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To Directors of Ceremonies
Reception of The Provincial Grand Master, The Deputy Provincial Grand Master and The Assistant Provincial Grand Masters.
No special arrangements are necessary when the Provincial Grand Master, (or his Deputy or Assistant), visits a Lodge and elects to enter with the WM. He has the choice of either opening the Lodge himself, or permitting the WM to do so, but when the WM opens the Lodge he should, immediately after the Lodge is opened and without leaving his place, offer the Gavel to the Provincial Grand Master (or his Deputy or Assistant). After the Brethren are seated, he will be saluted in the usual way.
When the Provincial Grand Master enters after the Lodge has been opened, the procedure will depend on whether or not the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies is officially present.
Either, if the ProvG.D.C. is present, he should request admission and, on being admitted, he should salute the WM and say, “WM, the RW Provincial Grand Master for the Province of Norfolk is in attendance and demands admission”.
Or, if the ProvG.D.C. is not present, the Tyler should announce to the IG, “The RW Provincial Grand Master for the Province of Norfolk is in attendance and demands admission”.
The WM should then direct the Lodge DC to select a deputation of six of the senior Provincial Grand Officers (preferably of the year) present to accompany him and his Assistant from the Lodge. Seniors should be called out first and the procession should turn about outside the door of the Lodge, so that juniors are leading on the return, with the exception of the ADC, who should lead out and in. Immediately the Provincial Grand Master has reached his place, and while the Brethren are still standing and the procession not dispersed, the WM should offer the Gavel from the Chair and so be in a position to hand the Provincial Grand Master into the Chair, should the Gavel be retained. (When offering the Gavel, the word “please” should be used rather than “condescend.”) All the Brethren, including the procession, should be seated before being called to order to salute the Provincial Grand Master.
If the Provincial Grand Master leaves before the Lodge is closed, he should be escorted from the Lodge in a similar manner, with juniors leading.
In this instruction, reference to the Provincial Grand Master is to be taken to include the Deputy or an Assistant Provincial Grand Master and reference to the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies is to be taken to include a Deputy or Assistant Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, if attending in an official capacity.
By arrangement, some of the above functions may be carried out by the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies in place of the Lodge DC.
The Provincial Grand Master should be described as “for” the Province and the Deputy/Assistant Provincial Grand Master(s) “of” the Province.
Salutes, Grand Lodge:
Grand Master, Pro Grand Master and Past GM 11
Deputy and Assistant Grand Master and Past Deputy
and Past Assistant Grand Master 9
Other RW Brethren 7
VW Brethren 5
W Brethren 3
Salutes, Provincial Grand Lodge:
Provincial Grand Master and PProvGM 7
DepProvGM and PDepProvGM 5
AsstProvGM and PAsstProvGM 5
Provincial Grand Officers 3
In this Province it is customary to salute Provincial Grand Officers only on their investiture, or when visiting a Lodge at the request of the Provincial Grand Master. No Brother, whilst acting in a higher Office, may receive a salute other than that to which he is personally entitled.
Before the D.C. calls on the Brethren for a Salute, he should announce who is to be saluted and the salutes to be given. As an act of courtesy, the Brethren should stand to order when Grand Officers enter or leave the Lodge.
The Provincial Grand Master, the Deputy Provincial Grand Master and the Assistant Provincial Grand Masters should be seated on the immediate right of the Master.
Grand Officers should be seated on the Master’s right next to the Assistant Provincial Grand Master, followed by the Holders of the Provincial Grand Master’s Certificate of Merit, then the Active Provincial Grand Officers.
The Past Masters of the Lodge should be seated on the left of the Master, the IPM first and the others in order of rank, seniors first, except that the Chaplain (if any) should be seated on the left of the Master, immediately after the IPM.
When the Master vacates the Chair for a Past Master to preside, the Master should sit on the immediate left of the Chair.
When the heads of the Province are absent, but the Provincial Grand Master has requested that one of his present or past Provincial Grand Officers (usually a Provincial Grand Warden or the Provincial Grand Secretary) attend a Lodge Installation Meeting, they will be accompanied by a Provincial Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies. The representative of the Provincial Grand Master will be escorted into the Lodge and saluted with three by the Brethren present. Before the Provincial Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies calls on the Brethren to salute he will announce that the Brother attends “at the behest and by the direction of the Provincial Grand Master”. He will be seated on the immediate right of the Master. In neither case does such Brother have the right to the Master’s Gavel, nor the right to preside. At the conclusion of the meeting the Brother does NOT accompany the Master out of the Lodge, but retires behind the Master and the Lodge Wardens. When a Provincial Grand Officer attends a Lodge to appeal for charity, he should be seated after the Grand Officers and not saluted.
Should the Provincial Grand Master, or his Deputy or his Assistant, preside in any Lodge, the Provincial Grand Wardens, if present and so commanded, shall act as Wardens of the Lodge while he presides, but he may command the Wardens of the Lodge, or any Master Masons, to act as Wardens.
At an Installation, the Master Elect should remove his gloves after the opening in the 2nd Degree.
To Secretaries and Scribes E.
It is important that Returns to Grand Lodge (and Chapter) are made promptly, and that they, together with those made to Provincial Grand Lodge (and Chapter), should be accompanied by the correct Dues. It is strongly recommended that those responsible for making the annual returns should keep exact copies of the details forwarded, so that every member of the Lodge (or Chapter) may be properly accounted for in the following year.
Returns of Lodge (and Chapter) Master, Wardens and Past Masters (Principals and Past First Principals) to the Grand Secretary (Scribe E) and Provincial Grand Secretary (Scribe E) must be made immediately after the Installation Meeting, via the Provincial Office (Rule 151, Book of Constitutions).
Returns of Lodge (and Chapter) members with the Dues payable must reach the Grand Secretary (Scribe E) and Provincial Grand Secretary (Scribe E) within one month after the end of the Lodge (or Chapter) financial year. With the Return, proper fees and contributions shall be remitted in respect of every member whose name appears therein, irrespective of whether the subscription has been paid or not, via the Provincial Office, as provided in Rules 146, 147 and 149, Book of Constitutions.
In accordance with Provincial By-Law 15, the Provincial Office will require a written acknowledgement that the Lodge Accounts have been approved and signed by the appropriate body.
Should the subscription of a member remain unpaid for two full years, at the expiration of that period he shall cease to be a member of the Lodge (Chapter), which fact shall be reported at the next regular meeting, entered in the minutes and notified to the Grand Secretary (Scribe E) and the Provincial Grand Secretary (Scribe E) (Rule 148, Book of Constitutions).
In issuing a Clearance Certificate under Rule 175, Book of Constitutions, Secretaries must see that the certificate shall state whether the Brother ceased to be a member by exclusion, resignation or discipline together with the date and circumstances thereof, and whether he was at the time indebted to the Lodge, and if so whether and at what time such indebtedness was discharged by him.
Alteration to By-Laws: A Lodge (Chapter) wishing to alter its by-laws must carry out the following procedure: Notice shall be given in open Lodge (Chapter) of the intended alteration.
At the next Regular Meeting, the proposed alteration having been printed on the summons, such alteration shall be proposed, seconded and voted on.
Subject to the alteration being agreed by the Lodge (Chapter), there shall be sent to the Provincial Grand Secretary (Provincial Grand Scribe E) three copies of the resolution, accompanied by a request for approval by the Provincial Grand Master (Grand Superintendent) and the Grand Master (First Grand Principal).
No alteration shall come into operation until the aforementioned approval has been received by the Lodge (Chapter).