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Widnes
Group News
Steven Reid at Widnes installation
Widnes Chapter No 2819 was extremely honoured to have the Deputy Grand Superintendent Steven Reid at its May installation meeting.......<more>
Victoria Lodge donation to RNLI
At the Sportsman’s Evening held by Victoria Lodge No 4629 last October, the raffle raised £100 which the lodge made up to £200, to be donated to the RNLI.....<more>
Barry will be WM for two years
The newly installed master of Goodwill Lodge No 3896, Barry Webster and his wife Jo attended the 150th Anniversary Provincial Ball at.....<more>
Building King Solomon’s temple
At the March meeting of Victoria Lodge No. 4629 a magnificent demonstration entitled, The Building, King Solomon’s Temple, was delivered by two members of......<more>
Chapters to amalgamate
The February installation meeting of St Paul’s Chapter was the last for this Chapter before amalgamating with Bold Chapter No 7583 in November.....<more>
Christopher Band at installation
The installation of Mike Burwin as MEZ, Ian Lynch as Second Principal and Tom Nickson as Third Principal took place at the February meeting of the Chapter of Equity.....<more>
Masonic donation to Kings Cross Project
Bill Cank, the Immediate Past Master of The Lodge of Equity and Appleton, one of the Widnes Group of Lodges has presented Nick Calland, the manager of......<more>
A FAMILY OF BROTHERS
The installation of Derek Parker took place at the February meeting of the newly formed Lodge of Equity and Appleton No 1384 by Bill Cank the retiring Master...<more>
Temple demonstration at Widnes
Victoria Lodge No 4629 is to host a demonstration of the building of King Solomon’s Temple at Widnes Masonic Hall, Kingsway.......<more>
Widnes Masons working hard charities
During 2009 the Widnes Group has donated £4,400 to local and national charities.....<more>
Provincial Team visit at Dormer Lodge
The members of Dormer Lodge No. 4389 were delighted and honoured to have the Provincial Team at their Installation meeting.....<more>
Sportsman’s Evening raises over £2k
A Sportsman’s Evening organised by Victoria Lodge Social Committee for all Lodges and non-masons raised £2,145 for its two chosen charities;.......<more>
New Master for Victoria Lodge 4629
The installation of a new Master was carried out at the meeting of Victoria Lodge No. 4629, by the Immediate Past Master, Peter........<more>
Hall is 50 and still going strong
Widnes Masonic Hall celebrated 50 years since its foundation with a party attended by the Assistant Provincial Grand Master.......<more>
PGM at Widnes Group Dinner
The Widnes Group was pleased to welcome as one of the distinguished guests at its bi-annual Group Dinner Provincial Grand Master Peter John Hosker.......<more>
New Year fun at Warrington
A good time was had by all when welcoming 2009 at Warrington Masonic Hall.....<more>
Wigan stall raises £175 for Ecclesholme
A very well attended and successful Christmas Fair was held at Ecclesholme and the Wigan Group Tombola stall raised more than £175.......<more>
Support for lifeboat committee
There is a long tradition of Freemasonry making charitable donations to The Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Lodges in the Widnes Group regularly continue to do so ........<more>
Open day success at Widnes
More than 100 members of the public were interested enough to discover more about Freemasonry to turn out in terrible weather to attend Widnes Masonic Hall Open Day.......<more>
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Steven Reid at Widnes installation.
Widnes Chapter No 2819 was extremely honoured to have the Deputy Grand Superintendent Steven Reid at its May installation meeting. The chapter was also very pleased to welcome Assistant to the Provincial Grand Principals John Hutton and Provincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies Kevin Poynton who accompanied Steven on this occasion.
The installation ceremony was ably performed by the outgoing First Principal, Keith Miller and the other Principals. John Alderson was installed as MEZ, Brian Magan as H and Peter Kenny as J. It is the first time that the three principals have held their respective offices and they are all looking forward to the coming year and the prospect of new candidates.
