips were excellent and the atmosphere convivial; and a wide range of interesting questions followed, to which the Deputy Provincial Grand Master responded.

Ms Jackie Loukes, Secretary of The Hull and East Riding Interfaith Group, gave a vote of thanks on behalf of the guests, applauding the presentation team and the hospitality of the Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge who had hosted the event.

Brethren wishing to organise a similar ‘Interfaith event’ may contact Philip Daniels on philip@philipdaniels.karoo.co.uk

THE ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS OF CONNAUGHT COURT
ANNUAL SUMMER FETE SATURDAY 18TH JUNE

On a fine sunny summer’s day Freemasons, their families and friends arrived at the garden fete from across our Province and beyond. Many fundraising stalls were already in position together with a display of wonderful classic cars, the brass band was well practised for the occasion and ready to strike up once the fete had been officially declared open by our own Provincial Grand Master VW Bro. Richard Anderson.

Forest of Galtres flies in with Support

Forest of Galtres Lodge members raised £200 through a Burns’ Night charity auction of a simulator flight in the RAF’s Tucano simulator based at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, near York.  The money will go towards a new memorial to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) at the UK’s national memorial arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire.

John Tanner-Smith, Master of the Forest of Galtres Lodge No. 9438 said:  ‘We were delighted to present this money for such a noble cause and we would like to say thank you to Group Captain Jones from Linton for donating this exciting prize’. 

The RCAF Memorial Project has been set up by RAF Linton-on-Ouse and RAF Leeming to create a UK memorial to over 10,000 Canadian aviators who were killed during the Second World War.  Flt Lt David Williams of the project team said: ‘There are many local memorials dotted about to the RCAF but surprisingly, no National one.  Both Linton and Leeming were major RCAF bomber airfields during the war, and we felt that the bravery and sacrifice of these men and women – who were all volunteers – needed to be recognised.’                      
The project has a website: www.rcafmonument.ca.

The Royal Canadian Air Force operated out of a number of Yorkshire airfields during the Second World War.  As well as Linton and Leeming, RCAF aircraft flew from East Moor, near Sutton-on-the-Forest, Dishforth, Dalton, Topcliffe, Skipton-on-Swale and Croft, which is still in use as a racing circuit.  Yorkshire was home to 6 (RCAF) Group, Bomber Command, which was largely staffed, and entirely paid for, by the people of Canada.

 ‘Heart of York Appeal’

The Lord Mayor of York presented a donation on behalf of Mitre Lodge of York and Provincial Grand Charity to help funds for the ‘Heart of York Appeal’ to raise £50,000 to purchase an Echocardiograph machine for York District Hospital, which will hopefully cut the waiting time for scans from six weeks to three weeks.

Nigel Durham, consultant Cardiologist at the Hospital said the York Teaching Hospital’s Charity Fund was delighted to have the support of local Freemasons for this appeal. The cardiology department in York performs over 6,000 echocardiograms each year and are continuing to have an increased demand to investigate and assess patients who may have suspected heart problems. The new machine will enable patients to be seen more quickly and we will be able to treat them faster which will ultimately save lives. The department operates two machines at the moment and the additional machine will help to reduce the need for patients to have to travel to Leeds for their heart scans.

Mike Birch, Chairman of the Provincial Grand Charity said a few words of introduction before inviting the Rt. Hon. the Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Susan Galloway to present the donation of £5,000 to Dr. Nigel Durham on behalf of Mitre Lodge and the Provincial Grand Charity to help towards the cost of purchasing this much needed equipment.

Mitre Lodge raised £1,000 towards the appeal and the Provincial Grand Charity was delighted to have been able to boost this amount by £4,000 after receiving a Grant Petition submitted by the lodge.

The appeal is progressing well with almost £30,000 now having been raised with other amounts already in the pipeline, such that, it is hoped to secure the funds required by the end of February 2011.

Address given by the Provincial Grand Chaplain at the Provincial Service held at the Methodist Church, Northallerton on Sunday 17th October 2010

What I want to say today is bound up in the Rule of Three and our response to that rule.

Now the rule of three is a commonly known rule. It is simply that good things come in threes.

In matters spiritual we have in St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians the passage where he speaks of Faith, Hope and Charity.

In matters of faith we hold to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity; The threefold nature of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And in Freemasonry we have our foundations of another great trinity; That of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.

Brotherly Love

I was at a Lodge meeting the other night and the man who was responding to the visitors toast got to his feet and began by commenting that he had been so often to that lodge and  that he had made a lot of friends, but he said “I do not want to call you friends, tonight I call you Brothers”.

That spoke volumes, for it said something about the world wide tie which binds freemasons together. We might be friends, we might be neighbours, we might not even have met,  but above all we are brothers.

