Feature Article – October 2020

Our feature article this month is a most thought-provoking set of ideas from Les Steward, the Deputy Grand Superintendent of the Royal Arch for Oxfordshire

TIMES, THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’. . . (Bob Dylan, released January 1964)

Problems, problems, problems!

In addition to modified ceremonies and meeting places, and as well as all the new sanitised and distancing safety precautions, we now have “the rule of six” to contend with, and a new piece of personal regalia in the form of a mask! The good news is that we can have a festive board (providing of course that our caterers will cater for just six, while meeting with all the government requirements)!

The problems regarding holding any form of meetings which are facing the Royal Arch at present are not exclusive to chapters; they apply to all orders. So, in my opinion, we all have to make the best of a very bad situation. The best way to do that is by jointly focusing on the good times which will, without doubt, come again, possibly initially in somewhat modified versions of what we had prior to lockdown. I have no doubt that, at some stage in the months to come, we will all look on what is happening now as being, in the words of one of my late father’s frequently-used sayings during my formative years: “a character-building experience”!

The pressures and new experiences of this present situation have proved that our members have taken on board this “character-building experience” and responded superbly through our chapters or craft lodges with respect to charitable works and volunteering with projects in local community. A lot of chapter members are keeping in contact via their craft Lodges and zoom meetings etc. I know many Almoners and Scribes E are working hard to ensure the wellbeing and contact of our companions. With all this going on, we must not lose sight of what will be needed for a strong recovery when we get back to anywhere near normal.  

The Provincial Executive, led by the Grand Superintendent, is very aware that in the coming months the Province must make itself available to assist all chapters to restart their meetings and to help look after the welfare of their members, who in many cases are in the upper bracket of vulnerable, be it due to age and/or health of themselves or family members. If your chapter, your individual members, or even the centre you meet in, needs the advice or the help of the Province in anyway, please do not hesitate to contact the Provincial Scribe E in the first instance.

What did the SGC announcement regarding resumption of Masonic activity really mean?  

It meant that we can resume chapter meetings providing that we adhere to all the present, and sometimes changing, recommendations of both government and SGC. It does not mean we must commence, if the prevailing conditions and arrangements are not in the interest of all our members.

Before everything returns to ‘service as normal’, the management of each masonic centre has the unenviable task of ensuring that each of their respective centres meet with all the rules and regulations to protect the health of all it users.  In addition, Scribes E need to be aware of what is required of them regarding documentation during and after the suspension of normal meetings, while DCs need to be aware of what is and what is not permissible, or possible, during openings and closings, as well as any ceremony attempted. Difficult and unprecedented times for all concerned!

So, what in the meantime?

To be taken into consideration in the coming months is the need to have some idea of the response expected from your members to the announcement that your chapter is resuming meetings. First and foremost, of course you will need a quorum, and to stay within the numbers permitted within your own centre, (at the time of writing this article “the rule of six” applies) for which reason you will need to know who is attending in advance. Some members may not wish to attend immediately due to not being comfortable because of health risks to themselves or their families.

During the last few months, many chapters and lodges, as well as the Provincial Executive, have been holding regular meetings via zoom. Some were just get-togethers, others were committee meetings and some have had quiz nights, all of which have helped to keep the camaraderie and companionship to the fore. A note of caution; no masonic meetings may take place using this medium. It is hoped that chapters will continue using the electronic means of maintaining contact and companionship, but please do not overlook the involvement of those who do not have total access to, or even the understanding of, the internet.


What is the Province doing to help Chapters that might want to meet, but its own members are reluctant to attend?

Firstly, no undue pressure should be put on those companions wishing to delay their return to meetings. The Provincial DC is at present trying to get together a database of companions who will be prepared to attend any chapter meeting in the province to act as a stand-in officer to enable any chapter which is short of attendees to hold a meeting. If you are willing to go on that database, please contact either the Provincial DC or me. Likewise, if you need a stand-in, please get in contact.

Some chapters have already taken a straw poll of their members regarding expected attendance at the first few meetings and the results have indicated that a low percentage of RA members are keen to resume masonic meetings in the near future due to their age or vulnerability. If your chapter cannot meet at your normal centre because of distancing limitations, you can always look at meeting at another centre, although a dispensation will be needed to be applied for from the Grand Superintendent via the PrGSE. The MEGS has agreed that there will be no cost involved due to these exceptional circumstances.

What can be done during this downtime?

Whilst waiting for masonry to get back to normal, it is an ideal period for chapters to do some housekeeping and forward-planning.

Two new RA provincial initiatives have been agreed and are now in place. One is the purchase of a full set of RA regalia for new exaltees as detailed in the article by the MEGS. A new initiative to encourage and promote membership of the Royal Arch will be announced in the New Year by the Grand Superintendent, so chapters should be looking at making themselves attractive, not only to existing members, but also to unattached members thinking of re-joining, as well as potential exaltees.

The future?

I had intended to write a piece here expanding on the idea of what I think many chapters could do to make themselves more user-friendly and to help overcome what has in the past been, rightly or wrongly, a reputation of the Royal Arch: being an order only for older members, as well as being boring, with complicated difficult and lengthy ritual.

But you will be pleased to see I have decided to keep what can be a lengthy and emotive subject for a later date and as the basis of another article! I will, however, just say here that the ideas of sharing the work and the reduction of the number of lectures given at an exaltation, as well as a general review of who does what and when in a ceremony are not, as I have heard said, half-baked ideas just dreamt up by the Province. . . They are, in fact, very serious suggestions from SGC and therefore deserve to be given serious consideration.

Whether “old fogies” like me agree or disagree with periodically reviewing the workings and organising of our Order really doesn’t matter!  It must be done to keep the Holy Royal Arch acceptable, and more importantly  relevant: to modern times, to modern members and to their modern commitments and thinking. Having survived for more than three hundred years, nothing would now be worse than becoming an association which only continues to exist as a research study for future historians.  

Some chapters in the province are already taking steps to modernise. It is not always a case of making total changes, but rather of just reviewing and possibly adapting your existing workings and unique traditions.

In future editions of The Second Rising, it is your chance to have your say or ask questions about all things Royal Arch, so If you have any comments on this or any future articles, have ideas for an article or even an article of your own for future editions regarding the Royal Arch, please email me with details; dgsupt@oxfordshirefreemasons.org

Stay safe, Companions!

Les Steward
Deputy Grand Superintendent