During the year the chapter has given a donation of £200 to West Lancs Charity Fund and a donation of £50 to Ecclesholme. The Chapter is also a Patron of the 2010 Festival.
After 20 years in the office as Scribe E Brian Tilley has found it necessary to retire from this position and the chapter offered him a vote of thanks for his long service and all the hard work he has put in. Ron Brown was appointed the new Scribe E for the chapter.
Pictured left to right are; Steven Reid, Brian Magan, John Alderson, Peter Kenny and John Hutton.
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Victoria Lodge donation to RNLI
At the Sportsman’s Evening held by Victoria Lodge No 4629 last October, the raffle raised £100 which the lodge made up to £200, to be donated to the RNLI.
Brian Harris then contacted the RNLI Press Officer, Ray Steadman, at Holyhead and arranged to visit them and present the cheque. The reason for choosing Holyhead was because Brian, and his wife Jean, had been invited by a family member, Malcolm, who works for ITV Wales, to be part of their group on a visit to Holyhead and actually have a good look inside the lifeboat.
The trip was scheduled for the first week in December last year, but unfortunately weather conditions dictated otherwise and the trip was cancelled. It then took more than months to coordinate the next trip and get everything in place to be able to present the cheque to Holyhead RNLI. So, after months of waiting, the intrepid trio found themselves travelling down the A55 to Anglesey.
Brian said that they found the RNLI Lifeboat Station in Holyhead with the help of their large flag flying over the building and were met by Ray Steadman who took them upstairs to the crew’s area and were given a very warm welcome and introduced to some of the crew members. Ray said that the lifeboat, named RNLB Christopher Pearce, is an all-weather Severn Class and cost more than £2 million, had recently gone out on a mission with the second crew to rescue a loose boat that had escaped its moorings, but that it would be back in 20 minutes.
The lifeboat tour started once the ‘Christopher Pearce’ had returned and the boat was moored up and the crew had disembarked. Brian said that when they first entered the main cabin they were immediately confronted by an enormous control panel which seemed nearly as complicated as that on Concorde. The luxury seats, all eight of them in the cabin, were all mounted on very strong spring supports to absorb the impact when hitting waves at full speed in bad weather.
Pictured left to right are, Sian, Tony, the coxswain, Brian Harris, Ian, Hefin, Brett.
Brett in the engine room of the Christopher Pearce
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Barry will be WM for two years
The newly installed master of Goodwill Lodge No 3896, Barry Webster and his wife Jo attended the 150th Anniversary Provincial Ball at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton. Barry said that he and his wife thoroughly enjoyed the Provincial Ball and felt that it was a huge success as the venue, quality of food and service was excellent, as was the entertainment. He is looking forward to going again next year as he has already agreed to be WM for two years.
Barry, a local from Widnes employed by Jaguar / Land Rover and now living in Chester, also mentioned that his installation was a wonderful experience which was excellently carried out by the Installing Master Robert Miller and that he and the lodge were extremely pleased and honoured to welcome Assistant Provincial Grand Master Dennis Rudd as their principal guest. There were about 70 at the Installation, followed by the festive board which was well received.
In order to allow the newer junior brethren to go through all the officers positions Barry has agreed to be master of Goodwill Lodge for the next two years and has already organised a bowling main at Halton Royal British Legion on Saturday 24 July and Chester Race Day on 21 August and very much looking forward to visiting all the Widnes Group Lodges.
There were no donations given out on the evening of the installation as this normally done via a committee meeting and arrangements made for the donation to be presented to a particular charity at their venue.
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Building King Solomon’s temple
At the March meeting of Victoria Lodge No. 4629 a magnificent demonstration entitled, The Building, King Solomon’s Temple, was delivered by two members of Cleveleys Lodge of Mark Masons No 1176. Jimmy Rogers, Past Master of Fleetwood Lodge No 3711 gave the lecture and demonstration and he was ably assisted by Jeffrey Smith of Pharos Lodge No 7421, who also gave a number of relevant readings.
