Widnes was the venue for the installation of James Long into the WM’ chair of St Paul’s Lodge, conducted in the presence of Assistant Provincial Grand Master John Murphy. James was initiated into Freemasonry in September 2019, and now, six years later, he has been installed into the chair of King Solomon.
The lodge was opened promptly at 4:40pm by the WM Chris Farley. After addressing the necessary lodge business, Chris requested the following brethren to assist him during the ceremony of installation; Colin Rowan as senior warden, Paul Hudson as junior warden and George King as inner guard. The brethren were pleased to assist the WM.
Chris proceeded to open the lodge in the second degree, at which point the lodge DC Ian Lock retired to assemble the grand officers and acting Provincial grand officers for their entrance into the lodge. Before opening the lodge in the third degree, Chris requested all those below the rank of a master Mason to retire from the lodge for a short time.
George King, inner guard, announced the director of ceremonies upon his return. Ian was readmitted and informed the WM that Assistant Provincial Grand Master John Murphy stood without and demanded admission. Chris responded by saying: “We will be pleased to receive him.”
John, accompanied by the group chairman David Atkinson and several grand and Provincial grand officers, entered escorted by Charlie Monk and Ian Grindley as acting Provincial deacons. Chris welcomed John warmly and hoped he would have a very enjoyable afternoon at the St Paul’s Lodge. Chris then offered John the lodge gavel. John graciously declined the offer, explaining that he had come to observe what he anticipated would be an outstanding ceremony.
After the salutations to John Murphy and the rest of the grand officers and Provincial grand officers in order, Chris stood and presented John with an envelope containing the charitable donations St Paul’s had made during Chris’s year in office. The donations were as follows; West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity £500, Macmillan Nurses £500, RMBI Tithebarn House £500, Willowbrook Hospice £500.
In addition to these donations, the outgoing master, Chris Farley, has, through his own efforts, seen fit to donate; North West Air Ambulance £500, Stick-n-Step, children with Cerebral Palsy £500, Alzheimer’s Association £500, a local food bank £500.
Having taken part in a sky dive specifically to raise money for the Salisbury Community Centre, gaining donations, he has given £5,000 for a minibus for community activities. Dean Marsh and Kevin Walters also undertook a sky dive at the same time and raised over £500 (final amount yet to be confirmed) to be donated to Alder Hey Hospital. The master elect, James Long, who is a ballroom dancer, through a ‘Strictly’ style evening and auction, helped to raise £56,700 for Willowbrook Hospice. Altogether the fantastic sum of £66.200.
John took great pleasure in reading aloud the above contents to the assembled brethren, which received a rousing round of applause. John thanked Chris and the brethren of the lodge for his personal donations and those from the lodge, saying that they were very generous donations.
The ceremony of installation could now begin. Chris asked if Les Williams would assist the lodge by occupying the chair of King Solomon for the next part of the ceremony. Les thanked Chris and said that he would be honoured to accept his kind invitation.
Labour was then resumed in the second degree, and master elect James Long was presented to Les, who recited the various qualifications of a candidate for the master’s chair. James was obligated in respect of his duties as master of the lodge, and after taking his seat in the lodge, all fellow craft Freemasons were requested to retire.
Labour was resumed in the third degree, and all below the rank of an installed master were asked to retire. Les then declared the lodge a duly constituted Board of Installed Masters, and James was regularly installed into the chair of King Solomon, in what was a very impressive ceremony. Les was word-perfect in his delivery of the installation, and I’m sure James will remember his night for a very long time.
With James now installed into the master’s chair, the master Masons were readmitted and James was proclaimed WM. Dave Berrington presented James with the working tools of a master Mason. Tony Hamilton presented the working tools of a fellow craft, and the entered apprentice working tools were presented by Martin Ryan.
The warrant of the lodge was delivered into the safekeeping of the new master, as was the banner of the lodge. The WM then appointed and invested his officers. On appointing his stewards, Provincial Grand Steward Chris Hardingham stood and gave the address to the stewards impeccably.
With the appointments completed, Ian Grindley delivered the address to the master, Ian Locke, delivered the address to the wardens and John Murphy the address to the brethren of the lodge. John also brought congratulations from the Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews, and said that had Mark been here, he would have congratulated everyone who took part in what was a fantastic installation ceremony. James then closed the lodge and invited everyone to join him at the festive board.
The festive board was a splendid affair, with wine, port, and a drop of whisky provided for all to toast the health of the new WM. Paul Hudson provided musical entertainment with a fantastic acapella rendition of the Master’s Song. The raffle at the festive board raised £300, this with a further £200 donation was given to James Long as a donation to a fellow fundraiser and ballroom dancer for Willowbrook Hospice, as James’s dance partner needs an urgent MRI scan on her leg.
At the end of the evening, everyone stood and sang their little hearts out with a fabulous interpretation of Absent Brethren. All in all, it was a great installation, and all without exception went home with a smile on their faces. Congratulations, James, have a wonderful year as the new WM of St Paul’s Lodge.