Page 5 - Essex Mason Issue 85
P. 5

Provincial

                                                                                                     By Jack Gilliland
                           Essex Pathway Launch                                             Provincial Membership Officer
                                                                                                  pmo@essexpgl.org.uk

                              n Saturday 2nd February 2019 the Provincial Membership and Mentoring Teams, working jointly as the Provincial
                           OPathway  Team,  hosted  a  Pathway  Conference  to  launch  the  Membership  Pathway  and  the  ‘PGM’s  Pathway
                           Lodge’ scheme in Essex.
                                      It  was  held  at  Saxon  Hall,  Aviation  Way,  Southend-on-Sea  and  a  finger  buffet  lunch  was  provided  to  all
                                      attendees.
                                      The objective of this event was to share information and details of the new Membership Pathway to help
                                      lodges to better understand the Pathway documents distributed from United Grand Lodge of England in
                                      October 2018.
                                            The PGM, DepPGM and members of the Provincial Executive attended, along with keynote guest
                                            speakers from UGLE, the Improvement & Delivery Group (IDG) and other Provinces where this scheme
                                            is already delivering improvements in recruitment & retention.





        Lodge of Hope 433 We Will Remember Them


       The Lodge of Hope No.433, based in Brightlingsea Essex, dedicated and unveil a bronze memorial at their
       meeting on November 2018.  The memorial was created in memory of the 64 members of the Lodge of Hope
       that were in service during the Great War 1914-1918, and the 3 members that lost their lives in that conflict.
       Two Past Masters of the Lodge, Jeff Hirons and John Carr, created the design of the memorial.  It was felt that a simple design showing 2 pillars cast in
       bronze with a stainless steel engraved plate would help to depict the high regard that the members of Hope have for the members that fought in the
       conflict. Jeff Hirons proved his skills by creating a mould which Brafe Engineering Ltd in Woodbridge Suffolk cast.
       The Lodge of Hope are very grateful to the Mr Chris Heath, Production Director of Brafe engineering who  donated both time and expertise for the
       memorial. They are also grateful for input that Mr Bill Hiskett at NES Signs in Colchester gave.  Speaking on how the plaque looked after coming out of the
       mould Jeff remarked on how the roughness of the bronze helped to depict the trench conditions of the war, it was felt that inserting a polished stainless
       steel engraved plate in the bronze, would help to aid reflection, on the campaign.
       The memorial will be dedicated by the Provincial Grand Chaplin, the Rev. Mick Scotchmer where Past Master, John Carr will be presenting a paper
       entitled “A talk on the early history  of the Lodge of Hope No.433, and Brightlingsea during the Great War 1914 – 1918” Member’s wives, partners and
       non-masonic guests have been invited to the talk and the white table afterwards. The dedicated bronze will be mounted on brickwork at the front of the
       Hall in Brightlingsea.



                                            Ostrea Lodge 8209
                                            50th Anniversary 1968 - 2018


                                               n the 7th June 2018, Ostrea Lodge N° 8209 held an extraordinary meeting at the St.
                                           OGiles  Masonic  Centre  in  Colchester  to  celebrate,  to  the  day,  the  consecration  of  the
                                           Lodge in 1968.  The meeting was attended by over 80 people including brethren from Essex,
                                           Suffolk, Scotland and several members of the Essex Provincial Executive including the Deputy
                                           Provincial Grand Master V.W.Bro. Paul George Reeves and W.Bro. Rev. Martin Howse - Assistant
             V.W.Bro.          W.Bro Rev.
            Paul Reeves       Martin Howse  Provincial Grand Master.


       To commemorate this very important milestone in the Lodge’s
       history, we took this opportunity to renew and replace most of the
       Lodge furniture, which had served us well for 50 years.  Handmade
       Wardens Columns, Deacon & DC’s wands, Collars & Jewels and
       a new Banner was commissioned.  It was therefore decided to
       combine the 50th anniversary celebrations with the dedication of
       the new Banner.
       After the Lodge was opened, the Deputy Provincial Grand Master
       and the Provincial team were received and the dispensation was
       read W.Bro. Paul Fell (Lodge Secretary) gave a brief history of the Lodge, which he managed to do without embarrassing the senior members of
       the Lodge too much!
       The Banner dedication followed, with the Banner party provided by members of the Lodge, comprising both young and old.  The dedication
       ceremony was conducted in a most excellent manner by W.Bro. Mark Gurteen (ProvDepGDC) and W.Bro. Rev. Michael Scotchmer (ProvGChap).
       This was W.Bro. Scotchmer’s first banner dedication and his oration and dedication impressed all those present.
       The final item of business was for the Worshipful Master to present the Deputy Provincial Grand Master with a cheque for £3,300.00 for the Festival
       2022, the cheque was received with thanks by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master who proceeded to present the Worshipful Master with a Festival
       2022 Grand Patron Certificate.
       After the meeting the brethren enjoyed an excellent Festive Board at which all present received commemorative cuff-links, napkin chains and
       napkins to compliment their copies of the Lodge 50 year history. A 50th Anniversary, a Banner dedication and a Grand Patron certificate, all in all
       extraordinary meetings don’t come much more extraordinary!


                                                                                                               5
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10