This very interest and informative meeting at Widnes Masonic Hall was very well attended and thoroughly enjoyed by over 80 Brethren from the Widnes Group of Lodges and visitors from other groups in the Province.
The demonstration was devised and first presented in April 1983 by Sid Bates, originally for one night, but it has now been delivered 463 times to Lodges all over the country and even to European lodges. Jimmy has presented the demonstration 92 times and Jeffrey has done 72 demonstrations. The demonstration is always in great demand and it has raised thousands of pounds for Masonic and non Masonic charities.
During the course of this lecture and demonstration, a one-thirtieth scale model of King Solomon’s Temple is constructed from details gathered from many sources. Its contents and their usage are described in both Biblical and Masonic terms and inaccuracies in the Masonic versions are highlighted. It is believed to be the first Temple ever to be built to worship a God and the most expensive to be built.
All the money raised from this meeting, including £100 from the raffle at the Festive Board, will be donated to the RNLI.
Pictured with King Solomon’s Temple are left to right in the background, Jeffrey Smith, Steve Nash, WM Victoria Lodge and Jimmy Rogers.
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Chapters to amalgamate
The February installation meeting of St Paul’s Chapter was the last for this Chapter before amalgamating with Bold Chapter No 7583 in November. For this occasion, the Chapter was very pleased and honoured by the presence of the Third Provincial Grand Principal, the Rev Harry Ross.
The installation ceremony was performed by the outgoing First Principal, Ian Morris and the other Principals. John Gibbon was installed as MEZ, E.Comp John Baldwin as H and Frank Parle as J, who are all members of Victoria Lodge No 4629.
The three Principals are all new to these offices and are looking forward to their time in office in the run-up to the formation of the new Bold and St Paul’s Chapter No 5459 in November. Bold Chapter has a history of 50 years since gaining its Charter and St Paul’s Chapter a history of 39 years since gaining its Charter. All members are now looking forward to the amalgamation of the two Chapters which will give a strong and secure future for all its members.
At the end of the installation ceremony, John Gibbon had the pleasant task of presenting a cheque on behalf of St Paul’s Chapter to Harry for £250 to go towards the 2010 Festival.
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Christopher Band at installation
The installation of Mike Burwin as MEZ, Ian Lynch as Second Principal and Tom Nickson as Third Principal took place at the February meeting of the Chapter of Equity No 1384.
To mark this occasion, the Chapter was very pleased and honoured by the presence of the Second Provincial Grand Principal Christopher Band.
The outgoing Z, E.Comp Glynn Jones and the other Principles did a first class job of installing their respective Principles. This is the second time Mike has taken the office of Z in this Chapter, but as the Chapter now has a good number of Companions we should see this office taken up by members of the Chapter of Equity for the first time.
At the end of the proceedings Glynn Jones had a very pleasant task to perform in presenting cheques to the chapter’s nominated charities. A cheque for £150 was presented to Christopher Band for the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity, Peter Browne was presented with a cheque for £100 to go towards Widnes Masonic Hall and arrangements will be made to present the final cheque of £100 to a representative of Halton Haven Hospice.
Pictured left to right are Ian Lynch, Christopher Band, Mike Burwin and Tom Nickson.
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Masonic donation to Kings Cross Project
Bill Cank, the Immediate Past Master of The Lodge of Equity and Appleton, one of the Widnes Group of Lodges has presented Nick Calland, the manager of The Kings Cross project with a cheque for £500
The Kings Cross Project has been serving children, families and individuals in Widnes and Runcorn since 1991 and is based in Trinity Church, Peelhouse Lane.
Nick says that the project’s mission statement is “working alongside local people to find local solutions to local needs”.
He said the project is keen on ensuring that its work brings lasting change by working withpeople to identify the resources they need to be part of the answer to their own needs. The project is operated by a small number of staff, 40 volunteers, and more are waiting to be trained.
The scheme offers a range of services to the community, with cases often referred by schools, police or social services and some which are commissioned by Halton Borough Council, for example:
YourSpace - the counselling service for children and young people in Widnes and Runcorn.
