The Royal Cumberland Lodge in Bath hosted an inter-club gathering of the New and Young Freemasons Clubs at its December meeting. It was also honoured by the presence of the Assistant Provincial Grand Master for Somerset, Richard Winter.
At the meeting, Klaus Krzok was Passed to the Degree of Fellowcraft. The ceremony was performed using the unique Royal Cumberland Workings, which are only practiced by three lodges in England.
All the visitors were congratulated for their attendance, as the inclement weather and railwaymen’s strike, not to mention the increased road traffic and near-impossible parking caused by Bath’s Christmas Market, all conspired to make life difficult for people coming into Bath.
The New and Young Freemason clubs were represented by The Adair Club from Somerset, The Three Pillars Club from Dorset, and the Dunkeleys Club from Bristol.
Craig Harding gave a talk to the meeting about The Light Blues Movement, with particular emphasis on Somerset’s Adair Club, giving a brief history of its purpose and why it is an integral part of the “Membership Challenge”.
When the Adair Club was created nearly ten years ago, the landscape of Somerset’s lodges was very different. The average age of members was in the 70s and 80s. Retention of new members was poor. Originally, Adair Club membership was based on age. Only Freemasons under 35 could join; this was later increased to 40 years old. Today, any Freemason who has not received Provincial Honours can join. Other Light Blues clubs have varying entry requirements.
The Adair Club currently has 200 active members, and through its work and the work of other Light Blues Clubs, membership retention has improved. The clubs endeavour to engage new members, arranging fraternal lodge visits and organising many social events, especially during the summer recess.
This year, The Light Blues made a trip to The Netherlands for a fraternal visit to an Amsterdam Lodge. Non-Masonic social events were also organised. These include beach days, clay pigeon shoots, and BBQs. Recently, two members from each Light Blues Club across the constitution were invited to be first joiners of the then-newly consecrated Lodge Sine Nomine No. 10,000.
Looking to the future, The Adair Club has launched a new website and intends to publish a regular newsletter. More inter-club visits are planned. There will be activities to mark the 10th Anniversary of the founding of The Adair Club, and a group trip to Madrid for Light Blue members is being planned in the spring. The Adair Club and other clubs within The Light Blues Movement continue to grow and work hard to increase membership engagement and retention.
As an antidote to Christmas Dinner, the evening rounded off with a Festive Board comprising lashings of spicy curry, with poppadoms and pickle aplenty, and the world of whisk[e]y was represented in the raffle with bourbon, Scotch and Irish whiskey among the prizes!
