Sussex enlists Royal Arch representatives
Although ONUS (On Us) was developed as a separate entity, its narrative and aims are harmonious with the Involve segment of the Archway initiative. By enlisting the involvement of Craft Royal Arch representatives, it also accords with One Journey, One Organisation, helping it to fulfil its overall objectives of mentoring and retention.
The ONUS Royal Arch Mentoring and Retention System was developed for the Province of Sussex during 2023 and launched in three stages during January of this year. The system identifies certain officers within a Chapter and allocates to them designated roles within the ONUS process. At the same time, it encourages every Companion within a Chapter to support the ONUS initiative and to recognise that we all need to work together as a team. That means taking on the collective responsibility (or ONUS) for not only nurturing every newly exalted Companion but also ensuring ongoing support and enlightenment is monitored and made available to all our fellow Companions, especially those whose attendance may have become erratic or whose enthusiasm for Royal Arch Masonry appears to be on the wane or may have lapsed completely.
The system promotes the use of Solomon as a learning tool, and a dedicated ONUS Royal Arch Solomon guidebook has been produced to support the process. The guidebook refines the Royal Arch material contained on Solomon. It commences with the ‘Welcome Companion’ module and then reduces the Royal Arch content down to a selection of the most accessible and interesting modules and files.
At its launch in January, an overview of the ONUS system was communicated to every Royal Arch Companion in Sussex. They were also supplied with a copy of the ONUS Solomon Royal Arch guidebook. This was followed by customised communications being sent to each of the prime Chapter Officers involved – for example, Scribe E, Almoners (acting as Mentoring Guardians), and Directors of Ceremonies. It was also recognised that as part of the One Journey, One Organisation narrative, Craft Royal Arch Representatives could and should play a crucial role in ensuring the success of ONUS, so they too received customised letters of introduction to the ONUS process, describing their involvement and enlisting their support.
One Province: Yorkshire forges closer bonds
The Province of Yorkshire, West Riding is geographically the second largest Province and stretches from Sheffield in the south to Goole in the east, Ripon in the north, and Bentham (12 miles from the west coast) in the west. It’s an area of just under 3,000 square miles. The Province has 4,800 Craft and 2,100 Royal Arch members, 170 Lodges, and 70 Chapters, meeting in 56 locations.
During the middle of 2022, while the new UGLE Strategy had yet to be launched, it was obvious from the Strategy consultations that there was a need and intention to bring the Craft and Royal Arch closer together, not just organisationally, but in terms of making it clear that membership of the Royal Arch completed your Masonic journey in Pure Antient Masonry.
As early as the autumn of 2022, the Province introduced the concept of One Province. This was part of an overarching intent to raise the profile of the Royal Arch, bring together the two separate Provincial Executive structures, and make every member proud of the Province as a whole.
This concept was promoted at every Lodge and Chapter Installation, area meetings, training and learning seminars, on digital media, and to new members at Light Blue events. It is now embedded as part of the culture of the Province, recently supported by the introduction of the One Journey, One Organisation concept by UGLE and SGC.
In practical terms, the Province now has a joint Rulers meeting; all functional Officers, such as Communications, Almoner, Charity Steward, and Mentor, all work as a single team, with either the Craft or Royal Arch Officer taking the lead where appropriate. Craft Rulers represent the Province at Royal Arch Installations and vice versa, so that the single message "We Are One Province" is in no doubt. There is a single website, which incorporates Craft and Royal Arch.
Each Assistant Provincial Grand Master, responsible for Lodges in a geographical area, is now working even closer with his Royal Arch area counterpart by sharing administrative resources, having joint meetings of Grand Lodge Officers and Lodge/Chapter Liaison Officers (VOs), consulting each other on Provincial honours and appointments at area and Lodge/Chapter level, jointly approving all RA Representatives, and having combined training and social events.
The West Riding Acting Officers Lodge, originally only open to Craft Acting Officers, was opened up to Royal Arch Acting Officers. At the very top of the Province, both the Deputy Provincial Grand Master and Deputy Grand Superintendent work closely together across both Orders, allowing the Provincial Grand Master/Grand Superintendent to make whole-Province changes and decisions, including succession planning opportunities.
