Wigan Group Chairman John Selley and the rest of the group executive were delighted to welcome the Deputy Mayor of Wigan Cllr Anne Collins to the Annual Church Service held again at St Matthew’s Church, Highfield, Wigan.
A very warm Wigan welcome was also extended to the Deputy Provincial Grand Master Frank Umbers and a number of other grand officers. The procession into church was a magnificent affair with a large number of acting Craft and chapter Provincial officers present, all looking splendid in their regalia, as indeed were the rest of the Masonic brethren present. The whole procession was accompanied by the tumultuous organ skills of Karl Greenhall which very nicely set the scene.
In charge of the service was Reverend Canon John Hall, who delivered a very thought-provoking sermon which invited the congregation to reflect on the Bible and its influence on Masonry, but also to ponder on how many of the brethren actually know much about it.
Of the 66 books of the Bible, 39 are in the Old Testament, whilst 27 are in the New Testament. The first five in the Old Testament were written by Moses, whilst the first 5 in the New Testament are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts. Although presented in that order, that is not the order in which they were written, with Mark being the first to be scripted, it is the shortest and straight to the point. Next came Luke (aimed at a non-Jewish audience) and Matthew (aimed at a Jewish audience), followed by John which was written to the Greek culture of around 70 – 100AD and finally Acts which was from the early Church. In actual fact, Paul’s letters were written before the Gospels even though the Bible doesn’t present them that way.
The context is important; the Old Testament was the Jews searching for their Messiah, whilst the New Testament talks about Jesus. The Bible provides the key as to who we are as people and Masons, and is also why the church dedicates one Sunday each year to the Bible; Bible Sunday.
The first reading was delivered thoughtfully by Assistant to the Provincial Grand Principals John Selley, with the second reading recited most eloquently by the Wigan and Leigh Group Assistant Provincial Grand Master Malcolm Bell.
A £500 donation was presented to the Deputy Mayor for the Mayor’s chosen charity, which she received with gratitude, A cheque for £250 was also presented to John Dawson for Highfield St Matthew’s. Following the procession at the end of the service and tea and biscuits in the Church Hall, the congregation retired back to Bryn Masonic Hall for an absolutely sumptuous meal courtesy of Phil and Christine at which was very well attended.