Community Parents - a service to families where local volunteers are recruited and trained to work alongside other parents in an empowering manner and share their own experience of parenthood. This service also offers a Breast Feeding Buddy service where mums can share their experience and offer other mums invaluable peer support.
Mobile Crèche Service which has a team of highly trained and motivated children's workers who support the community by providing crèches so that parents can take part in adult learning sessions.
Kids Clubs in Halebank, West Bank and Kingsway where children are encouraged to be children and take part in enjoyable activities such as arts and craft and healthy eating.
Bill said that the money was raised from social events run by The Lodge of Equity and Appleton during his year as WM and he choose The Kings Cross Project as one of his nominated charities because of his wife’s involvement with the project. Nick said he was very grateful for the cheque and that it would put to good use in helping to finance the purchase of desperately needed new computers.
Bill Cank and Nick Calland
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A FAMILY OF BROTHERS
The installation of Derek Parker took place at the February meeting of the newly formed Lodge of Equity and Appleton No 1384 by Bill Cank the retiring Master. To mark this nostalgic occasion, the lodge was honoured by the presence of Lionel Gornall, Provincial Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies, whose own lodge has historical connections with the Lodge of Equity and Appleton going back many years making this and even more nostalgic occasion. Lionel was the special representative of the Provincial Grand Master and he conveyed Peter’s and his own best wishes to the new Master and to the Lodge for a successful year.
At the start of the proceedings Bill Cank had a very pleasant duty to perform in presenting cheques to the lodge’s nominated recipients. A cheque for £300 was presented to Lionel Gornall for the 2010 Festival, Gary Turner was presented with a cheque for £400 to go towards the Building Fund of Widnes Masonic Hall Ltd. Arrangements are being made to present the final cheque of £500 to a representative of the Kings Cross Project, a local charity working with disadvantaged families in Widnes and Runcorn.
Bill then went on to install Derek into the Master’s Chair in what can only by described as a superb ceremony, Bill and his officers did a magnificent job. This is the second time Derek has been a Master of a Lodge and he is the second installed Master of the Lodge of Equity and Appleton and the third Master of the Lodge. Bill was the first installed Master of the Lodge and Derek’s father, Mike, was the first Master when the Lodge of Equity No 1384 and Appleton Lodge No 6468 amalgamated in April 2008. Derek was initiated into Appleton Lodge No 6468 by his brother Stewart in 1990, installed as Master of Appleton Lodge by his father in 1999 and for Stewart’s second time as a Master of a Lodge, his father gave the address to the Master. Which just goes to prove, as well as being a family by name, we are all one big family of Brothers.
So far, in the Lodge of Equity and Appleton’s short history, there have only been “recycled” Masters in the Chair, but this is all about to change from next year as there are a good number of Master Masons on the ladder of the lodge who are all more than capable of taking the Chair.
Pictured, left to right are; Lionel Gornall, Derek Parker and Bill Cank.
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Temple demonstration at Widnes
Victoria Lodge No 4629 is to host a demonstration of the building of King Solomon’s Temple at Widnes Masonic Hall, Kingsway, on 18 March.
According to the earliest records, forms of Ritual have been practiced by speculative Freemasons since the late 16th century using knowledge which was vastly inferior to that which is available today and in living conditions of which, we really have no comprehension.
What these early Masons had, was an unshakable belief in a Divine Being and a considerable familiarity with the contents of the Holy Bible. They took the most perfect object described in the Old Testament, King Solomon's Temple, and used it as the basis for the projection of moral lessons by means of various ritualistic plays.
When, in 1816, the Lodge of Reconciliation decided the form that Masonic Rituals should take, it adopted what it considered to be the best parts of all these ritualistic plays and formulated what we know today as Emulation Ritual.
During the course of this lecture, a one-thirtieth scale model of the Temple is constructed from details gathered from many sources. Its contents and their usage are described in both Biblical and Masonic terms and inaccuracies in the Masonic versions are highlighted.
