Masonic Province of Yorkshire, West Riding

BRADFORD

President:  E Comp. J Barry Clayton
Secretary: E Comp. John Watson PPGReg
Email:  jwatson56@gmail.com
Joint Meeting to be hosted by Fairfax Chapter No 3255
On the 1st February at Westbourne House Otley

SOUTH RIDING

President: E Comp. Alan Houston PPGSN
Secretary: E Comp Victor T Johns PPGSN
Email: vic.t.johns@talktalk.net
Joint Meeting to be hosted by Wharncliffe Chapter No 1462
On the 7th March at The Masonic Hall, Penistone

LEEDS

President: E Comp David H Lees
Secretary: E Comp Gerald A G Barker ProvGSwdB
Joint Meeting to be hosted by St Lawrence Chapter No 2330
On the 24th May at The Masonic Hall, Pudsey

SHEFFIELD

President: E Comp  E Comp John Robert R Clark, PPGSN
Secretary: E Comp D Russell Johnson, PPGSN
Email: djys10069@blueyonder.co.uk
Joint Meeting to be hosted by University Chapter 3911
On the 25th June at Tapton Hall, Sheffield

HALIFAX

President:  E Comp Charles Barwell PPGSoj
Secretary: E Comp Andrew Taylor Prov.ADC
Email: ad.taylor@blueyonder.co.uk
Joint Meeting to be hosted by the Chapter of Good Intent No 307
On the 25th September at The Masonic Hall Hebden Bridge

CALDER VALE

President:  E Comp  E Comp E Brian Hartley PPGSN
Secretary: E Comp Michael J Littlewood PPGSN
Email: mjlitttlewood@btinternet.com
Joint Meeting to be hosted by Zetland Chapter No 603
On the 18th October at The Masonic Hall, Whitcliffe Road Cleckheaton

HUDDERSFIELD

President:  E Comp E Comp Robert Taylor PPDepGSwdB
Secretary: E Comp Roy J Armitage, PAGSoj,
Email :  Roy.armitage@goodfolk.net
Joint Meeting to be hosted by Chapter of Industry No 652
On the 7th November at The Masonic Hall, Holmfirth.

All Companions are eligible to attend the above meetings.
For further information please contact the Secretary

Posted in Holy Royal Arch Chapter on November 28th, 2011

On 14 November 2011, it was announced that trials into a new drug, alemtuzumab, have been successful – a significant development for those suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS).

The Freemasons’ Grand Charity gave £100,000 towards this research in 2010, at the University of Cambridge.

Read Full Article on The Freemasons’ Grand Charity website

Posted in Charity News on November 24th, 2011

The November meeting of Aire & Calder Lodge No 458, Goole, took place on the 11/11/2011 (Armistice Day).

The Master, WBro. Tim Fletcher, agreed for an empty chair to be placed in the centre of the Lodge with the Union Jack draped over, and the two Deacons to each side. The Lodge was then called to order, and after a short prayer the Brethren stood in silence.

Posted in Area 4 on November 23rd, 2011

Local hospices have welcomed the funding from The Freemason’s Grand Charity – a total of £45,379 is being donated to 14 hospices in the Province of Yorkshire, West Riding. Adult and children’s hospices across England and Wales are receiving £600,000 in total from the Charity. This sum is in addition to funds already donated by local Freemasons.

Freemasons have a long tradition of funding hospices, with The Freemasons’ Grand Charity donating £9.3 million since 1984. All donations are raised by Freemasons and their families and aim to assist hospices in their vital role in helping those affected by terminal or life limiting illness.

Speaking about the donation the Provincial Grand Master, John Clayton said: “Supporting hospice services remains very important to Freemasons in this Province and we are delighted that The Freemasons’ Grand Charity has continued to provide this funding again. The care provided by local hospices is exceptional – but continuous financial support is necessary to ensure such a dedicated service. For that reason we are delighted to be able to demonstrate our continued commitment to their cause”

Posted in Charity News on November 22nd, 2011

WBro. Geoffrey Wilson attended the regular lodge meeting of Headingley 2608 held on 11-11-2011 , and celebrated 50 years as an active member of the Craft.

