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Would you like to join Freemasonry?
North Wales Freemasons are proud of their Masonic traditions, and support the move by the United Grand Lodge of England to promote the many benefits of Freemasonry.
Freemasonry is an institution devoted to exhorting its members to live their lives according to the highest standards of integrity, probity and virtue, to practice charity to all, to act honourably on every occasion, and to enjoy the social fellowship of men of like mind.
Every Freemason has undertaken to do his best to live up to these Principles.
From its earliest days Freemasonry has been involved in charitable activities, and since its inception it has provided support for many widows and dependants of Freemasons, as well as members of the Craft who need either short or long-term financial assistance.
Funds have always been made available for other charitable purposes, especially when assistance is urgently required for events such as natural disasters including earthquakes, tsunamis and bushfires.
Interested in joining?
Would you like to join Freemasonry?
Membership is open to any suitable
person over the age of twenty one years, of any religion , race, creed or culture. We do require acknowledgement of a belief in the existence of a 'Supreme Being'.
The earliest recorded 'making of a Freemason' in England occurred in 1646.
Organised Freemasonry officially began with the founding of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717. These early lodges were generally held in hostelries from which they tended to take their names.
Early ceremonies were based on custom and practice, rather than a written ritual as is the case today.
The whole atmosphere would have been far less formal as the 'lodge room' would have been candle-lit, with much eating and drinking taking place. In subsequent years other lodges were formed.
During these early years before trains and cars, it must have been very difficult for Masons from the far-flung parts of the Province to attend lodges.
Journeys on horseback from some of the remoter parts of the Province would have been arduous, and indeed dangerous.
Some brethren travelled great distances only to find too few members attending for the lodge to be held. Imagine their frustration!
Annual Meeting of the Provincial
Grand Lodge of North Wales
Address by the RWPGM
BRETHREN I welcome you all and our distinguished guests here this afternoon. It is always encouraging to see so many of you present.
First of all I must thank all the Lodges that my Deputy, Assistants, Representatives and I have visited for the warmth of the welcome extended to all of us. It is a great pleasure to visit. I also must thank the Representatives who give so much of their time to assist me in trying to put together a picture of the whole Province. They have had new instructions and forms to fill in. They have committed themselves to the task and their assistance and response has been excellent. The Provincial Team has visited Lodges with me and have done so in such good spirit and their support was such, as with previous teams, excellent and indeed I will miss them. I am also indebted to the Provincial Grand Secretary and Sally and Jacqui for ensuring that all the arrangements were in order. I must of course thank one special person. Wherever I go he is with me, yes believe me his all seeing eye observes me. Except when he is talking to the Secretary. That is of course my DC. I am deeply indebted to him.
I am pleased to be able to congratulate the following Brethren on being appointed Officers of Grand Lodge:- W.Bro. Reverend Canon Dr. Raymond Bayley to the rank of PAGChaplain; W.Bro. Anthony Richard Baker, W.Bro. David Kennedy Evans and W.Bro. Guy Sayce Jones, all of whom received the rank of PAGDC, and W.Bro. John Benjamin Bellis who was promoted to the rank of PJGD.
What has the year been like as a Province? Well I will not repeat the statistics to you but will point out that our membership is falling. But there are encouraging signs. The resignations were down 11% total reduction in losses down 47% and an increase of 16% in initiates. The Initiates are increasing the age group 21 to 40. Good signs and an encouragement for us to work even more to succeed.
As you know we now have PECS. All the information concerning the Province is there to be seen. Do use it. RW Bro Tom Lloyd the PGM of Staffordshire gave me a copy of his Provincial magazine. It was a wonderfully prepared issue.
He told me that it was expensive and I know we cannot afford it. But our WEB page, which has recently been improved by our excellent Web Master W.Bro Dave Fink, should be our magazine. Send every story and every event to him. Let's make it colourful and full of our colourful existence.
As to openness I still think that it is important. That is why we presented the Crown to the National Eisteddfod at Wrexham and gave a donation to the Royal Welsh Show at Llanelwedd. There was a stand at the Denbigh and Flint Show and the public were in favour of what we did. The Brethren who arranged it worked very hard and deserved their success.
A new Masonic Hall is to be built in Bangor and I hope to lay the foundation stone on the 16th of November.
