Brethren of Woodened Epworth Lodge No 5381, were pleased to have the presence of the Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews, for their double second-degree ceremony. Mark attended in his private capacity and was accompanied by Andy Whittle, Chairman of the Liverpool Group Dave Johnson, several grand officers, the Provincial Senior and Junior Grand Wardens; John Reynolds and Ezra McGowan, together with Provincial Deputy Grand Directors of Ceremonies Ian Halsall and Rob Fitzsimmons, and Anthony Shadwell Provincial grand Steward.
The WM of the lodge Peter Lewis opened the lodge in the first degree and extended a warm welcome to Mark Matthews, who was already seated within the lodge. In accordance with custom, he offered Mark the gavel, which was courteously declined and returned to the master of the lodge.
Mark expressed his pleasure at being present and remarked on how gratifying it was to see the lodge so well attended, with 47 brethren in attendance. He also commented on the particularly high standard of the musical accompaniment provided by the lodge organist; the musical accompaniment was provided through purpose-built digital organ software, under the direction of the lodge organist/secretary.
Those officers who had not received their appointments at the installation were appointed, by Peter. Following the appointments, the entered apprentices Martin Neenan and Joseph Graham, who were able assisted by Dennis Hesketh the senior deacon and Matthew Taylor the junior deacon, were brought forward. Both candidates answered their questions impeccably.
The lodge was opened in the second degree, after which a superb ceremony took place. When the moment arrived for the newly passed to the second degree candidates to receive their aprons, the presentations were carried out by their respective proposers, Mark Graham and Dave Murray, on behalf of Martin and Joseph. Richard Sutton assisted the WM with part of the ceremony, with three light blues, Adam Ledger, Adam Norris, Nicholas Day, sharing the second degree working tools.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Mark thanked Peter for a fantastic ceremony and thanked the lodge DC David Bruffell for his hard work. Mark also thanked the wardens and deacons, and special thanks was given to those brethren that had completed the explanation of the working tools. Mark thanked the candidate’s proposer and seconder, especially for the way they had presented the aprons to Martin and Joseph, something that he had not seen before. Both Martin and Joseph were thanked especially for the way in which they had answered their questions leading to the second degree.
Ian then presented Mark to the lodge secretary Steve Foster, and Mark took great delight in presenting Steve with his ‘Solomon’ Diploma that he had gained online. Prior to the lodge closing, Ian took control of the lodge and formed a procession for Mark and the Provincial team to retire. After doing so, the usual close of business was dealt with and the lodge was closed. The brethren then retired for a festive board, with fine food and company.
Mark responded to the toast to his health, thanking the brethren and WM for their proposal. Mark thanked the brethren who had completed their second degree, in what he described as a fantastic ceremony. Mark was pleased to see the lodge going through a good turnaround with many light blues and prospects for the future looking good. Mark talked about the membership challenge and as previously stated was happy to see that the lodge was increasing its members.
Continuing, Mark talked about the importance of Royal Arch Membership and thanked the brethren for an increase in the numbers, although we all still had a responsibility to maintain its increase. The date and an open invitation for all ranks and levels in Freemasonry was given for Provincial Grand Lodge on 8 May 2026, and the Provincial Grand Ball on 13 March 26. Mark once again thanked the brethren for the proposal to his health and hoped that they enjoy and continue to enjoy their Freemasonry.
Ray Moorcroft proposed a toast to the guests, hoping that they had enjoyed themselves and they would visit the lodge again, with Dave Bruffell explaining the lodge’s use of the firing glasses, with its first recorded history of their usage. Paul Robinson was pleased to respond in his usual aplomb and attributes, in correctly thanking the lodge for an awesome ceremony, including the brethren who presented the working tools.