February 14, 2015
Brethren, once again I bring you hearty fraternal greetings & warm welcome to this 74th Annual Meeting of the District Grand Lodge of Zambia. I would like to thank those Brethren who travelled far to be with us for this occasion.
Brethren let us remember those Brethren who passed to the Grand Lodge above particularly W Bro Mahendra Patel who was our District Grand Treasurer. W Bro Mahendra passed away on 10th October 2014; he was well loved & respected in his mother Lodge, Falcon Lodge & in the District Grand Lodge of Zambia.
I congratulate all those Brethren who have received District Grand Rank & look forward to working with you for the next two years. I hope that the greatest possible use will be made of District Grand Officers in such matters as representation of the District Grand Master at Installation Meetings; not only does this take pressure off Grand Officers but it also provides useful training for those who may, in the nature of things, be likely to be recommended for Grand Rank.
I also extend my sincere congratulations to W Bro Nirmal Shaw & W Bro Nagalingam Sothylingam who received First appointment as PGStB to Grand Rank in the Royal Arch earlier this year.
I am most pleased to report that the District has shown positive growth for the first time in very many years, as is evidenced by the President of the Board of Purpose’s report. This is most encouraging & only goes to show the importance of Mentoring.
Recruitment & retention should be your responsibility, whatever your rank. Whether you have been appointed to or promoted in District & or Grand Rank it is your task. The Membership Focus Group has been formed at Grand Lodge to analyse the statistics & to make proposals to stem the loss of members. It is already clear that the mentoring scheme will play a vital role in going forward. It is therefore important that lodge mentors understand and appoint personal mentors to look after each new candidate, rather than trying to do all the mentoring themselves.
Grand Lodge is very serious about the continuity and sustainability of the Craft in the world at large and to achieve this created a new office in each lodge, which is the Office of Mentor. The District appointed W Bro Sothy as the District Grand Mentor in 2012 and I am disappointed to note that most of the lodges are not fully following all what the District Grand Mentor is trying to implement. He has put in a lot time & effort by delivering lectures and had given information on flash discs to study and implement. But some lodges have not yet come back to express the progress they have made in implementation of those programmes.
To help retain membership the District Grand Mentor has sent certain questionnaire to all lodge mentors to be filled up at commencement & completion of the three degrees. These are a summary of the mentoring of the candidate at these three levels. These once completed, a copy should be sent to the District Grand Secretary and District Grand Mentor. This will certainly make the candidates understand our ceremonies well and will educate them regarding the values of Masonry.
The standard of workings as per Emulation Ritual in many lodges leaves much to be desired. The working are shabby & haphazard, this is due to mainly not having rehearsals to the satisfaction of all concerned. It is the Director of Ceremonies domain to ensure that the workings are perfect if not word perfect.
Ritual that is recited has much greater meaning to the candidate than ritual that is read. Learning ritual is time consuming, but how often is it true that the busiest people are those who find time to learn it? I for one do not find learning easy but I only ask that brethren put their best effort towards learning the Ritual. It is inevitable that some members will find the ritual easier than others, and it is incumbent on all of us to ensure that as much help as possible is given to those who need it.
Our ritual is to be treasured. And there are very few better experiences than seeing and hearing a really well conducted Masonic ceremony. One of the prime reasons that lodges are being encouraged to share the workload is so that members can spend more time really learning and understanding what they are delivering and not just reciting the ritual parrot fashion.
The District is in the process of finalising the Installation ceremony ritual. Once this is approved by the Board of General Purposes, a copy will be sent to all lodges. I urge all lodges to adhere to this ritual. Yes certain lodge traditions will be accepted.
The District is planning to set up a “Demonstration Team” to demonstrate the workings of all three degrees including the Installation ceremony. Any expert brother & a good ritualist is most welcomed. This team once it is formed will at the request of any Lodge perform a demonstration of any ceremony that a Lodge desires. This exercise will go a long way to improve the standard of working throughout the District.
Brethren the District is making a positive effort to reach out to other Districts in Africa and interact with them. In the last two years, we have been represented in Nigeria, East Africa (Tanzania), Zimbabwe & South Africa. Last week I received an invitation to attend the Annual Communication of the District Grand Lodge of East Africa to be held in Nairobi on Saturday 28th March. I most probably will be attending and any brother who wishes to attend is most welcomed.
2017 TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
Brethren Grand Lodge will be holding a celebratory meeting to mark the culmination of the 2017 celebration of 300 years of Freemasonry within the Grand Lodge of England. This will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on the afternoon of 31st October 2017 followed by dinner afterward.
It is important to note that this is intended to be theculmination of many & varied events that will take place throughout the Districts throughout the year. Grand Lodge 2017 organising committee have several ideas that they are working on and will inform us as they take shape.
Towards this historical celebration coupled with our own Golden Jubilee in 2017, I have appointed the Assistant District Grand Master W Bro Ganu Pai to form a committee to organise these celebrations He will be assisted by W Bro N Sothy & Ajay Vashee from the North & two other brethren from the south. This committee will coordinate all events that will be organized by our Lodges throughout our District. If any of you have any questions or suggestions please do not hesitate to contact any of the committee members.
Attendance at Lodges Overseas: I quote form Grand Lodge Quarterly Communication held on 11th September 2013. The continuing growth in overseas travel brings with it an increase in visits by our Brethren to Lodges of other jurisdictions, and the Board welcomes this trend.
To avoid danger, and potential embarrassment to hosts, Brethren should not attempt to make any Masonic contact without having first checked (preferably in writing) with the Grand Secretary’s Office through our District Grand Secretary, that there is recognised Freemasonry in the country concerned and, if so, whether there is any particular point which should be watched.
As I mentioned at the RA Convocation earlier this morning, it is Supreme Grand Chapter’s and my own wish to promote RA Masonry in Zambia. It is the Pro Grand Master’s strap line “From initiation to Exaltation”, emphasizes the call for all Master Masons to be exalted into the Royal Arch. I expect all Grand & District Officers to be members of the Royal Arch. This progression is not unreasonable, it follows the declaration of our Constitution that Royal Arch is an integral part of Regular Masonry culmination of the Master Mason’s Degree, and without it, a Brother cannot truly and genuinely call himself a Master Mason.
An excellent and tremendous effort on charity is to be made by all Lodges and Brethren this initiative is considered enhancing the image of Masonry by, as an example, pre-selecting a charity together with a charitable event dedicated exclusively to raise funds for that charity. I have yet to see all Lodges establishing such charities. May I thank those Lodges who have already established such pre-selected charities and urge you to continue this important function?
Brethren with regards to the recent adverse publicity received in the media I have discussed this with the D G M’s of the sister constitutions & we are in agreement that we should not respond publicly in the media. Any response will be misconstrued and probable do more damage than good. It is now apparent that the Publicity Committee should be resurrected at the earliest. The three Constitutions should work as one body so as to talk one language. This committee will be formed from representatives of all three constitutions. The website is an important instrument through which our Zambian citizenry at large can be enlightened & educated with regards to the aims & most important the charity work that we do as Masons.
I would now, like to thank my team, our Deputy District Grand Master Worshipful Brother Green, Assistant District Grand Master Worshipful Brother Ganu & the all the Officers of the District. I look forward to your assistance & cooperation.
In conclusion Brethren, may I express my sincere thanks to all for your attendance this afternoon and wish you God speed and safe journey home. May I also thank, most sincerely our Distinguished Brethren from our Sister Constitutions for attendance and continuous support to our District. Long may it continue.
Rt. Worshipful Brother Jayant Maganlal Patel
District Grand Master
14th February 2015.