He was presented with a certificate by WBro David Pratt APGM, in a most eloquent and sincere way.

Posted in Uncategorized on November 14th, 2011

Address by the Grand Superintendent to Provincial Grand Chapter

Companions my address this year is necessarily short in order to accommodate our guests from the Royal College of Surgeons.

Companions, after the success of the “Freemasonry Cares for You” campaign, you will recall that I launched the “Freemasons Care for One Another” campaign in the hope that we might be more aware of our fellow Masons, particularly those who are in distress of whatever form.

Some Chapters have taken this on board but I am fully aware that other Chapters are yet to do so. I will shortly be asking Chapters and Lodges how this is progressing. This exercise will probably be with the assistance of Liaison Officers.

Has it been successful?

Has it made a difference not just to quality of life but also to attendance at Chapter or Lodge meetings. Companions there is a big temptation to leave this sort of project to a the Craft, but Companions the harder we try to reach a Brother in difficulties, the more success we will have, so why not use a Craft and a Royal Arch approach.

It seems to me that “Freemasons Care for One Another” goes hand in hand with our mentoring scheme and hopefully, personal financial commitments permitting, will result in a decrease in numbers of resignations.

Companions, you will recall that at Provincial Grand Lodge in May, I reported a net loss of just less than 1 per Lodge on average. As far as the Royal Arch is concerned I am delighted to report that our net losses were 50% down on the previous year at 25.   It is also pleasing to see that the number of exlatees to the end of September this year, in comparison to last year, is up by 30%.

Again I emphasise the benefit of a Royal Arch Representative in each and every Craft Lodge. I hope, many or indeed most of our Royal Arch Representatives attended the workshops hosted by Companion David Pratt.  David took time out from his strenuous television filming schedule,  and I can assure you Companions they were tremendous value.

Congratulations to all who received Supreme Grand Chapter honours in April and to all of you have received recognition today, in Provincial Grand Chapter.   I thank all the Acting Officers of the year and sincerely hope they enjoyed there year in the limelight.

I also thank E Comp, John Rushworth Scribe E for his tireless work and to Mick Dyson for keeping Susan and Ruth in the Provincial Office under control. They really do a splendid, often unseen job for the Province.

Thank you to the members of my Representative Panel who travel near and far to Installations around the Province.

I also thank those high ranking RA officers who retired today, Rod Taylor, Frank Chappell, Paul Collinge, John Parker and Donald Willson. They have all served this Province with great enthusiasm.

Next year sees the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen’s accession to the throne.   I was delighted when the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Dr Ingrid Roscoe, invited the Province to become involved in marking this special event.    We have therefore decided that all the non-Masonic grants from the Provincial Grand Master’s Fund, including the major grants, in 2012 will be designated “The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Masonic Grants”, and up to a quarter of a million pounds will be available.   If you do have suitable applications then please make these through the normal channels as soon as possible.  The rules for consideration remain the same as usual.    We will be inviting those who are to receive these grants to an event at the Royal Armouries in Leeds on 20 June next year, when we hope the Lord Lieutenant’s of West, South and North Yorkshire will be in attendance.

2013 marks the Bicentenary of the two Grand Lodges and the recognition of the Royal Arch as the completion of the journey through pure antient Freemasonry.   The Celebrations will take place on the 16^th October 2013 in place of the usual November Convocation. This change in the date of the Autumn Convocation is for 2013 only.

It is envisaged that there will be a demonstration Ceremony in the morning, lunch for some at the New Connaught Rooms followed by the normal Autumn Convocation in the afternoon. The day will finish with a Dinner at the Savoy.

As you know an appeal has been launched to celebrate the Bicentenary in aid of the Royal College of Surgeons to support their surgical research fellowship scheme, and we will shortly be hearing from some of those Research Fellows about their work.

Companions, whilst I have, quite rightly, spoken today about our work supporting those outside Freemasonry let us not forget the moral and spiritual values that Freemasonry instils in us.   It seeks to reinforce our thoughtfulness for others, fairness in all things, and one of our greatest strengths – tolerance.

