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Knights Templar Celebrate 150th AnniversaryAt the end of October, Knight Templar Masons from many parts of the country descended on Malvern andWorcester for a weekend of celebrations to mark the 'l50th Anniversary of the founding of the provincial priory ofWorcestershire.

Friday evening saw the celebrations commence with an informal Dinner at the Abbey Hotel, Malvern and theProvincial Priory was particularly honoured by the presence of the Most Eminent & Supreme Grand Master, LeslieFelgate Dring who was in attendance for the whole of the celebratory weekend. Saturday commenced with theLadies being taken on an outing to Gloucesterwhilstthe Knights of theOrderattended theAnnual provincial priorymeeting held at Worcester Cathedral. This historic building formed an impressive setting for the proceedings, withthe members of the Order clothed in their Regalia. During the proceedings the Provincial prior, Graham Ferkinspresented the Provincial Grand Master, Richard Goddard with a cheque for€500 towards the 2011 Festival Appeal.At the conclusion of the meeting all present were presented with a booklet relating the History of the province overit's first 150 years, which had been researched and written by Richard Goddard.

Saturday concluded with a formal Banquet held at the Abbey Hotel and during the evening the provincial prior madea presentation to Mr Anthony Chignell, the Hospitaller of the.Hospital of St John in Jerusllem, with the proceeds ofthe 150th Anniversary Celebration Charitable Appeal. The Appeal had raised the sum of f30,000 and had been usedto purchase and equip a Mobile Outreach Unit to enable the Hospital to take treatment to its patients in the GazaStrip.

Sunday morning saw the final event in the weekend's celebrations when a Service of Thanksgiving was held in theChapel of Malvern College.

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r,,)#*'tg supporr. the- wonderfirl rryo* of &eltruet, w.hich cares &,r tlte f,ar.ailiqs:oFai$&sed !ryqrygns, TIre

Tnmt currentty suppgry 22 frrntlies in our Ptovince alon'E, fo{rryj $ Uiltr'W.rYoqldbe facing hardship.

I urge you to show::that WorcestefShire

ourselves. We all remember fiom ourcornerstone of our Order.

Freemaaons: e#e deeply: , Ut,'those less forturnate than

initiati into this great: or$aniSation;, that Charity is the

fhe besl way bo show yourlupport is to take out a bank standing order for Ure duration of the Festival. By committing a monthly,

quarterly or annual paymen! direct to the Worcestershire Masonic Chariry, Organisgtion, you will be helping us to achieve our

target in the sirnplest and most efficient manner. By agreeing to rqakE a ;Egulaf eayrqestl You will also be demonstrating your

support for your own Lodge and for the Plovince as a whole. , l , . , ,

:, ' .:, :. . :. , :., : i:tj!i't't):)iThere wasn't much good o*, io tl" recent Budget but at least the Ch*ic"llo.tis making u poartW.q.. |1s

help our Appeal.

He has decided to keip the amount of tax that can be reclaimed under the Gift Aid systeln at 28;VVa und d-Ott, wen though the

basicrateoftaxwilIstillbereducedasfromApril2008.

Please speak to your Chanry Steward to let him know you are wif firg to,.tgke uB tfo allaUenee, I fnriw tttm rely on your gen-

With grateful thanks:.:,::'

Richardi'G,H Goddard ',, r' , : 'j

Provincial Grand Master : ,: ,',,, : ::

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Elmley Castle Lodge is organising a Masonic Dining Steam

Special on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Steam

railway hauled by the City of Truro locomotive (subject toavailability).

This will take place on Sunday 21th April 2008 leavingToddington at 12.30p.m., steam along the western edge of the

Cotswold Hills to Cheltenham Race Course via Winchcombeand Gotherington, with views of the Malvern Hills and Valeof Evesham. During the trip, a three course meal will be

served in the luxurious beautifully restored Pullman-styledining car-nages and a cash bar will be avatlable. The train willretunr to Toddington at 3.15 p.m. The cost is f 30 per head

and non-masonic guests will be most welcome. Dress will be

smart casual. Contact W.Bro Len Young on 01386 832102

for further details

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Supporting the 2001 Appeal, Ed Baker of Lodge of Peace and

Goodwill, No. 6010, recently completed the Reading half-

marathon in t hour 39 minutes, raising around f500 before

gift aid and has ambitions to double that (at least!) when he

, enters his flrst full Marathon - hopefully in September.

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How are we doin-e? One-third of a

goal. Thank you!

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million, one-third of our

It is great to see the one-third of a million flgure achieved!

