Good afternoon, Brethren. It is my great pleasure to address you this afternoon as your Provincial Grand Master, following a most enjoyable Convocation of Provincial Grand Chapter earlier today.
Today is all about rewarding your efforts and enabling steps to be taken for future development and strategic planning. I congratulate all of you, and you will no doubt have noticed that age is not important, whether one is older or younger. I am determined that merit will be recognised.
This morning, I delivered an abridged Address, and am now pleased to have the opportunity of combining all the salient points.
As per the nature of our Constitution, some Brethren will have been appointed and promoted today while others retire. Thank you all for your contributions to Freemasonry and for what you will continue to offer!
The Most Worshipful Pro Grand Master continues his important task of leading us as we implement his strategy, providing “A strong national message with a local flavour.” The Joint Executive will prioritise membership, improve communication, and deliver the strategy. I am confident that we in South Wales will continue to serve our leaders to the best of our ability. It is with great pleasure that today, we have Right Worshipful Brother Gareth Jones, OBE, the Past Assistant Grand Master, attending our annual meeting and working as hard as ever.
We are excited about our Thanksgiving service, which will be held in Brecon this year. We are also looking forward to upcoming anniversaries, centenary meetings, and other important celebrations.
Our Province is truly in good heart, Brethren!
Our Craft Provincial Grand Membership Officer, W.Bro. Simon Daniel will step down today to concentrate on his promotion earlier this year to 3rd Provincial Grand Principal. I thank him for the focus he has brought to membership and wish our 5th Assistant Provincial Grand Master every success in his new role. I will miss him enormously when he steps down as our Deputy Grand Superintendent at some future time.
Brethren, you may have seen on the Provincial website that earlier this month I had the honour of turning the first shovelful of earth to mark the beginning of construction for the new Office for Masonic Business at Bridgend. This is a project that has been in the works for decades, and I’m thrilled to announce that the building work will start next week.
In 2027, we will celebrate the Tercentenary of the Province. This is a significant milestone for South Wales Freemasonry, and the efforts will be spearheaded by W.Bro. Dr Akram Baig. You can expect to hear much more about celebratory events in the months ahead. The Tercentenary Celebrations will provide the perfect platform for the launch of the 2032 Festival, which will be led by W.Bro. Robert Payne, a most important initiative.
Today, I am pleased to announce that W.Bros. Richard Pelzer and Elfan Jones have been awarded my Certificate of Commendation. These honours are truly well-deserved for such dedicated servants of the Royal Craft here in South Wales. The Summonses for Lodges of which they are Members will now reflect these Honours, as will the Year Book.
I am extremely grateful to everyone who has contributed to making today a successful and enjoyable event. I would like to congratulate the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, all our Provincial Grand Officers who represented the Province, our dedicated Provincial Office Team of Volunteers, and the Management & Staff of Barry MEMO for hosting us today under the banner of Lodge of Round Table No. 9549.
In conclusion, we have a very special visitor with us today from the Province of Lincolnshire, W.Bro. Chris Jones. For those who are not aware, W.Bro. Chris is planning to raise an incredible £100,000 to support the Masonic Charitable Foundation by walking 7,500 miles around the entire Coastline of Britain. Why is Chris doing it ? Well Chris believes that he is only alive today because of the Freemasons’ charity the MCF, which steered him through the darkest days of a mental health crisis. Chris is very open about his struggle with mental health and this is the main focus of this challenge. He has suffered with poor mental health for about 10 years and at the very lowest points has spent days and sometimes weeks of his life contemplating suicide and an escape from the misery. So, this fundraising challenge is to say “thank you” to the professionals at MCF who helped him in his time of need. The walk began at Skegness on New Year’s Day 2023, and Chris reached the Province of South Wales last month.W.Bro. Chris thank you for taking time out of your challenge to join us today and we wish you extremely well in the remainder of your challenge. On behalf of the South Wales Freemasons, we will be making a donation of £1,000 to your fundraising page. Brethren, please let us show our support and appreciation to W.Bro. Chris.
I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful summer break. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you all, safe and sound, in the upcoming season!