Being a large Province, in both number and geography, embedding the principles of One Journey, One Organisation is not as easy as it might be in a smaller one, where the whole Province can easily come together at a single location. The same messages need to be communicated both at area and Lodge/Chapter levels.
We utilise our Installed Masters Associations to bring Lodges together and, more importantly, we are fortunate to have our unique equivalent in the Royal Arch, our six Royal Arch Councils, who tirelessly promote the Royal Arch by making presentations and will be assisting in rolling out Archway in the Province.
Very often, small but symbolic actions help to embed the One Province message. Three of the many examples of cross-Order activity are how our Provincial honours structure gives credit to those in the Royal Arch and the work they do for the Order; allowing the Royal Arch Council Presidents to wear their chains of office at Craft Festive boards to highlight the Order; and the new Provincial ties for each Order, which are of the same design but different in colour, and each tie can be worn by those who are members of both Orders in any meeting.
There is still more that can be done to continue the path towards One Journey, One Organisation. As a Province, we are continually looking at more initiatives to reinforce the message, and recent announcements from UGLE and SGC will no doubt assist us in continuing our journey.
West Kent’s Exaltation of eight candidates
Manor of Bexley Chapter No. 5977 has become the latest unit embracing the opportunity to conduct a ceremony with multiple candidates. Having undertaken a double Exaltation ceremony in February, their members went further still at Oakley House, West Kent’s Provincial headquarters, on Saturday 1 June, by Exalting eight candidates in a single ceremony. A further four candidates are planned for February 2025.
An immense amount of planning was undertaken by Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies Norman Rose, his team of Provincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies Cedric Olden and Dan Cooper, and the West Kent Stewards Chapter, who provided vital support to Manor of Bexley by compiling the modified ritual and ceremonial for the event and attending each of the multiple rehearsals. This close liaison between Province and Chapter is what made this special meeting possible.
The day was attended by more than 80 Royal Arch Masons, including the Most Excellent Grand Superintendent, his Provincial Escort, and members of the Royal Arch Executive. The ritual was conducted by the three Principals – Excellent Companions Peter Young, Provincial Grand Steward Mark Lewis, and Terry Bush – along with a team made up of Chapter officers and volunteers from the West Kent Stewards Chapter, who ensured that every candidate was personally attended to.
Multiple ceremonies are nothing new and date back to World War I. In the intervening years, these types of rituals have been practised less and less, with the trend being to concentrate on single candidate ceremonies. However, with membership now being so firmly at the forefront of Lodge and Chapter thinking, the result of successful recruitment and individual ceremonies are over-long waiting lists. It is time to re-embrace multiple ceremonies. This is important given the membership growth objectives set by the Province.
If carried out properly, the special bond formed during multiple candidate ceremonies is a unique one that cannot be replicated. All eight candidates at the Manor of Bexley’s meeting commented positively on a memorable experience.
Manor of Bexley’s success is in no small part due to the work of its Membership Officer, Phil Gould, Provincial Grand Steward. With 10 new members this year alone, more planned for 2025, and with a proven track record within Craft, he was asked how he does it.
‘First, all members of our Lodge (North Kent) and Chapter act as Assistant Membership Officers and are always on the lookout for the next candidate. This feedback is vital and is only possible if you have happy and, more importantly, engaged members who love Freemasonry and encourage others to join.
‘We try to meet potential candidates through various social events that have a charitable theme and adult helpers who volunteer in youth organisations such as Scouting, which has a proven link with Freemasonry.
‘Should they show a real interest, I normally invite them and their partner to my Lodge Ladies Festival as well as other white table events the Lodge arranges each year. This allows them to meet further members and for their wives and partners to see for themselves how much fun we have and the charitable work Freemasons perform.
‘This is not a rapid process, but done on a regular basis, it builds a pipeline that, by the second year, we have people who were invited to the previous year’s events come again, and new people attend for the first time, and the cycle continues.
‘Using this method, we usually get three to four candidates a year into our Lodge, most of whom are in their early