Please don't stop your fund-raising efforts - with 38 months

left until June 2011, we need to keep our eye on the proverbial

ball! The amount of tax recovered from Gift Aided donations

included in the above total is f.4I,000, ll% of the total

which underlines how important it is to use Gift Aid at every

opporlunity.

From 6th April, the good news is that the threat of a reduction

in the amount of Gift Aid that a Charity car recover on

donations has dissipated and will now remain at the cur:rent

level until 20ll I

As a reminder, Charity Stewards should ensure that all

donations are sent to the Worcestershire Masonic Charity

Organisation at Bromsgrove at the earliest opportunity.

Festival Jewels continue to be issued in large numbers - over

880 have been despatched. The Appeal Committee is now

working on a Ladies Brooch.

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More than 880 Brethren and Companions in the Province ofWorcestershire are now proudly wearing the Festival StewardsJewel. They have shown their support for our efforts to raise inexcess of f 1million to support the work of the Royal MasonicTrust for Girls & Boys who care for the families of distressedFreemasons.

The Jewel design is unique - it features the crest of the familyname of our R.W Provincial Grand Master, Richard G HGoddard, surmounted by the blue and white ribbon of the RoyalMasonic Trust for Girls & Boys.

It has been manufactured in Birmingham by Firmin 8L

Company, specialist jewel and badge makers, who weredelighted to be asked to make it for us, even though the detailpresented them with a challenge. The Jewel can be worn on all Masonic occasions inthe Province of Worcestershire, both in Lodge rooms and at the Festival Board.

So, how do you acquire one? We are asking you to donate by standing order a minimumof f 100 to Appeal 2011 between now and June 2011, when the Festival ends. Once youhave committed yourself to the first payment, you are entitled to purchase the Jewelvia your Charity Steward for €15.00. Alternatir,ely. you can make a single payment off 100. Talk to your Chariw Steu ard - he u'ill have the Jewel applications forms. If hehas not. both the Jeu-el application and the standing order forms can be downloadedfrom the Pror-incial website - wlrrw.worcestershirep-sl.org.uk. Click onto the Charity &Appeals section and follorv the links.

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Every year Bro Robert

M. Huggins of SwinfordLodge No. 5729 strives

to participate in an event

in order to raise money

for a chosen charrty,and over the past fewyears has raised money

for the MeningitisResearch Foundation and

Leukaemta Research.

On Sunday Zlst Octoberhe competed in the 26th Stroud Half Marathon, raising funds for the chosen charityof the Provincial Grand Lodge of Worcestershire - the Charity Appeal 2011 for the"Royal Masonic Trust for Bbys and Girls".

The half marathon commenced at 10:00 sharp with almost 2500 runners in attendance.

As this was Bro Robert's first half marathon, he was increasingly nervous knowing thiswould be the greatest distance he had ever run and hoped the 6 months training wouldset him in good stead. The first 8 miles were enjoyable, however, after that point he

struggled to continue and was grateful for the support of the crowds clapping and

cheering, giving him the endurance to continue. Upon seeing the finishing line he felt a

boost ofenergy, knowing the end was close and he had succeeded.

By approaching family, friends, work colleagues, brothers and additionally a collectionmade at the Lodge ladies' luncheon, he raised funds in excess of f575 and was veryproud to be able to support the Provincial Charity and hopes that his donation willassist in reaching the f,1 million goal.

JCWEIS!

Bj February 2008,beed-"'.da.sa hed to

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Royal Anch Consecration

On Saturday 3rd November, at Routh Hall, BromsgroveSchool, the Most Excellent Grand Superintendent, RichardPrice, and Officers of the Province consecrated the OldBromsgrovian Royal Arch Chapter, No. 5743, the 50th inthe Province. The Grand Superintendents for Warwickshire,Leicestershire and Rutland, and Stafforclshire were present,

together with three Past Grand Superintendents, and manyother distinguished visitors, including the Provincial Grand

Master R. W. Bro. Richard Goddard, and the DeputyProvincial Grand Master V.W. Bro. Robert Vaughan.

In all, some 15 8 Companions witnessed an impressiveand moving consecration ceremony under the direction ofE.Comp. John Phenix Prov.G.D .C., and this was furtherenhanced by the delightful singing of three anthems by the

Provincial choir. The First Principal of the new Chapter is

E.Comp Richard Wallis who is the Past Grand Superintendentfor Warwickshire, and a Past Deputy Provincial Grand Masterof that Province. The Second Principal is E.Comp. Bob Biddle,P.Prov.P.G.Soj. (Warks.), and the Third Principal is E.Comp.

William Caswell, currently First Principal of Perseverance

Chapter R. A. No. 455 (Northants. and Hunts.).

