Dear Companions,
This weekend marks my retirement after ten years as your Most Excellent Grand Superintendent and my successor takes post on 1 April. Much has happened during these ten years but the overwhelming feeling is one of enjoyment.
We have endured the loss of Chapter of Unity and the merging of Chapter of Truth and Burlington Chapter, but we have also consecrated two new Chapters – Musket, Pike and Drum Chapter and Derbyshire Motorcycle Chapter, the latter bringing yet another ritual to our extensive repertoire. These are our first new Chapters since 1995.
We have endured the dark times of the Covid lockdown with the resignation of many members, yet we have enjoyed a great resurgence since, with around 50 exaltations in each of the last two years and a current list of 60 awaiting exaltation. This puts us well ahead of the national average. But we have always emphasised that the Provincial Grand Chapter of Derbyshire is about much more than numbers; each number is a unique member of the order and he needs individual attention to enable him to enjoy Royal Arch Masonry to the full. If we’ve achieved anything it is a happy Province which enjoys its Royal Arch.
We have lost a number of well-respected members, but we have also celebrated many 50 year anniversaries, a 60 year anniversary, and Certificates of Merit for Vernon Barnes, Glyn Hall and Ernest Tryner. We have also celebrated the centenaries of Peveril of the Peak, Fairfield and Alfreton Chapters and the bi-centenary of Chapter of Justice.
We have enjoyed demonstrations of the Veils Ceremony and the Tunnah Manuscript; we have had “sold out” Annual Convocations, both in the temple and dining room, including huge numbers of visitors from other Provinces ; we have delighted in many full Provincial visits to Chapters in the Province; and we have flown the flag around our neighbouring and distant Provincial Convocations.
The Provincial Royal Arch website has developed over the years, not only to be a record of our events, but also as a resource for further study (even before Solomon was thought of). You may not be aware that one private section of the website serves as a resource to assist Scribes E in their work, and another private area serves as a resource for the Executive to store and retrieve reports and documents needed for their daily work. All for the princely sum of not much more than £100 a year because all the website creation, design, maintenance and content has been done in-house. Unlike Craft websites which target the general public as well as masons, our Royal Arch website only seeks to reach established masons who wish to further their masonic journey.
I could not have done all of this without the support of you all, but especially those who have served the Province as my Deputies, Principals and Senior Officers during my tenure. They have embraced the changes we have made and developed many of our existing initiatives to the benefit of our Province. They have been inexhaustible in their support of exaltations and the welcoming of new members, which we are told is greatly appreciated and I am delighted that our member numbers are rising.
I have also been pleased to represent the Province in London, both as Grand Superintendent where I have been able to present Derbyshire’s views, and as a member of the Board of the Masonic Charities, a role which I found very fulfilling and enjoyable and where I have made many new friends.
Karen and I would also like to thank you for the wonderful support you gave her during her recent difficult times – we appreciated it more than you will ever know.
I would like to assure you that I will still be in evidence in the Province and look forward to meeting you all again during the coming years. I hope that you continue to enjoy your Royal Arch Masonry in this wonderful Province.
My very best wishes to you all,
Sincerely and fraternally,
Charles A. G. Cunnington