The Grand Lodge Strategy Working Party met on Tuesday and I am delighted to report that the short-term strategy to get us through and out of Covid-19 was completed and submitted to the Administration Committee yesterday morning. They expressed their satisfaction with the work carried out so far and the documentation will now go forward to Grand Committee for final approval before being issued to all Lodges at home and abroad. It has to be stressed however that the documentation is bound to change as Government policy changes – this therefore will no doubt be the first of several versions. Progress is being made on the long-term strategy to take Scottish Freemasonry forward through the 21^st century. There has been a great response from Districts, Provinces, Lodges and individuals to the appeal for thoughts and comments which is tremendous, and I thank you all.

That said, I anticipate more feed back after the “Young Masons” meeting a week on Saturday. Can I take this opportunity to encourage all Brethren at home and abroad who are under 40 years of age to fill in the form and attend the meeting on Saturday 20^th March. You may be wondering why we need your email address – we will be using the break-out facility within zoom and to do that we need your email address. The forms are available from your Lodge Secretary – so please come along – I will be delighted to see you.

The next lecture in the History & Heritage Group Series will be by Brother Mike Craig, District Grand Master of the District Grand Lodge of East Africa. Our District Grand Lodge of East Africa covers three separate countries – Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Please come along and learn about the fascinating District.

 

 

• An additional 30 new members joined the group which now has a membership of 4763 Brethren from not only the Scottish Constitutions but from many of our Sister Constitutions throughout the world.

• This week saw the total examples of charitable giving recorded within the group rise to 687, submitted by 263 of its members.

• These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 307 Lodges, from within the 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 22 of its District Grand Lodges, Superintendencies and Lodges under the direct supervision of Grand Lodge.

• The total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £1,013,860.

• This represents an average of £22,530 per week to date.
• There have been 104,059 individual comments, likes, and other reactions to the group since its inception.

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason

 

 

 

 

As I write this week’s update, another donation of foodstuffs which, as reported below, is now being distributed throughout Scotland, takes the total identifiable monetary value of contributions to well over £1,000,000. This, along with over another £500,000 donated to Prostate Scotland over the past few years demonstrates an outstanding contribution into our local communities at home and abroad. My thanks to each and every one of you who have contributed in any way whatsoever to the many initiatives that have taken place, especially during the pandemic.

The Grand Lodge Strategy Working Party will meet on Tuesday to take forward their work. The aim is twofold: to provide a short-term strategy to get us through and out of Covid-19 and a long-term strategy to take Scottish Freemasonry forward through the 21^st century. Grand Secretary will circulate the short-term information to all Lodges at home and abroad when we get a clearer indication of when we will be allowed to reopen and what conditions and/or restrictions will be imposed.

The next lecture in the History & Heritage Group Series will be by Brother Jacques Huyghebaert, on Wednesday 10^th March at 7.00 pm. Brother Huyghebaert is a rare example of a Brother who has been Master of Lodges in five different constitutions – England, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium and the Czech Republic. On Wednesday night he will be telling us about Scottish Freemasonry in Sri Lanka.

 

 

• Membership of the group has risen over the last week to 4733 Brethren from Lodges working under, or recognised by, the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

• The number of posts recorded within the group has risen to 675, submitted by 261 group members.

• These updated contributions can now be attributed as to having been made on behalf of 307 Lodges.

• Contributions have been recorded from Lodges within all 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 22 of our District Grand Lodges, Superintendencies and Lodges under the direct supervision of Grand Lodge, with the District Grand Lodge of East Africa being added this week.

• Another donation of foodstuffs valued at over £150,000 was secured by Bro. Kevin Taggart, IPM, of Lodge Buchan St. John, No. 636, and also a moderator of the Scottish Constitution Freemasonry Supports Group. This is once again being shared with Lodges and Provinces, the length and breadth of the country, with which Lodge Buchan St. John has an association. These will in turn be distributed to many worthwhile organisations over the coming weeks as part of the Lodge Buchan St. John, No. 636 Inter Province Community Care Initiative.

  A huge milestone was reached during the week with the total identifiable monetary value of contributions exceeding £1,000,000. The total now stands at a magnificent £1,011,060.

