GRAND
LODGE
|
 |
GRAND
LODGE
|
|
|
Grand Master's Address at the Grand Installation 22 April 2006 |
| The Honorable Michael Atkinson MP, representing the Premier, my fellow Grand Masters, Distinguished Guests, Ladies, Gentlemen and Brethren. A few days ago, the Grand Lodge of South Australia and Northern Territory commenced its 123rd year and today I proudly stand before you as its 28th Grand Master as we celebrate the commencement of a new leadership. I am aware of the significance of our history and I am also very confident of our future; especially the important part that the principles and ideals of Freemasonry can play in our communities. I am honoured and humbled by this privilege and accept the challenges and responsibilities of this great distinction. My confidence is reinforced by the support that has already been provided to me, this is further enhanced by your attendance today, as well as by knowing that I have a dedicated and capable team who are willing to work together in sharing our values in our communities. Welcome I add my personal welcome to the brethren and more especially the guests, families and friends who are here today as we celebrate this continuation of Freemasonry in South Australia and Northern Territory. Yes, a part of today’s activities is to recognize the role of the Grand Master, but equally important is the role of other Freemasons in our Association, as they willingly accept the responsibilities of their office and will be making their personal contribution to the welfare and interests of our Association, be it in Adelaide, the country areas of South Australia and also the Northern Territory. Recent progress Under the leadership of our recent Grand Masters, including M.W. Bro Rob Casson whom I thank for his leadership for the past three years, our Association has successfully rationalized certain aspects of our management. Also through our Asset Management Fund we have made significant improvements to the premises used by our Lodges, resulting in considerable pride by our members, as well as receiving a positive recognition in our communities, most particularly in our country areas. Whilst these matters will continue to be part of our ongoing activities and will of course continue to require our future attention, the focus during my term as Grand Master will be towards people, both Freemasons as well as the general community. Sharing Our Values The theme for my term as Grand Master will be “Sharing Our Values”. We need to improve the method of informing our communities of the special attributes of Freemasonry in order that there may be an increased understanding of our concepts and in turn, for Freemasons to be more readily informed as to how to share these special and significant values. Whilst it is certainly obvious in this modern society that there has been a tendency for a focus on self, there appears to be a rekindling of the understanding of a greater purpose of life, as some begin the search for other aspects in their lives. For Freemasonry, we need to ensure that we can assist this search by providing knowledge of our ideals, but of course, how can we present this to others if our personal understanding of such knowledge is couched in terms and in a language that is not easily understood by others. It must be our endeavour to convey the information in a way that has a greater opportunity of being more easily understood by the general public. Of course, we are not the only organization which has its own particular language. In our daily lives we often hear the language of many other groups, be it in the field of commerce, industry, government and even sport; they each tend to have a language that is particular to the membership of that group which often does not have a clear understanding by others. Such jargon has been described as “the language of the tribe”, which can be a way of sustaining the group or, either willingly or unwillingly, repelling unwanted new members and as such, it can be the language of inclusion and exclusion. Today, when the commentator was providing an introduction for the Grand Installation Ceremony and highlighted a future opportunity for all Freemasons, he deliberately avoided using jargon peculiar to Freemasonry and instead used language that succinctly identified some of the special qualities of Freemasonry and for those who may not have been present today, I will repeat those words and they were, “the opportunity for all Freemasons to practice our much acclaimed principles of charity, compassion and honesty”. This language is reinforced by further identifying on your seating ticket for today, the attributes of Ethics, Care, Friendship and Integrity. Each of these individual words identifies one special attribute of Freemasonry, and it will be our responsibility to ensure that we pass this on to others. Charity – one of the core aspects of Freemasonry A major part of Freemasonry is our charitable activities. The Masonic Foundation, our vehicle for the provision of charity, continues its support to those in need within our communities; be it as part of the international response last year to the needs resulting from the Tsunami; or, as also occurred last year within South Australia, our response that followed the devastating bushfires in the Lower Eyre Peninsular. That particular appeal resulted in the recent commissioning of 14 large rainwater tanks in strategically placed locations in that area for fighting future bushfires. Even more recently, has been the support granted to the people in Northern Queensland, who were so significantly affected by Cyclone Larry. A major future project – men’s health issues Whilst these are charitable activities of our recent past, we should always look to the future, to continue to identify future areas of need and continue to be prepared to support as much as we can. One such area that has been identified is Men’s Health. As part of a project of the Australasian Freemasons, later this year we will be organizing seminars throughout South Australia and Northern Territory to encourage men to regularly seek medical checks. For too long, many men have been unprepared or unwilling to consider their personal health and through this project we will endeavour to change that approach in our communities. Father’s Love Rose The Masonic Foundation is continually looking at innovative methods of raising funds for charitable activities and following a recommendation of a member of their Board of Management, it was agreed to proceed with a new plan. One that would assist with the raising of funds for the Men’s Health – No More Secrets project, which would provide a suitable product to those who participated, but more importantly offered many families a further way to commemorate their love. This was formalized last night with the official launch of Father’s Love - The Freemason’s Rose and proceeds of the sale of this glorious deep velvety red rose will assist in the fight against prostate cancer. This project is a further demonstration of both the charity and caring ideals of Freemasonry and at the Grand Banquet that follows this Grand Installation, there will be a floral display of this special rose. Closing comments In closing, I extend my personal thanks to all those who have been part of the team working very hard to organize the various activities associated with this Grand Installation. The office staff have further demonstrated their capabilities and they, as well as the many volunteers, both fellow Freemasons but more particularly their families and friends, have applied their personal skills and have willingly given of their valuable time in the planning, arranging and implementation of the many activities. I now thank you all collectively and will look forward to thanking you individually at a later time. Your considerable personal effort and commitment further demonstrates another attribute, that of dedication. I thank you for being a recipient of that value. My concluding comments are to acknowledge that special support, patience and love from my wife Pat and our family, which has enabled me to accept this high office and will be important in the journey of the next three years. Graham Bollenhagen Grand Master 22 April 2006 |
 |
| www.freemasonrysaust.org.au/glbapril2006.html |