I am pleased to announce that on Sunday 1 April 2012 the Chelsea Lodge of Entertainers in association with Twrcelyn Lodge No 6944, will stage a Variety Spectacular Evening at Venue Cymru Theatre in aid of the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys. Tickets have gone on sale today and are available from the Theatre box office; further information is available on the stand just outside this Arena. Brethren I urge you all to please support this event which has a line up of 10 well known "A list" stars, the Brethren / Companions concerned are all giving their time voluntarily and the proceeds are going to a very worthy Masonic Charity as part of our effort for the 2017 Festival.
The TLC is extremely successful and over 10,000 Teddies have been distributed already. Thank you so much for your donations.
Brethren as you have seen we have launched the Freemasonry Cares Scheme. This is important and one of the best Schemes to come into existence. Our Almoners or those who turned up to the Almoners meeting held last month are up to date with the scheme. One phone number can lead to the correct advice. Use it well. Brethren I also thank those Lodges who have given so generously to local Charities during the year. Will all of you please send the details of your giving to local charities and your local events to the Web Master - WBro David Fink, so that your work is made known to all.
I congratulate all who have been promoted or appointed today and look forward to working with you. Also I thank and acknowledge the hard work of the Group Chairmen. I have made the following appointment - W.Bro. H. Llewellyn Williams, PPrJGW, to replace W.Bro. Eirwyn Pritchard, PAGDC, who wished to retire as Chairman of Group 2. I thank W.Bro. Eirwyn Pritchard for all his hard work as Group Chairman.
Finally I would like to thank all the Brethren who set up and take down and transport the furniture needed today. They do a great deal for a sandwich and a cup of coffee.
I have one sad note on which to end. W.Bro Tudor Morris has asked to be relieved of his duties as Assistant Provincial Grand Master. We have both discussed this at length over a period of time and I am in total agreement with the decision he has taken. As most of you know his wife has been unwell and rightly he feels his first duty is to her. I have therefore accepted his decision and he will leave office at the next AGM. In his stead I propose to appoint W.Bro Harry Davies, PAGDC. This appointment as I have discussed with Bro Davies is for a short period when a further appointment will be made.
Brethren thank you for your support you are excellent workers and I have no doubt that we will succeed even further in the coming year.
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Would you like to join Freemasonry?
Famous Freemasons have played key roles in history and the list is long and illustrious. Statesmen like Sir Winston Churchill and George Washington who changed the course of history; scientists like, Sir Alexander Fleming, Joseph Lister and Dr Edward Jenner who made the world a safer place; and heroic explorers who extended the frontiers of the known world like Sir Richard Burton, Capt Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton and more recently Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin.
Famous military men like the 1st Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley), Field Marshalls Kitchener, Haig, French and Alexander as well as sailors such as Admirals Earl Jellicoe and Lord Charles Beresford along with Marshal of the RAF, Lord Newall - all played a crucial role in defending our country.
Royalty also in the persons of King George IV, William IV, Edward VII & VIII, and George VI as well as the current Grand Master HRH The Duke of Kent, KG., were all Freemasons. Philanthropists like Henri Dunant founder of the Red Cross, Dr. T. J. Barnardo and Sir William 'Billy' Butlin whose charitable works helped the poor and needy were also Freemasons.
Also included are writers such as Edward Gibbon, Robert Burns, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling as well as sportsmen like William 'Jack' Dempsey, 'Sugar Ray' Robinson, Harold Abrahams, Arnold Palmer and Sir Donald Campbell along with some well known entertainers like John Wayne, Peter Sellers, Harry Houdini, Tommy Cooper and the Cornish comedian Jethro.
This seemingly endless list also includes Businessmen like Henry Ford and Andre Citroën. All of these men were proud to call themselves Freemasons.
Interested in joining?
Would you like to join Freemasonry?
Freemasonry is one of the world's oldest secular fraternal societies. Its members are taught its precepts by a series of ritual dramas - a progression of allegorical two-part plays which are learnt by heart and performed within each Lodge - which follow ancient forms, and use stonemasons' customs and tools as allegorical guides.
Freemasonry or "the Craft" has over 6 million worldwide members and teaches its members self-knowledge through participation in a progression of ceremonies.
Members are expected to be of high moral standing and are encouraged to speak openly about Freemasonry.