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason

 

 

This is the 57^th edition of the weekly update. Over the past 57 weeks I have tried to keep everyone up to speed with what is happening and issue advice on a whole range of issues currently affecting Lodges. Last week I highlighted the latest Discretionary Budget. A member of our Craft, who wishes anonymity as a whistle blower, has launched a personal attack on me by informing The Times that my giving advice to claim public money is “atrocious”. While this is yet another personal attack, whoever is behind this and the previous Times articles should be aware that I am not being damaged by these actions. However, a great deal of reputational damage is being done to Scottish Freemasonry as a whole. Did the person responsible ever give any thought to informing the Times of the other information in the Update last week – that Scottish Freemasons have, during the Pandemic, contributed over £800k to the communities in which they operate?  Since day one, I have adopted an open-door approach. While I cannot physically be in Edinburgh at the present time, I am easily contactable at the end of a phone. I am more than happy to discuss any grievances that Brethren may have regarding what I put in the Update each week or on any other topic. So, please, if you want to have a pop at me personally, then don’t hide behind the cloak of anonymity. Identify yourself and speak to me, instead of besmirching the good name of our Craft in the media.

The next lecture in the History & Heritage Group Series will be by Brother Joe Curry, Immediate Past DGM of the Bahamas, on Wednesday 3^rd March at 7.00 pm.

 

 

 

• The group witnessed its membership rise to 4689 Brethren from both Scottish Constitution Lodges and Lodges from other Constitutions recognised by the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

• The total recorded examples of charitable giving within the group rose to 659, submitted by 257 of its members.

• These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 305 Lodges, from within the 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 21 District Grand Lodges, Superintendencies and Lodges under the direct supervision of Grand Lodge.

• The quantifiable monetary value of contributions has risen to £848,096 during the 43 weeks since the group was started. This represents an average weekly contribution of £19,723.

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason

 

 

 

I am indebted to Brother Stewart Quigley, PGM of Fife and Kinross for the following information which I would commend to all Lodges who have not previously applied for grants or who have been refused grants in the past.

Brother Quigley reports that he has been keeping an eye on the Scottish Govt Business Grants website and recently noticed a new Fund, administered by Local Authorities called, "Local Authority Discretionary Fund" that is aimed at those businesses that have suffered financial restrictions from Covid restrictions / closures AND have NOT benefited from previous Scottish Govt grants.

Thinking of Lodges that do not own their own premises and either rent from other Lodges or even from Local Authorities / Bowling Clubs etc. Obviously, these Lodges generally get most (or all) of their income from collections and raffles at meetings, which has not happened since March 2020. Brother Quigley contacted Fife Council and was advised that the scenario detailed above could well allow a one-off grant (£3,000) to be made.

He then asked one of the Lodges in Fife and Kinross that rents space from another Lodge, to apply and a couple of days later they were advised that their application had been successful, and they should receive payment "within the next 10 days".

All the Lodge needed to supply, was bank statements and proof that the Lodge has insurance cover. As the name of the fund suggests - it is discretionary, so any award may differ from one Local Authority to another, however Brother Quigley noted that the funding for Scottish LA's to administer this fund, has increased from £60 million to £120 million.

Please find the link below for details of the fund that includes a link for the application for the appropriate LA.  

Local Authority Discretionary Fund (findbusinesssupport.gov.scot)

https://bgfdes.targetdashboard.com/ladf/qualify

My thanks to Brother Quigley for highlighting this particular grant. I would urge those Lodges who have not applied for grants to get an application into their local authority. Success with this grant will ensure that run of the mill expenses such as utilities, insurance premiums and annual dues can be met without dipping into reserves.

The next lecture in the History & Heritage Group Series will be by Brother Jim Kerr, DGM of Central South Africa, on Wednesday 24^th February at 7.00 pm.

 

 

The group can now boast a membership of 4659 Brethren from both Scottish Constitution Lodges and Lodges from other Constitutions recognised by the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

This week saw the total examples of charitable giving recorded within the group rise to 652, submitted by 255 of its members.

These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 304 Lodges, from within the 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 21 District Grand Lodges, Superintendencies and Lodges under the direct supervision of Grand Lodge.

An increase in the quantifiable monetary value of contributions to £846,346 was recorded during the week.

There have been 95,627 individual comments, likes, and other reactions to the group since its inception.

