At the head of the Lodge is our "chairman". We don't call him that although we do say that he is "in the chair",
we call him the "Master" of the lodge.
Why? Well we take our origin from the old stone masons guilds and the head man on a building site to this day is
the "Master of the Works".
Our current Master is Keith Picken and his job title is "Worshipful Master".
"Worshipful" is an "Olde Worlde" title of respect which is still also to be found in local government
as in "His Worship the Mayor".
He has 2 deputies. These are the Wardens of the lodge. A warden is an officer who has a responsibility for the care
of those working under him, and each warden in the lodge is charged with an aspect of the care of the members.
Currently our Senior Warden is Drew Grant and our Junior Warden is Jeff Bulman
To assist him Each warden has a "gofer", someone to "Gofer this" and "Gofer that" for him.
These are our deacons who are currently Chris Graham and Michael Attenborough
The last of the "Floor Officers" are the two doormen, one on the inside of the door and one on the outside,
the Inner Guard and the Tyler.
We have John Ward and John Freeman in these offices
The Master is elected each year by the main body of the members. He is constitutionally barred from holding office
for more than two years and he selects his other officers to assist him.
For the year after he has left the chair he holds the title of "Immediate Past Master" and is first line
support for the Master, this office is held by Andrew Dodge at the moment.
These officers each hold their position for a single year, normally moving a step up "the ladder"
at the Installation meeting each year
To assist with the running of the lodge there are also a number of additional officers, a Secretary, a Treasurer,
a Director of Ceremonies, an Almoner, a Chaplain, and a Charity Steward.
These offices are normally filled by an experienced "Past Master", someone who has already served a term as
Master of the Lodge. In the interests of continuity these offices are normally held for several years.
Some of these are obvious, after all what organisation can run without a secretary
to look after the inevitable paperwork?
Our secretary is Scott Grant
A treasurer is needed to look after the funds and see that the lodge pays its way,
Michael Attenborough is in this office, but what about the others?
Well the Director of Ceremonies is just that, he has the responsibility of keeping things flowing during
our meetings and making sure that the one act plays that are our ceremonies are well performed.
This responsibility falls on Allan Burrell
The Chaplain gives the prayers that open and close our meetings, as these are non-sectarian and are
worded so as to be acceptable to all faiths this should not be seen as a religious office.
The Chaplain will often assist the Almoner in his duties.
Besides being our I.P.M., Andrew Dodge is also our Chaplain.
The duties of the Almoner largely lie outside the lodge, it is his duty to render assistance as is needed.
He will keep in touch with any elderly brethren who cannot attend their lodge, with any who are known
to be sick, with the widows of deceased brethren and offer such help as may be needed.
Drew Grant is wearing a second hat here
The duties of the Charity Steward complement those of the Almoner. His is the responsibility of
collecting for charity within the lodge, he is always willing to sell you
a raffle ticket or get you to support the Charities.
Michael Attenborough looks after this office.
The D.C. needs an Assistant Director of Ceremonies to help him out
with his work in our meetings.
Michael Storey is acting in this role.
A new position in the roll of Officers of the Lodge is that of Lodge Mentor.
His duty lies in the guidance and instruction of the brethren in Freemasonry.
Stuart Hay has taken on this role
Site optimised for Firefox browser at 1024 by 768 resolution
© 2024 Howdon Panns Lodge.