September, as always, marked the start of a new Masonic season for many lodges. The first Provincial official visit in the South East area was to the Tudor Rose lodge # 9477 (meeting at the Phoenix lodge rooms) and was aptly led by our very own Assistant Provincial Grandmaster (APGM), Chris Bayliss. Chris was in a particularly humorous mood when accepting the gavel at the start of the ceremony, (scheduled as a raising for brother Mark Zimmer) and this set the scene for what turned out to be a very enjoyable evening for all.
Of course, in addition to the APGM’s, other official visits are led by the Provincial Grand Master, his Deputy, as well as by the Provincial Senior and Junior Grand Wardens. Each of them bringing their own character and humour to the evenings. There does appear to be one constant amongst them however, and that is the Provincial message given by each of them when they briefly occupy the Masters chair at the start of a ceremony. These messages are including the following.
Candidates for initiation will only require a proposer (seconder not required, also applicable to the Royal Arch). The process of interview must of course remain robust.
The target for the membership teams of all lodges is to attract and retain 3 new candidates per year.
Use your electronic attendance register to help identify non-attenders and thereby set about contacting them.
Please register yourself on the UGLE Portal at UGLE Membership Desktop
The narrative on the Royal Arch is encouraged to be read to the candidate (usually by your RA rep) after each ceremony.
There is advice and help for your lodge available from Province should you need it.
Looking forwards on the subject of membership, it is encouraging that Provincial membership numbers are expected to grow during this Masonic year. Testament to the hard work of all those engaged in the process of attracting new members and retaining our existing ones.