A possible explanation of the messages that these moral lessons were intended to convey is
then given, prior to the lecture being drawn to its dramatic conclusion.
Anyone wanting to attend should contact the secretary John Gibbon on 0151 424 5484.
The cost of the festive board is £10.
The model of King Solomon’s Temple which will be built during a demonstration at Widnes Masonic Hall.
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Widnes Masons working hard charities
During 2009 the Widnes Group has donated £4,400 to local and national charities.
The total is almost £1,000 higher than the amount donated last year. The biggest beneficiaries have been Halton Haven Hospice receiving £1,450, Macmillan Nurses receiving £800 and Help for Heroes receiving £700.
Valiant, a local group who run Sport for Disabled Young People, received £250. Other charities which have benefited this year included: Cancer Research, Clare House, Leukaemia Research, RNLI and Shoe Box Appeal.
Pictured left to right, Peter Kenny, Past Master of Victoria Lodge presents a cheque to Shaun Pollard, Operational Director of Halton Haven Hospice.
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Provincial Team visit at Dormer Lodge
The members of Dormer Lodge No. 4389 were delighted and honoured to have the Provincial Team at their Installation meeting. Unfortunately, the Provincial Grand Master, RW Bro Peter Hosker was unable to attend due to personal reasons, however he sent his best wishes to the new Master and members of Dormer Lodge, for another successful year.
Bro Ron Young (WM) was however equally pleased and honoured to welcome Assistant Grand Master Dennis Rudd as their principle guest at the lodge’s installation meeting. Dennis was supported by Barry Jameson (Provincial Senior Grand Warden), David Durling (Provincial Junior Grand Warden), Mark Dimelow (Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies), Sam Robinson (Provincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies) and other Grand acting Provincial Grand officers.
The Installation of Barry Thornley into the Masters Chair was excellently performed by his brother Steve and congratulations go to all those who took part in the ceremony for a job well done.
Following the ceremony Dennis had a pleasant task to perform in presenting Dormer Lodge with their certificate having just become Patrons of the 2010 Festival. Dennis thanks all the members of the lodge for their generous donations to the 2010 Festival over the last four years.
Pictured left to right are Sam Robinson, Barry Jameson, Dennis Rudd, Barry Thornley, David Durling and Mark Dimelow.
Members of Dormer Lodge No 4389. Pictured back row centre is the Barry Thornley, on his left is Ron Young and seated front centre is Steve Thornley.
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Sportsman’s Evening raises over £2k
A Sportsman’s Evening organised by Victoria Lodge Social Committee for all Lodges and non-masons raised £2,145 for its two chosen charities; Halton Haven Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Support. The guest speaker was David Johnson, ex Liverpool and Everton legend with supporting act, top comedian Lester Crabtree.
Before the evening got underway the audience were introduced to Shaun Pollard, Operational Director for Halton Haven Hospice who gave a brief insight to the work of H.H.H. The Hospice provides a free, quality of life service and a Family Support service to those who need it, at a cost of £1.8m per year, of which £900k needs to be raised from donations.
Following the meal, entertainment was provided by David Johnson, who gave a masterly talk about football and his career. This was followed by Lester Crabtree, who had the audience in stitches with his quick fire jokes.
The evening raised £1,800 from Bingo and raffle plus £345 from a spontaneous glass collection for H.H.H. The Worshipful Master of Victoria Lodge, Peter Kenny would like to offer his personal thanks to all his supporters throughout his year for their generosity and he feels that the reason for the success is because the two charities are close to everybody’s heart.
Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. They provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care. Cancer affects us all. We can all help. The primary goal for Macmillan Cancer Support is to reach and improve the lives of everyone living with cancer and they’ve set themselves an impressive ambition to achieve this aim.
During Peter’s year as Worshipful Master the Lodge raised over £3,000 which was given out to Masonic and Non Masonic charities at the Installation meeting.
left to right, Peter Kenny, Worshipful Master of Victoria Lodge and Shaun Pollard, Operational Director of Halton Haven Hospice.
left to right, Peter Kenny, Worshipful Master of Victoria Lodge, comedian Lester Crabtree and guest speaker David Johnson.