Posted in Holy Royal Arch Chapter on November 9th, 2011

In conjunction with the 2013 Bi-Centenary Appeal by the Royal Arch for the Royal College of Surgeons, three of the RCS Research Fellows came to Wakefield to talk about their work.   They were:

Mr Shahid Farid, from Clinical and Biomedical Proteomics Research, St James’s University Hospital, Leeds.    He spoke about his research into cancer of the bile ducts of the liver. Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a devastating cancer of the bile ducts of the liver, causing over 1000 deaths a year in the UK.  Death is higher for CCA than other cancers as most patients present too late for surgery (the only cure), and the cancer is resistant to radio and chemotherapy. Identification of new biomarkers, might allow the use a blood tests to detect CCA earlier and improve survival.

Miss Deborah Sylvester, from the Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Hull advised those present that 7,000 people were newly-diagnosed with oral or laryngeal cancer accounting for 3% of all cancers in the UK, and that despite improved surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, five year survival rates remain unchanged.  A technique has been developed to allow small pieces of tumour tissue to ‘survive’ outside the body. Its novel application to head and neck cancer can potentially give information about how chemotherapy agents will act on individual tumours, allowing clinicians to select the most appropriate treatment. This approach has potential to help head and neck cancer patients and is equally applicable to sufferers with other forms of malignancy.

Mr Jagtar Dhanda, from the School of Cancer Studies, Division of Surgery and Oncology, University of Liverpool said that head and neck cancer, of which oral cancer is the most common, has increased steadily with 500,000 new cases diagnosed worldwide per year. Despite aggressive treatment approaches survival has not changed appreciably, remaining at 40-55% overall for the last 40 years. Symptoms and effects of treatment can also be debilitating. The project aims to provide ‘personalised medicine’, a major goal of current research, by predicting disease outcomes and tailoring treatment for individuals rather than groups. The idea is to develop genetic signatures identifying subgroups of patients with oral cancer that will ultimately develop widespread disease. With this information it will be possible to modify the treatments accordingly and also feed back into basic research the key causes of aggressive cancers.

John Clayton, the Grand Superintendent said, “you cannot but be impressed to hear of the valuable work that is being undertaken to advance surgical care for current and future generations of patients. It is therefore vitally important that we support the 2013 Bi-Centenary Appeal for the Royal College”.   He went on to say “I am pleased to advise you that the Province, through West Riding Masonic Charities, yesterday sent a cheque for £20,000 to the Bi-Centenary Appeal, this is not instead of what you are going to give, but in addition”.

If you require further information about the Research work undertaken by the Royal College of Surgeons follow this link to their website www.rcseng.ac.uk/fundraising.

Posted in Charity News, Holy Royal Arch Chapter on November 9th, 2011

A happy chord was struck at the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield when children’s technology charity Lifelites installed a new state-of-the-art package of fun and educational technology.

They were able to do this thanks to the generosity of our Province, with ProvGM John K Clayton handing over a £20,000 cheque from West Riding Masonic Charities Ltd.

Lifelites, the only charity in the UK to install and maintain technology for terminally ill children in hospices, had their innovative work recognised recently when they were declared overall winners at this year’s Technology4Good Awards. They have provided computer packages at all the country’s 44 children’s hospices.

Terminally ill children will be able to experience a fantastic Sound Beam, enabling them to create their own music and Simone Enefer-Doy, chief executive of the London-based charity, said: “We can’t thank the West Riding Freemasons enough.  We hoped to be able to give the new hospice something special but thanks to their wonderful donation we’ve really gone to town.  For the first time ever, we’re able to add the amazing Sound Beam too.

“By using movement to break a beam and produce a sound, the Sound Beam can enable children with even the most profound physical and learning disabilities to make music using whatever movement they can.

RW Bro. Clayton, in presenting the £20,000 donation, said:  “We feel very privileged to have been able to support Lifelites in providing this absolutely wonderful computer entertainments system at the new children’s hospice.