Following the ceremony, an excellent lunch was held at the

school, during which the Grand Superintendent proposed thehealth of the new chapter. He also recalled the days when, as

a member of the King Edward's School Birmingham RugbyXV, he had played against Bromsgrove School. This has

always been a keenly fought flxture, and the usual friendlyrivalry over the rugby prowess of the respective schoolswas explored to the amusement of those present. The alms

collection in ard of the Province of Worcestershire's 20llFestival Appeal amounted to f,103.00.

lVl ark & Ark Succe$sThe wettest August formany ayear with severe

flooding across muchof the province forcedthe cancellation of the

planned St EgwinsMark and Royal ArkMariners Lodge garden

party at George and

Jenny Simpson'shome. With the event

reaffanged for early September it proved to be successful and

those who attended were treated not only to good refreshment

but many abargain as well.

Raisin g f2,125, of which f150 was presented to the Aphasia

Trust in Evesham, arr organisation assisting people withacquired brain injuries, Mike Gage the Worshipful Master

of the Mark Lodge No 1135 presented a cheque at a trustees

meeting. On Monday the 5th November John Icke, the

Worshipful Commander of the Royal Ark Mariners Lodge

No 1 135 presented a ftirther cheque for f,1,37 5 to VeryWorshipful Brother Ted Kettleborough, the Mark Provincial

Grand Charity Steward, which he undertook to ensure this was

donated to the Mark Masons Festival Appe al20l5 .

In the photo W Bro John Icke presents the cheque to V W Bro

Ted Kettleborough whilst fellow fund raisers W Bro Michael

Gage and W Bro George Simpson look on.

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The Mark and Royal Ark Mariner Masons of Worcester wereagatn on Santa duties at St Peters Garden Centre in the weeksprior to Christmas. With a little help from brethren of theMark Province and St Egwins, Evesham some 1300 childrenenjoyed breakfast with Father Christmas in the Restaurant orvisited him in his Grotto. The magnificent sum of f,461 1 wasraised for Noah's Ark Trust, the Chartty thathelps children intime of bereavement.

This year Santa arrived in style tn a 1922 Rolls Royce SilverGhost courtesy of W Bro George Simpson. Our picfure showschauffeur George, Santa w Bro Terry Hewlett, Gardencentre Proprietor w Bro Tony Blake and two of the manySanta Assistants in the persons of W Bro Bob Reid and W BroRichard Green.

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on wednesday l6th January 2008 the Lodge of St George No5691 held its flrst lunchtime meeting. The eighty-five Brethrenattending were treated to a very interesting and amusingtalk by w.Bro Phil Serrell of worcester Lodge No 2g0, whoregularly appears on television antiques programmes such as'Flog It' and 'Bargain Hunt'. During the meeting, The DeputyProvincial Grand Master, v w Bro Robert vaugh an, was verypleased to present a 50 year certiflcate to W Bro Phil Fitter,PPSGW, CM, senior Past Master of the Lodge.

W Bro Phil initiated his son in law when he was Master of theLodge in 1 97I - and was proud to receive his certificate fromthat candidate now in his present position as Deputy Provin cralGrand Master!

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At the February 2008 meeting of the Lodge Semper FidelisNo.529 held at Rainbow Hall Worcester the ProvincialGrand Master presented a certiflcate conferring HonoraryMembership on w.Bro Norman Ferguson pprov.scw,Certiflcate Merit.

W.Bro Norman was initiated, passed, raised and marked underthe Scottish Constifution in the Lodge of St.John TulliallanNo 598 in I95l-51 years ago. He joined Semper Fidelis in1963, became wM in 1980 and from Lgg4 to 2007 was theLodge Secretary. In addition, from lg93 until recently, heheld the post of Deputy Curator of the Provincial Llbrary andMuseum.

His service to the Lodge Semper Fidelis has been outstandingand the award of Honorary Membership thoroughly deserved.The Provincial Grand Master remarked on the excellentservice W.Bro Norman had given to the Lodge and commentedthat he was joining an exclusive club; the PGM being the onlyother holder of this category of membership!

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Members of WAML Group 3 entertained forty childrensupported by the Noahs Ark Trust, for a production of 'Frostythe Snowman' at Stourport Masonic Rooms. A donation off500 was made to Mr Rick Horton, the representative of theTrust. clearly the children enjoyed a bumper day I.....oh yesthey did !!