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New Master for Victoria Lodge 4629
The installation of a new Master was carried out at the meeting of Victoria Lodge No. 4629, by the Immediate Past Master, Peter Kenny. Steve Nash was installed as Master of the Lodge for 2009 - 2010.
On this occasion, the Lodge was honoured by the presence of Leon Tax, Assistant Provincial Grand. Also attending was David Redhead, Chairman of the Widnes Group of Lodges.
After performing the installation ceremony, Peter presented a cheque to Leon for £250 on behalf of the Lodge towards the 2010 Festival, added to this was an anonymous personal donation, which with Giftaid, made a total of £325.
Other charities that benefited from Peter’s year as Master were, Halton Haven £1200 and McMillan Nurses £800 from money raised at the Sportsman’s Evening. Ken Myers received a cheque for £250 on behalf of Widnes Masonic Hall Ltd for the Building Fund. Valiant, a group who run Sport for Disabled Young People, received £250 and Help for Heroes received £250, making a grand total of £3075 in charitable donations.
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Hall is 50 and still going strong
Widnes Masonic Hall celebrated 50 years since its foundation with a party attended by the Assistant Provincial Grand Master, Dennis Rudd and his wife Doreen. Also present were the Chairman of the Widnes Group, David Redhead and his wife Linda.
Dennis Rudd proposed a toast to the hall and thanked the board and all the Brethren for their hard work and although we are in hard times he felt sure that the board and Brethren would continue with all their dedication and hard work in the future years.
Peter Browne, chairman of the company responded and thanked Dennis and his wife for their attendance and support. He emphasized the good relationship between the hall and the group. Peter also thanked Tom Lawrenson for organising the event and Neil Pedder for acting as DC for the evening.
The Brethren and their ladies supported the evening in force and the evening was dedicated to the ladies as without their support the hall would not have had such a successful 50 years. The evening raised more than £400 for the charities.
Relaxing during a break in the proceedings are, standing, left to right: Peter Browne and Tom Lawrenson. Seated round the table are: Joyce Browne, Muriel Lawrenson, Doreen Rudd, Dennis Rudd, Neil Pedder, Liz Pedder, Linda Redhead, David Redhead, Alan Griffiths and Joan Grittiths
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PGM at Widnes Group Dinner
The Widnes Group was pleased to welcome as one of the distinguished guests at its bi-annual Group Dinner Provincial Grand Master Peter John Hosker.
The evening commenced with an informal session in which the Provincial Grand Master met informally the Worshipful Masters and Principals of the Lodges and Chapters within the group. There then followed a question and answer forum in the main lodge room to which all Brethren and Companions were invited. In this period of approximately 45 minutes the Provincial Grand Master was asked questions on such subjects as the availability of help for Masonic halls, financial assistance available for elderly brethren to attend lodge meetings, marketing strategies planned to attract younger brethren, possible changes to the Provincial Website to make it more user friendly to both non-masons and Masons and also the training aids available for lodge mentors.
The Provincial Grand Master and his team provided helpful responses to all these questions and the brethren left the session feeling that their concerns had been heard.
An informal dinner, attended by some 66 brethren and companions then followed, after which the Provincial Grand Master delivered his vision for the future of Freemasonry in West Lancashire during the response to his health.
The evening was a great success and seemed to be enjoyed by all those who attended and then completed the evening by returning home or retiring to the bar for further discussion of matters of Masonic importance.
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New Year fun at Warrington
A good time was had by all when welcoming 2009 at Warrington Masonic Hall. About 120 people attended the annual New Year’s Eve Ball including a group of 20 from the Widnes Group. After an excellent meal there was dancing until after midnight. A raffle raised £250.
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Wigan stall raises £175 for Ecclesholme
A very well attended and successful Christmas Fair was held at Ecclesholme and the Wigan Group Tombola stall raised more than £175 for the Friends of Ecclesholme.