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason

 

 

Last Saturday, I was privileged to chair a very interesting and productive meeting with the majority of our District Grand Masters. In all our Districts the true spirit of Freemasonry is being shown in so many ways in sometimes difficult and challenging circumstances. In most countries there are strict restrictions in place – only in Hong Kong and New Zealand are our Lodges operating physically while in Kenya and Jamaica outdoor meetings are being carried out but with social distancing in place. As is the case here at home, the great tenets of Brotherly Love and Relief are being amply demonstrated by our Brethren throughout the world. While space precludes listing all that is happening, but to give you a flavour of what is happening in the Districts, I have noted just a few of the initiatives –

In India where they have been experiencing 5000 deaths per day, our District Grand Lodge has dispersed PPE equipment to the value of 2,000,000 Rupees (approx. £20k).

Several Districts are donating i-pads and i-phones to children to enable them to home school.

Our District in Zambia has been giving much needed support to a Mission Hospital.

In Lebanon where the Brethren are coping not only with Covid-19, the aftermath of the blast and a serious economical crisis, they have started a “Jobs Workshop” to assist those who have been made redundant or lost businesses – something I have asked the Strategy Group to look at as we will no doubt see mass redundancies and business loss here and in many of our Districts as a longer-term result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the midst of all of this, many Districts and Provinces are engaging in a wide range of Masonic Education projects which is equally encouraging.

All Provincial and District Grand Masters have been asked to seek the opinion of the Brethren on a number of topics but more especially, the five major issues emanating from the recent survey. When your Province arranges to collect such information, please participate – your opinion will count.

As you will read in the SCFS report, the total Identifiable monetary value of contributions recorded within the group has now risen to a magnificent £843,386. What an effort by Scottish Freemasons throughout the world – in excess of £20,000 per week to assist those less fortunate – the lesson of the North East corner is very much to the fore – congratulations.

 

 

• Membership of the group from Lodges working under, or recognised by, the Grand Lodge of Scotland has risen over the last week to 4616 Brethren.
• The number of posts recorded within the group has risen to 642 submitted by 255 group members.
• These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 301 Lodges.
• We are delighted to report that, as from this week, contributions have been recorded from Lodges within all 32 Provinces, 21 of our Districts, Superintendencies or from Lodges under the direct supervision of Grand Lodge.
• Last week the group was fast approaching a total identifiable monetary value of contributions of £600,000. However once again Bro. Kevin Taggart, IPM, has secured on behalf of his Mother Lodge, Lodge Buchan St. John, No. 636, 3 full articulated trailers of foodstuffs, clothes, toys, and household goods. The value of the goods received is valued in excess of £250,000. Donations from this windfall entitled “Lodge Buchan St. John, No. 636 - National COVID-19 Care Initiative” to make significant donations to the 2 Masonic Homes and are in the process of being shared with Lodges and Provinces with which Lodge Buchan St. John has an association. This in turn will be distributed to many worthwhile groups and organisations throughout the country.
• The total Identifiable monetary value of contributions recorded within the group has now risen to a magnificent £843,386.

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason

 

 

 

I reported last week on the successful meeting with the Provincial Grand Masters. Grand Secretary and I now look forward to meeting with our District Grand Masters this Saturday. In between the two meetings the Strategy Working Group have enjoyed a busy and productive meeting and are progressing much work to ensure that the Craft is in a good position to resume physical meetings whenever safe and practical to do so. Five smaller working groups have been established to examine in detail the five major issues established by the earlier survey. Those small groups will be fed information from the Provinces and Districts and the young masons group. They will then report back to the Strategy Group who will pull everything together in a comprehensive report to the Administration Committee.

Given that we have been unable to admit anyone into the Craft for almost a year now and probably another six months before we will have that opportunity, I am more than conscious that while no one has come into the Craft, we have lost a significant number of Brethren, some through Covid-19, many others through other causes. It is imperative therefore that the strategy working party address issues such as this with some urgency. I am aiming to have the report available by the end of March.

Could I also suggest that where you have candidates waiting for initiation, please invite them to your zoom meetings; if you have assistance initiatives happening in the Lodge / Community, invite them to participate - make them feel that they are already part of the Lodge family. Please don’t leave them out in the cold.

Much work is also being carried out with the revision of the Constitution and Laws. A small working group has produced what we hope is now a true representation of the work carried out some considerable time ago and that has been returned to the original working groups for any further amendment required. Further changes will be required as a result of the Covid experience but, once again, things are progressing even in our locked down state.

