30/08/2024
Dear Brethren
The last two years have been exceptional in the history of the Mark Province of Cheshire, not only with the sesquicentenary celebrations in June 2023, but also of course the culmination of the 2024 Festival in July, raising over £1,161,000 for the Mark Benevolent Fund.
With all of our lodges achieving Grand Patron Diamond status, and also Grand Masters Keystone lodges, the province also achieved the honour of being the first to achieve this remarkable double in the Constitution, all thanks to the work of the team and support of the brethren over the last 7 years.
The magnificent total of over £1,161,000 also showed the care and commitment that our brethren have towards our charity work.
All the work and effort over many years has made it possible for masons around the province to join together to support each other and in doing so to meet new friends and to enjoy these events and their masonry in general. That, brethren, is our aim, to ensure that when brethren attend events or Lodges that they have an enjoyable experience – the good ritualists can enjoy themselves, the good organisers can enjoy what they do best, the more outgoing and sociable can organise and run our social events, the good mathematicians can look after our funds, and so, as you can see, we all have something to offer, and we are each an important part of the Cheshire Mark Team.
The help and support I have received from the leaders and from the brethren, has made my role a pleasant one – hard work and time consuming no doubt, but very rewarding and enjoyable when I see so many happy masons.
Your Provincial secretariat and Director of Ceremonies teams continue to go out of their way to support Lodges and individuals, and our group of Cheshire Cats is being called on more and more to assist Lodges.
Your Provincial Treasurer is charged with keeping the running costs of the province down, and in doing so ensure that any increase in Provincial subscriptions is kept to a minimum.
This year will see more and more online forms being sent out, not only saving you time but reducing postage costs to you and the province, which as I am sure you are all aware is very expensive now.
As with every facet of life we have been forced by cost and bank closures to ask that all payments are made by BACs to avoid the cost of depositing cheques into the bank, which is rising all the time and adds considerably to the running costs of the province. So please help us to help you by making payments this way in future.
Finally, where do we as a Province go from here? Well, I have tasked the leadership team to go out and visit all lodges that have an advancement or elevation, and if your lodge wishes to invite them, to encourage more new members to join us and enjoy our order.
Our APGM John Miller is running the Open-door meetings either in Royal Arch Chapters or in your Lodges, to allow more masons to fully understand the makeup of our degree and where it fits in the masonic ladder, hopefully resulting in new members for your lodges.
I am also pleased to advise that after several years of seeing a reduction in our membership, this year we have had a slight increase both in the number of advancements and also elevations.
This a trend we are working hard to maintain with the various membership initiatives introduced, including the Open-door meetings being held increasingly in our Mark Lodges, and a shorter “Adoniram nugget” being introduced into our Royal Arch Chapters, increasing the positive awareness and relevance of our orders – and of course the Just Ask campaign, which I’m sure you will have heard about.
Our Leadership team are looking to again visit and support as many lodge celebrations as possible, including advancement and elevation ceremonies, but of course will always ask if they may attend first, as we recognise that sometimes it’s nice to meet in the more normal setting of a regular lodge meeting.
I look forward to another busy year and visiting as many lodges as I can, making new friends and cementing those friendships that have already developed over the past years.
Have a great season 2024 – 2025 and remember to Mark Well.
Yours sincerely and fraternally,
Right Worshipful Brother Gary Raymond Horstman
Provincial Grand Master