Christmas message from the Provincial Grand Almoner

Dear Brethren All, 

It’s a universal truth that you’re never too old to learn, which in turn leads to the equally-universal truth every day’s a school day.

That’s why mentoring is so important, because the answers to everything you need to know are just a question away. How else would you make that daily advancement in Masonic knowledge, if you didn’t ask questions?

As Provincial Almoner my role is to work alongside all of our Almoners, including the one in your Lodge or Chapter, but there are also connections beyond the Province – but that doesn’t mean I know everything; far from it.

As 2023 draws to a close, so does my first full year in the role. It’s fair to say it’s been an action-packed year with a steep learning curve, and lots of questions! Ultimately, after two years of unprecedented and turbulent challenges brought by Covid-19, we find ourselves in the ‘new normal’.

We have managed to see off one crisis, but others have occurred causing major concerns. On a global scale we have the ongoing conflicts involving Russia and Ukraine, Palestine and Israel, which dominate the news. These are worrying in their own right, but have the potential to harm our own mental health because although we can see what’s happening, we are largely powerless to do anything about it.

Closer to home the approach of Christmas and its retail pressures make the cost of living crisis a constant worry, and we all have our personal problems to deal with. Lodge Almoners and the behind-the-scenes work of the networks supporting them are there to help you. Look what we’ve done in the past year, and will continue to do in the future:

• The MCF: 52 Grants awarded over the last year to Brethren and or their families within Lincolnshire, totalling almost £154,000 so far

• The Lincolnshire Old Benevolent fund: Six petitions awarded totalling almost £21,000 so far

• Masonic Centres social fundraising events throughout the Province for the #Lincs2025 Festival, all of which comes back into the Province in one form or another

• The Petitions Committee has kindly funded an initiative based in Scunthorpe, where regular coffee mornings are open to all between 10am and 1pm on the first and third Tuesdays. They’re aimed primarily at vulnerable brethren reluctant to come to evening meetings (but everyone’s welcome), so that they can continue to enjoy Freemasonry’s friendship and fellowship, with invitations extended to all Lodges in Scunthorpe, Crowle, Brigg, Barton, and Gainsborough.

So, as we say farewell to 2023, I would like to finish by thanking all the Lodge and Chapter Almoners and MCF Visiting Volunteers, the Old Benevolent Fund Petitions Committee, and our Assistant Provincial Grand Almoner Mike Allen for their support. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.

Charles Jackson, Provincial Grand Almoner