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I welcome you all to our October Provincial Grand Lodge Meeting and I am grateful to you for attending in such goodly numbers.

The summer months were again disappointing but somehow we managed to have the hottest day of the year on 28 July 2008, when I was installed, at the Winter Gardens Blackpool, as your Provincial Grand Master. I again thank the Province for all their support; it has been most encouraging and uplifting.

That said, the Autumn edition of Freemasonry Today put me in my place when, in a very small article in the magazine, it referred to the new Provincial Grand Master of Lancashire as Bro Hoskins. On the other hand, perhaps it was a timely reminder that Freemasonry is a universal Order and that however important each of might feel from time to time, we are really only a small cog in the Masonic wheel.

Since July, much has occurred some of which I will now share with you.

In August, I attended the Southport Flower Show and visited the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Stand. The stand was eye catching and user friendly and I thank WBro John Wingfield and his team for all their efforts and particularly their innovative ideas.

At the show, this year, the emphasis was directed more to marketing than to public relations. In the Province, we have spent 10 years in a defensive mode, concentrating on public relations. That has been the right approach and has been successful in promoting our good name and image.

However, I believe that the time is now right to build upon our public relations and become more positive and active in developing a marketing strategy. In doing so, we must be discreet and balanced in our marketing activities. This approach was demonstrated at the Southport Show by John Wingfield and his team who produced a splendid handout leaflet which briefly described all the good things about our Order and, in so doing, asked the question ‘Why I should become a Freemason’.

Marketing was put on the table at my first Craft Cabinet Meeting in September. I agreed with my Deputies and Craft Assistants that we should form a new committee, a Planning and Development Committee. It is this Committee which will consider and work upon a marketing strategy for the Province. Also, it will address other significant areas of work including the preparation of a five-year plan, securing the Heritage of the Province, the future of the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Magazine and the development of new ideas.

In looking at a marketing strategy, we must, of course, take into account our strategy in respect of mentoring because recrutiment and retention are absolutely fundamental to our Order and go hand-in-hand.

One further thought on the subject of new ideas. If any brother in the Province has any new ideas for the good of the Province, may I request that he contact his group chairman. If appropriate, the group chairman can then pass on the new ideas to the Provincial Office for my attention and that of the Planning and Development Committee. This is an opportunity for all brethren to contribute to the planning and development of the Province.

There are 10 significant and evolving areas of work in the Province: my Royal Arch Deputy Steven Reid will oversee relations between the Craft and the Royal Arch; my APrGM Frank Wilkinson will oversee Masonic halls; my APrGM Dennis Rudd will oversee Care; my APrGM Howard Jones will oversee charities; my APrGM Frank Wilkinson will continue his work in respect of the 2010 Festival in May 2010; my APrGM  John Moore will oversee internal communications and the website; my APrGM Michael Hill will oversee universities programme and the next generation; my APrGM Leon Tax will oversee the Southport Festival; my APrGM Philip Gardner will oversee the Masonic Ball; and  the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies will oversee procedures.

The first Team outing came towards the end of September, when we celebrated the centenary of Andrew Lodge No 3328. The history of Andrew Lodge revealed that, like many lodges, the fortunes of the lodge had suffered during the 1980’s and the 1990’s and membership had fallen considerably. The beginning of 2002 heralded a change in the fortunes of the lodge and by 2006, the lodge was back to the same number of members as in 1986.

The lodge had been positive throughout and had deliberately adopted a strategy of being more open expansive and user friendly. Interestingly, seven of its new members are associated with the Scouting movement, an organisation with similar views and disciplines to Freemasonry.

One further fact emerged in respect of Andrew Lodge. Earlier this year, the newly amalgamated West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity had invited the Brethren of the Province to submit designs for the charity’s new logo. Bro Paul McKenzie, who had only been initiated into Andrew Lodge in December 2007 had his design, which depicted a hand holding a heart, accepted for use as the logo of the newly formed charity. The lodge had this to say about Bro Paul McKenzie – his design for the new charity is a lasting symbol showing the enthusiasm and creativity that exists amongst the younger members.

All of this sends out a powerful message for the lodges in the Province: Plan for the future, be positive, ensure that the lodge is as open, expansive and user-friendly as possible, and finally, harness and use the enthusiasm and creativity of the younger members – they are the future of your lodge and the future of Freemasonry.

The new West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity, our own one-stop charity, is now active and I congratulate the trustees under the chairmanship of PAPrGM David McCormick for all their good work in preparing the charity for action. I extend those congratulations to the chief executive WBro Roy Skidmore and the treasurer WBro John Dutchman-Smith who are proving to be outstanding officers.

I understand that the trustees are intending to spend annually some £750,000 and to move towards a better balance between Masonic and non-Masonic giving. Further, the charity is looking to support a headline project, similar to but much smaller than the Grand Charity headline award of £1m to Ovarian Cancer Action, spread over five years. If any Brother has any suggestions for a headline project, then please contact the charity.

Our 2010 Festival has some 18 months to run before it concludes in May 2010 and the Festival Chairman WBro Stuart Thornber has recently written a letter, by way of thanks and encouragement, to each lodge and chapter. I support everything that he has said in that letter.

Thus far, we have £3.7m pledged to the Festival, demonstrating yet again the generosity of the Freemasons in the Province. I know that each of us would like to see a cheque handed over to the Masonic Samaritan Fund in 2010 of which the whole of the Province can be justifiably proud. We can only do this if, during the remaining 18 months, lodges and chapters continue their welcome and generous donations to the appeal. I am confident that they will.

My final message is one in which I passionately believe and it is this.  Freemasons working in the community represent one of the best ways of promoting Freemasonry – indeed our mission statement is ‘to share more widely our mission of being good citizens by practising the highest moral and social standards of friendship charity and integrity’. How better to demonstrate our mission of being good citizens than by working in and for the community. We Freemasons must show by our good deeds and actions that we are indeed good citizens. For by the kind of life we live, will Freemasonry be judged.

May I conclude by thanking the Woolton Group under the chairmanship of WBro David Hawkes who have acted as the host group for this meeting. In particular, and on behalf of all who have attended today, may I thank WBro Keith Phillips the Captain of Stewards and his team for the very efficient and effective way in which they have looked after our every need.

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