            Grand Committee met yesterday morning and confirmed the following appointments as Provincial Grand Master – PGL Forfarshire – Brother Peter Taylor, Lanarkshire MW – Brother Andrew D Miller, Ross and Cromarty – Brother Raymond A MacKeddie, DGL of Gibraltar – Brother Paul D Villalta, Middle East – Dr Abel W K Arumugam and a one-year extension for the Grand Superintendent of Malawi, Brother Gordon Sheppard. My heartiest congratulations and those of Grand Committee go to all our new PGM’s who will take over as and from 10^th June and my sincere thanks to all those who have completed their term.

            Please remember, the 3^rd series of lectures being organised by the History and Heritage group – they start a five-week run on Wednesday 17^th February. After I mentioned this last week, a number of Brethren pointed out that they don’t subscribe to Facebook. That being the case, I’m hoping to have the links placed on the Grand Lodge website each week and you will be able to pick them up from there.

 

 

An additional 70 new members joined the group which now has a membership of 4557 Brethren from Lodges working under or recognised by the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

This week saw the total examples of charitable giving recorded within the group rise to 634, submitted by 254 of its members.

These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 300 Lodges, from within 31 Provincial Grand Lodges, 21 District Grand Lodges, Superintendencies and Lodges under the direct supervision of Grand Lodge.

The total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £592,936.

This represents and average weekly contribution of around £15,000 over the last 40 weeks. Brethren, this is a truly remarkable achievement brought about by our Lodges at home and abroad. My sincere thanks to you all for a tremendous effort in the fight against Covid-19.

 Finally, as always, please stay safe and look after each other

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason

 

 

Last Saturday I held a meeting with the Provincial Grand Masters. I am delighted to report that every Province was represented, and we had a very productive three-hour meeting. A significant number of actions have emerged from the meeting and they have been disseminated to all PGM’s. Information from the meeting will be getting fed into the Strategy Group, the Admin Committee and Grand Committee. However, many of the topics can be actioned immediately such as encouraging Lodges to hold zoom meetings on Regular meeting nights, the sharing of successful initiatives, the collection and recycling of laptops within each Province and circulating the devices to Brethren who do not have one along with relevant training. Any Brother who has suitable hardware that they no longer use should notify their PGM and each Province will be looking for Brethren with expertise in cleaning and refurbishing the devices and Brethren to give training.

Much emphasis was put on the necessity for every Lodge to ensure that the premises are checked on a weekly basis and that each visit is logged – that all Lodges check their insurance policies in respect of the premises being vacant – that the insurance cover is adequate. Please ensure all those routine tasks are carried out so that in the event of an issue, the Lodges are not caught out by insurance policy escape clauses.

Many actions have been placed on your PGM’s and they will be working with you over the next few months to assist with initiatives during lockdown and in the preparation for re-opening in due course plus the dissemination of useful ideas that were discussed on Saturday. Grand Lodge, through the Strategy Group and Administration Committee will be producing useful and necessary information packs over the spring and early summer months.

A week on Saturday the same exercise will take place with the District Grand Master’s and next on the list will be the under 40 group. There has been a slight delay with the under 40 group because one of the contractors has failed to get the fibre optic cable into the building – the main contractor has all the internal wiring complete, but we still await connection to the main cable. Given the numbers that will be involved initially with the under 40 group and that we want to use the break-out facility as well, the present infrastructure in Grand Lodge would not cope. However, I am keen to get that particular meeting underway as soon as is practical.

Can I also bring to your attention, the 3^rd series of lectures being organised by the History and Heritage group – they start a five-week run on Wednesday 17^th February. The past two series have concentrated on the history of the 10 oldest Lodges – this series we will be transported to some of our Districts with the first lecture coming from the DGL of Lebanon – I commend them to you – the links to get into the lectures appear on Facebook each week.

 

 

 

• An additional 59 new members joined the group which now has a membership of 4487 Brethren from all 4 quarters of the globe.

• This week saw the total examples of charitable giving recorded within the group rise to 629, submitted by 253 of its members.

• These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 299 Lodges, from within 31 Provincial Grand Lodges, 21 District Grand Lodges, Superintendencies and Lodges under the direct supervision of Grand Lodge.

• The total identifiable monetary value of the contributions now recorded has risen to £589,561.

• There have been 92,490 individual comments likes, and other reactions to the group since its inception.

 Finally, please stay safe and look after each other

Ramsay McGhee

Grand Master Mason