Royal Arch

2020 and all it brought is now in the past and the newly arrived 2021 brings at least some hope in all aspects of our life including our masonic activities. If only we knew what 2021 will bring and exactly when, it would make the way forward so much easier, both masonically and domestically.

The sad fact is that none of us have a crystal ball, so we do not know when or what rules and regulations might be imposed on us by HM Government or SGC, and we do not know what the new “normal” will be when we finally get there.

So, we should all be looking at the positives and becoming upbeat about the immediate future and coming years. . . We are all desperate for some good news and social gatherings. The NHS; the scientists who are working on vaccines; and all the frontline workers, along with many hundreds of volunteers (very many of whom I am proud to say are Freemasons) are going over and beyond the call of duty to enable us all eventually to get back to some sort of normality. In the meantime, they are continuing to help those that need assistance. I know I speak on behalf of us all when I record here: to all these people, we will all be eternally grateful.

What we do know is that to successfully deal with the future, we need to get ahead of the game. Many of you will have heard the two old sayings which are truly relevant – “The six Ps” – “Planning and Preparation Prevents Pretty Poor Performance” (that is the permitted version!) and “failing to plan is planning to fail” . . .

How would your chapter react if you were hypothetically allowed to get back to meetings of six, of fifteen, or even full meetings as soon as next week? I suspect a large portion would suffer some degree of panic because they are just not ready to do so, or had not even thought about how they intend to restart.

How many of your members/officers have indicated that they will not be attending any meetings until after they have received both vaccine jabs? Do you know what would appear on your first post lockdown summons? What chapter business must appear on that summons? Have you kept in contact with any potential exaltees? How do you attract new exaltees? How do you overcome any forced postponement of necessary ceremonies like installations? Do you do multi-candidate exaltations, if blessed with a waiting list? Do you have emergency meeting/s to bring the chapter calendar back to where it would have been prior to last March? Will you be permitted or able to hold a festive board? Have you considered making all future committee meetings via Zoom?

These are just a few of the many questions that may need answering when arranging your first meetings after lockdown. Your Scribe E, DC and Principals will need as much help as possible to get your chapter smoothly up and running again. You can start by letting your Scribe E and DC know your intentions regarding your proposed attendance at future meetings. (It is no good the Scribe scheduling an exaltation if some of the necessary officers of the chapter will not be attending.) Many of our members are in the higher age bracket and may not be comfortable attending comparatively large gatherings at first, so no pressure should be applied.

I personally think that, initially at least, the most successful way forward for all chapters is to be prepared to be adaptable, flexible, and practical; to use a modern expression, “possibly think outside of the box.” Remember, any temporary alterations you make to the way you normally do things can always be reversed later when the chapter is back too normal.

The Provincial Grand Chapter Executive is here to help; a few things that PGC can do to help are listed here:

The Grand Superintendent has already announced that the Province will supply complete sets of R.A. regalia to Chapters during the first year after resuming meetings, for the use of any new exaltees at no cost to the chapter or exaltee. 

Any dispensations required for emergency meetings etc will (by agreement with a tearful and dejected Provincial Treasurer) be at no charge to chapters until further notice.

The Provincial DC may be able to assist with “stand-in” chapter officers.

The Provincial Grand Scribe E can advise on any administrative problems/queries.

(If you need anything else, just contact me: if it can be done, we will help.)

Amongst the things which are already being done by a number of chapters are checking that all members and their families are managing during lockdown by having regular contact (to give the more personal touch a ‘phone call can be more acceptable than an email). Check that any potential exaltee is kept informed as to what is happening. Encourage the use of this downtime as an opportunity to “get your head in the book”. When meetings are resumed consider visiting other chapters; this will not only help the chapter you visit to swell its numbers, but it will enable you to build new friendships, see how other chapters operate and hopefully have them return your visit.

The main object of this article has been to get us all thinking about the fact that the good things will come again, what needs doing sooner rather than later, and accepting what can be done by all working together.

In future editions of The Second Rising, it is your chance to have your say or ask questions about all things Royal Arch. So, If you have any comments on this or any future articles, have ideas for an article or even an article of your own for future editions regarding the Holy Royal Arch, please email me with details.

Take care and stay safe.

Les Steward
Deputy Grand Superintendent
dgsupt@oxfordshirefreemasons.org