Ernie Daniels, Wigan Group Representative of the Friends was assisted on the stall by his wife Margaret and her friend Elin Barker, widow of the late Gerald Barker, former secretary of Hindley Lodge.
Ernie is always looking for tombola prizes and annually needs about 160 to make the summer and Christmas fairs a success. If you could provide a prize, please contact Ernie on 01942-866344. They will be gratefully received.
Ernie Daniels is pictured with his wife Margaret, left, and Elin Barker at the Wigan stall.
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Support for lifeboat committee
There is a long tradition of Freemasonry making charitable donations to The Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Lodges in the Widnes Group regularly continue to do so.
The latest example was a donation of £100 made by St Paul’s Lodge. The Immediate Past Master, Alan Wilson, presented the cheque to Mrs A Baldwin, Chairwoman of the Widnes Ladies’ Lifeboat Committee who is the wife of WBro E Baldwin, a member of Victoria Lodge.
The presentation was made at the annual RNLI quiz night which raise a further £170 and was attended by several members of St Paul’s Lodge including Barrie Collinson who acted as quiz master.
Alan Wilson presents the cheque to Mrs Baldwin.
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Open day success at Widnes
More than 100 members of the public were interested enough to discover more about Freemasonry to turn out in terrible weather to attend Widnes Masonic Hall Open Day.
Among the visitors was the Mayor of Halton, Councillor Mrs Kath Loftus.
After considerable effort and planning by the Widnes Group Freemasons and the Widnes Masonic Hall Board, the doors finally opened to the public at 10am.
Without knowing what to expect as regards interest from the people of Widnes and the surrounding areas, and the fact that torrential rain was quickly approaching, the brethren anxiously waited for their first visitor.
It soon became clear that this was to be a most successful event and by the end of the day more than 100 members of the public had satisfied their curiosity about Freemasonry. They were treated to conducted tours of the lodge rooms where their questions were answered, and they were shown displays of regalia from various Masonic orders.
Councillor Loftus was introduced to Assistant Provincial Grand Master, Dennis Rudd, and the Group Chairman David Redhead and was given an escorted tour of the event. Afterwards there was a special surprise for the Mayor when she was presented with a cheque for £250 for her charity. She said the money will be going to Women’s Aid and MIND. Councillor Loftus said she was “overjoyed” to receive the donation and described the gift from Widnes Freemasons “very generous”.
The generosity of the group did not end there for a cheque for £500 was presented to the Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group towards the purchase of computer equipment.
In addition to the Masonic displays several local charitable organisations were invited to have stands at the open day including Widnes Ladies’ Lifeboat Guild; Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group
Camp Project Wales and The Soroptomists.
Details of Charities benefiting directly from Masonic donations by the Widnes Group of Lodges and the Province of West Lancashire were available and Trevor Price, Group Charity Steward, was on hand to answer any questions. Bill Isherwood gave information on Ecclesholme, the Masonic Care Home. Representatives from FLOW (Friends and Ladies of Widnes Masonic Hall) were on hand to explain their fund-raising activities.
There were displays by Unity Events and Cards by Maureen who can provide complementary services to anyone wishing to hire the Masonic Hall for weddings and the other social events.
After the event closed the Widnes Group Chairman, David Redhead, expressed his thanks to all involved in making the open day a success, and hopes it can become a regular event. Special thanks also went to Peter Brown, board chairman and Gary Turner, company secretary, for their contributions.
Widnes Group Chairman David Redhead is pictured showing the Ratcliffe family around the lodge room. With him are, left to right, Stuart, Glenys, Shirley, Ken and six-year-old Jordan.
The Mayor of Widnes, Councillor Kath Loftus, receives a cheque for £250 from David Redhead. Also on the picture are Assistant Provincial Grand Master Dennis Rudd and Councillor Peter Browne.
Brian Magan, occupied the WM’s chair during Widnes Masonic Hall’s Open Day and he is pictured with visitor Howard Ryan-Emery as Widnes Group Vice-chairman Alan Pattinson shows him the WM’s collar.
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