“We do this on behalf of all our members in Yorkshire, West Riding but, particularly those who belong to Lodges in Huddersfield, Halifax and Wakefield, the principal areas which I understand this marvellous new facility will serve.

The ProvGM added: “This particular donation typifies the work we have done in support of hospices, both in our own region and nationally, over very many years and we know the importance of creating an environment where sick children will be able to enjoy the time they spend in a hospice such as in the superb surroundings we have witnessed today.

“It has been a very moving experience and how great it was to meet totally committed carers,” he said.

Hospice chief executive Peter Branson said: “We are immensely grateful for the generous support of the West Riding Freemasons which has provided such superb equipment for the children and young people we support.

“The difference this equipment will make is immeasurable. It will help bring independence, fun and laughter to so many children; it will give them new and exciting experiences and fresh ways of communicating; and it will allow families to capture memories of their children which they will treasure forever. On behalf of children and families I extend my warmest thanks to everyone involved in making this happen”

About Lifelites, Charity No.1115655

Today technology is part of the way with live, work and play; for children even more so.

Lifelites, founded by the Royal Masonic Trust for Boys and Girls in the Millennium Year, is the only charity in the country supplying a fully maintained package of home education and recreation technology for the estimated 7,000 children and their families who use any one the 44 children’s hospices around the UK on an on-going basis.

Our package includes computers with controlled internet, special equipment for children with disabilities to use the computers for themselves and cameras.

With our help, the children can surf the web and keep in contact with their schools, families and friends or simply relax in front of their favourite programmes with their parents. Our cameras also help the families make a lasting record of the special time they spend together with their child at the hospice.

It costs us around £32,000 every four years at each hospice for our equipment and on-going services.

Now a separate charity, Lifelites continues to benefit from RMTGB support through the donation of offices, administration and accountancy services but relies heavily on donations from  various groups, many of whom are Masonic.

Posted in Charity News on November 9th, 2011

The revitalised Provincial Website was launched earlier this year

All Lodges and Brethren are actively encouraged to submit items of interest to our Webmaster, WBro. Kevin Gould:

Lodge Events and News?

Anniversaries, special meetings, achievements, historical events, notable events, social activities, photographs, “Interesting” members and their other interests outside Freemasonry, etc., etc., etc.

Attracting Possible Candidates?

Of course, we do not advertise for candidates, neither is this a short-cut to membership however many interested potential candidates do look at our Website.

Alas! There is little to stimulate the reader further about our Area 5 Lodges yet!

Interesting (and significant) fact!  Candidates who become members from the Website attend meetings more often and remain as members for longer!

What about Your Very Own Lodge Website?

If you already have one  – Great!

If you don’t have one – Why Not? (It’s much easier to create than you might think)

WBro. Kevin Gould, the Provincial Webmaster will be pleased to provide support, guidance and encouragement

Area 5 “News Hounds” – Trial

As a trial, WBro. Gerry Barker will act as the “News Hound” for Lodges and Chapters at Castle Grove.

I have already written to the Lodges that meet at Castle grove confirming the details of this exciting trial.

My plan is to extend the trial to all Centres in Area 5 so I’m looking for volunteers to be the local “News Hound”

What does a “News Hound” do?

I will expect the Brother appointed to each Centre to collate “What’s happening” news and information from lodges in their Centre.

NB. This in no way will prevent any Lodge or individual Brother making a direct submission to our Provincial Webmaster, WBro. Kevin Gould

What about Royal Arch Chapters?

Would we ever forget our Royal Arch Companions?  Of course not!

EComp. James Gray, Assistant to the Provincial Grand Principals responsible for Area 5, is an enthusiastic supporter of this initiative.  EComp. Gray will be writing to the Chapters at Castle Grove.

Wearing his other hat as EComp. Gerry Barker, the Castle Grove News Hound will also be contacting the Royal Arch Chapters meeting at that Centre.

Interested in becoming an Area 5 “News Hound”?

E-mail me at david.pratt@wrprovince.co.uk

Posted in Area 5 on November 9th, 2011