The companions of, and visitors to, Liverpool Epworth Chapter No 5381 assembled in the Egyptian Suite at Liverpool Masonic Hall for the annual installation ceremony. The chapter was honoured to receive Rev John Hall, Third Provincial Grand Principal, accompanied by Ian Sanderson, Assistant to the Provincial Grand Principals and David Johnson, Chairman of the Liverpool Group.
Also in attendance were Robbie Fitzsimmons Provincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies, along with acting officers Alex McConnell and Alan Ledger. Those in attendance witnessed an excellent ceremony, which was performed with due solemnity, overseen expertly by the chapter director of ceremonies Geoff Green together with Robbie Fitzsimmons.
Once the installation ceremony got underway, David Hillman OBE was installed as first principal, Joe Paros was installed as second principal and Matthew Taylor was installed as third principal. The officers were then appointed and invested after Stuart Kidd was invested as immediate past first principal, having done an excellent job over past 12 months. He was thanked for his sterling work with acclaim by the members of the chapter.
John Hall rose upon the conclusion of the ceremony of installation to bring the congratulations of the Grand Superintendent Mark Matthews to the three principals wishing them a happy and productive year in office. He thanked the installing companions for a truly excellent ceremony and for the hard work put in to make sure everything ran smoothly.
David Hillman presented three cheques to John Hall for the benefit of charities namely; Claire House, Prostate Cancer UK and Liverpool Masonic Hall totalling a magnificent sum of £500. John thanked the companions of the chapter for their generous donations.
Upon the closure of proceedings, the companions gathered in the adjoining dining room to enjoy a very lively and convivial festive board. John responded to the toast to grand officers by offering his own personal congratulations and best wishes to the newly installed principals. He encouraged the members of the chapter to continue recruiting new brethren to maintain the good momentum as shown in the past couple of years as numbers seem to be steadily growing.
John encouraged everybody to register for Portal as soon as possible, explaining the advantages and benefits of the Portal facility. With all the toasts completed, the evening was then ended by everybody standing to a rousing janitor’s toast.
Report by Dave Johnson.