The second of the Masonic trinity is that of Relief.

Freemasonry does all that it can to help relieve the sufferings of others. I do not need to tell you of the sometimes enormous sums of money we give to charitable causes and to bring immediate relief to large scale sufferings.
In addition there are smaller and more local donations that we make to a myriad of good causes.
In the best tradition of giving we do not shout it from the hill tops nor broadcast it far and wide.  It is nice when it is recognised, but that is not our reason for giving.

I would just add a word of warning. Freemasonry is not solely about charity, important though that is.

Relief is but one part of our reason for being; It is one of the three pillars upon which we rest and we should never allow it to become greater than the other parts of our trinity. A trinity has to be even in all its ways or it will be un-balanced and will in time fall.

And that brings us to Truth the final part of our trinity.

 In our meetings we speak frequently of truth, we use words like fidelity, honour and integrity which all have their roots in truth. We seek for truth and we try to live by the truth. 

We speak easily of these things because they are part and parcel of our Masonic life. We pledge ourselves on our honour to speak the truth both inside and outside our Lodge building. 

So there you have the great Trinity of Freemasonry.

Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.

But they need to be more than just to be emblazoned in our Lodge Rooms; they need to be worked on unceasingly.

In the world of faith, the Church, of whatever denomination or creed, is a corporate body.  The Church demands, asks, beseeches, calls and so on. Freemasonry is just the same. The Corporate body that is Freemasonry makes its decisions, gives its pronouncements and offers its largesse.

But we leave it to the corporate body at our peril. For just as the Church is made up of individuals, so Freemasonry is made up of individuals; It is to the individual that we must always look.

In our Lesson from Isaiah the scene is one of great pomp and majesty, there are angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, but it is the lone individual who responds to the call of God to go and speak for him.

So it is with Freemasonry, it is only when the individual steps out from the line and says here am I, I will go, that Masonry becomes the power for good that it should be and what our forefathers wished it to be.

It is only when men of integrity step forward and in their daily lives show the Trinity of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth to be alive and well, that our great movement will continue to be a power for good throughout this often sad and sorry world.
Whom shall I send, who will go for me, said the Lord, and in words which each one should echo, Isaiah said “Here am I, send me”. AMEN

Molly is the new pony for York Area Riding for the Disabled

York Group Riding for the Disabled Association had a very difficult winter when three of their ten ponies died.  Alan Ross, Charity Steward of Francis Drake of York Lodge No. 7825 contacted Ken Lippett the Area representative of the Provincial Grand Charity, who recommended the lodge apply for help via a non Masonic Grant Petition. 

Provincial Grand Charity was pleased to respond and awarded a grant of £1,650 in addition to the Lodge’s donation of £100, which enabled the R.D.A. to purchase pony -“Molly”.   She is settling down in her role and becoming a favourite with the riders.

York RDA has 26 regular riders all of whom have learning disabilities, with most also having physical and sensory disabilities. The needs of the riders, means that the group require the services of around 50 volunteers including the catchers and groomers who are at the farm at least 3 hours before the riders arrive.

The group is very grateful for the donation which has enabled them to provide a normal service across the summer.

The Group meet at Sandfield Farm, Shipton-by-Beningbrough, and owner Mrs Margaret Dibb, founder member and organiser of York Group R.D.A., held a 40 year celebration at the farm on Sunday 8 August when Molly was formally handed over to the group.
A fixed, framed and captioned photograph will be on permanent display in the RDA area HQ at Sandfield Farm.

Ken Lippett, Jennifer Cookson (Side Walker), Pony "Molly",
Jeremy Mowforth (Rider), Alice Tollan (Leader).

Masons are “ALL at SEA”

Representatives of Hull, Beverley, Tickton, Hornsea & Bridlington lodges, and the Mark Charity, recently attended a buffet reception at the invitation of the Hull Sea Cadets Unit TS Iron Duke.

The Lord Mayor as President of the Sea Cadets welcomed the brethren with the Deputy Provincial Grand Master,Jeffrey Gillyon responding .Other attendees  included The Admiral of the Humber, RN Regional Commander , Commodore Dickie Baum      

The reception was  as a thank you to those lodges that had contributed to the area project to fund a on their training ship at a cost of £3,000, fully funded by Freemasons. The project was particularly aimed at funding cadets whose families might not normally be able to afford the cost.

The response from the Lodges and Mark was so generous that £7,850 was raised enabling the purchase of essential training equipment at their HQ.  The Provincial Grand Charity provided matching funding of £1,900 to purchase new cookers in the training kitchen.

The cadets will sail from Hull in April on the recently launched ship TS Jack Petchey. Coincidentally the Grand Charity had contributed £47,000 towards the £2M cost of building this ship.

Cadets, Staff & Brethren