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On 19th December 2007 Halesowen Lodge No 5635 held therr

500th Meeting at Newflelds Halesowen. In attendance were

the Provincial Grand Master RGH Goddard and the Provincial

Senior Grand Warden, W.Bro MW Dancer and Junior Grand

Warden, W.Bro B Simpson. In the meeting W.Bro CES

Harris read the minutes of the Consecration Ceremony of2lst October 1936, after which W.Bro KD Dunham gave a

synopsis of the History of the Lodge over the period of the

first 500 meetings.

During afi eventful meeting it was proposed to ballot forHonorary membership the Provincial Grand Master who went

on to ask W.Bro Allan Porter to step onto the floor of the

lodge and was subsequently promoted to P.Prov Grand Sword

Bearer.

t*etp for Iraq

In 2003 when SaddamHus sein' s regime collap sed,

W.Bro Mahir Kubba, IPMof Priory Lodge No 5545

in Dudley, returned to Iraqto see his country in chaos;

hospitals were closed and

there was a shortage ofmedical equipment and

drugs.

W.Bro Mahir returnedto England and approached drug and medical equipment

manufacturing companies for help. He gained supporl from

many sources, including Richard Branson who provided the

necess ary transport to fly some six tons of supplies over to

Southern Iraq.

People be-Ean to notice the effect these efforts were having

on the siruation there and W.Bro Mahir had brought to his

attention the plight and suffering of children being supported

by the Mother Teresa Orphanage in Iraq.

W.Bro. Mahir has now set up his own charity to raise money

to give these children a better quality of life using the medical

services and hospitals of certain neighbouring countries

willing to help:

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The Worshipful Master and his Lady entertained aroundsixty guests at a Luncheon in aid of the Alcester Fire Servicefollowing the tragrc deaths of four of their colleagues. Thesum of L250 was raised and was presented to the Mayor ofAlcester, W.Bro David Hancox by W.Bro Joe Tildesley.Pictured are Mrs J Tildesley, W.Bro J Tildesley, W.BroHancox and W.Bro C J Grove. W.Bro Hancox gave gratefulthanks to the Brethren of Francis Burgess Lodge and theirguests for the donation and explained how the town andfamilies \\,ere c opin_e.

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Learning disabled skiers from seven regions of the UK tookpart in the Special Olympics Great Brit ain' s National AlpineSkiing Competition in Pila, rtaly, 14 - 18 January, 2008 aspart of the qualifying process for the 2009 Winter Games.Amongst these athletes was the son of W.Bro phil Hannahfrom Halesowen Lodge No5335. Cratg Hannah,32, whohas Down's Syndrome and aprofound hearing loss, wastaking part in the NationalCompetition for the flrst time.

Imagine how delighted hisparents were when he returnedwith a Gold and Bronze medalfrom the event. To add to thisPhil and Ellie, Craig's mother,received a telephone call fromthe Head of Delegation forthe World Winter Games in ,

them that Cratg had been ,.

selected for the Great Britarn Special olympicsto represent the country in Boise, Idaho (USA),the 2009 Special olympics world winter Games,attract more than 2,000 athletes from 100 nationsin seven Olympic-type sports.

As Phil said "When someone tells you that your son isselected for the Great Britarn team it's a fabulous feeling, butespecially so because of Cratg's difflculties"

From all in the Province, we all wish craig the very best forhis trip. We know he will be a wonderful representative forhis country.

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Changes At BromsgroveThe Province has a new Assistant Secretary, who takes over from theoutgoing Graham Perkins. W Bro lan Fothergill is already in place and isassisted by Hilary Landcastle and Christine Gaunt.

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The R.W Provincial Grand Master Richard Goddard has been pleased to appointW.Bro Raymond Rooke as an Assistant Provincial Grand Master and will investhim at the meeting of Worcestershire Installed Masters Lodge on 10 May, 2008 atMoseley Masonic Hall, Kings Heath. W.Bro Peter Band, who has held this highofflce with great distinction for the past five years, will stand down on that day. Thethanks of all tlie members of the Province go to W.Bro Peter for his commitment,loyalty and support over the years. Congratulations and good wishes go to W BroRalmond for a successful and happy time in his new appointment.

New Appeal ChairmanW.Bro Derek Taylor has takenProvince wishes to thank W.Broduring the flrst half of the appeal.der ek@taylors s o lic itors . c om.

over the Chair of the Appeal 201I, and theJohn Gorton for his Chairmanship and supportA11 enquiries should now go to W.Bro Derek at

Provincim! truff,E lmks Ncw AvmiEmble !

Now available from the PGL offices, our own Provincial cufflinks.Excellent quality enamelling and superb detail. For only L12.00including a presentation box and postage. Contact .the PGLOffices on 01527 879300 to place your order !

f 12.00inc. postage