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An extract from the PGM speech after the Banquet - Provincial Grand Lodge Oct 08
MASONIC HALLS
At the banquet, held after Provincial Grand Lodge, the Provincial Grand Master, in response to the toast to his health, had this to say in respect of Masonic halls:
“On his appointment in 1997, my predecessor Colin Wright openly acknowledged the decreasing number of Brethren in the Province and he recognised that we had too many lodges. During his tenure of office, many lodges handed in their warrants or amalgamated with others. Many Brethren feared the worst, many Brethren buried their heads in the sands, and yet, when Colin Wright retired there were significantly fewer lodges in the Province but significantly more Freemasons in the Province. By putting our house in order we have made the Province stronger.
“Following my appointment, I now openly acknowledge that there are too many Masonic halls for the number of lodges in the Province. By way of example only, at this Masonic hall in Preston, when I became the Preston Group Chairman in the 1990’s, we had 36 lodges and 14 chapters; in 2008, the number of craft lodges meeting here has reduced to 20 lodges and 12 chapters.
The other side of the coin is that, a few years ago, Wigan Masonic Hall closed, and yet, as a result, many of the neighbouring Masonic halls got a new lease of life with an injection of additional lodges and additional funding. They are thriving. Brethren, we must put our house in order. With my APrGM Frank Wilkinson, I wish to work with all the directors and trustees of Masonic halls in a spirit of goodwill and harmony to find a solution to the problem and a way forward for the benefit of us all.
I nail my colours to mast at the outset - I expect, and I believe that the Brethren of the Province expect, that all the directors and trustees will work with us openly and with realism for the benefit of all of us. Let me say this, Masonic halls were built and set up for the benefit of lodges and not the other way round. As a start, let me say that from next year all Masonic halls, their respective chairman and secretary will appear in the West Lancashire Year Book, similar to the groups. We will issue a Code of Practice early in the new year to help and support Masonic halls. Also, meetings will be arranged to begin to address the problem.”
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