|
| |
Speech of the Pro 1st Grand Principal,
the Marquess of Northampton
Companions, I welcome you all here today for
this special meeting and congratulate all those
Companions I have invested with their new
ranks. Whether you have been promoted or
appointed this morning your new rank brings
with it certain responsibilities.
Chief among these is to promote the
Order to Master Masons and encourage new
Companions to understand and enjoy this
new dimension to their Masonry. You can
see from the paper of business that the
number of Grand Chapter certificates issued
last year has fallen by twelve and a half per
cent in the past ten years.
At our last Convocation I announced
that I was setting up a working party under
the chairmanship of the Second Grand
|
Principal to look into the question of
recruitment and retention and report back in
time for this meeting. I have now received
an interim report and have agreed that their
final report will be ready in time for the next
Convocation in November.
Their initial thoughts are based on the
indissoluble link between the Craft and the
Royal Arch and a suggestion that there
should be a formal Royal Arch
representative in each Lodge, possibly as a
Lodge officer, who would be responsible for
promoting the Order to Master Masons.
Proper mentoring of new members is also
high on their list of priorities together with a
range of other practical measures which they
hope will encourage an influx of candidates.
The full report will be sent to Grand
Superintendents for their views before being
made widely available thereafter. I need
hardly stress the importance of this report, as
doing nothing is not an option if we are to
reverse the fortunes of the Royal Arch.
In the meantime, Companions, we
should continue to enjoy ourselves in this
very special Order as nothing will attract
candidates more than a happy and
enthusiastic membership.
Report of the Committee
of General Purposes
Petitions for new Chapters and Charters
Petitions were granted for three new
Chapters. Charters were granted to 10
Chapters authorising members to wear the
centenary jewel, and for members of two
Chapters to wear the Bi-Centenary Bar
on the ribbon of the Centenary jewel.
Amalgamations
Four Chapters had surrendered their Charter
in order to amalgamate with other Chapters,
and had been removed from the register of
Grand Chapter. In addition, 14 Chapters
had surrendered their Charters and had also
been removed from the register and the
Charters cancelled.
Accounts
The Committee presented the audited
Accounts of Supreme Grand Chapter for
the year ending 31 December 2006, which
were adopted:
The operating results of Supreme Grand
Chapter for the year ended 31 December
2006 show a surplus after tax of £110,200
(2005: £104,800).
In 2006 a donation was made to The Trust
for Research into Freemasonry at Sheffield
University of £50,000 (2005: £50,000).
A contribution was made to the Library and
Museum Charitable Trust of £25,000 (2005:
nil) to finance a photograph and print project.
The income and expenditure account for
this year includes the realised and unrealised
gains/losses on the investment portfolio,
which amounted to a net gain of £369,000
(2005: £473,100).
This performance reflected the buoyant
year for financial markets. Investment income
saw a significant increase to £141,700 from
£98,300 due to an increase in dividend
income. The overall increase in funds at the
year end was £479,200 (2005: £577,900)
to £4,678,900.
The receipts from Chapters increased
to £481,200 (2005: £449,500), though
the increase of 3.1% was due to exceptional
items. It is hoped to continue the dues at
their present level for the foreseeable future.
Fees
A resolution approved an increase in fees
for registration, replacement certificates, as
well as certificates for serving Companions
and dispensations for 2008 by
approximately 3% to keep pace with the
costs of providing the services concerned.
Charges for Patents and Charters
Charges for Patents and Charters are
reviewed annually and are based on the
cost of producing the documents.
Contributions to Grand Chapter
A resolution was approved that the
contributions (exclusive of VAT) payable
annually to Grand Chapter in respect
of each member of a Chapter in a
Metropolitan Area or a Province for the
year 2008 should remain unchanged at
£3.15. The Committee believed that it
would be able to recommend next year that
contributions remain unchanged in 2009.
Metropolitan Grand Officers
A recommendation to a request by the
Metropolitan Grand Superintendent in
and over London that no change should
be made, at least for the time being, in
the jewel to be worn by those who have
served as Metropolitan Grand Officers,
was approved.
Convocations of Grand Chapter
Convocations of Grand Chapter will take
place on Wednesday, 14 November 2007,
Thursday, 1 May 2008 and Wednesday,
12 November 2008.
|
Copyright 2002-2007
MQ Magazine
Web site created by Mark Griffin
|
|
Next Page