Simon Fyfe: Sussex Freemasons West Group Retention & Community Engagement Lead
As the name infers, our group is concerned with the health and well-being of the 35No Lodges which are captured within the West Group. Each of these Lodges has an appointed Provincial Visiting Officer (“VO”) who attends a number of meetings of each Lodge throughout their masonic calendar year. The VO helps to disseminate communications from Provincial Grand Lodge to the Lodge members; however, the duty of a VO also includes being able to assist the Lodge with ceremonial and general well-being matters. Each VO is led by a Senior Visiting Officer who has access to other members of the West Group Team, so that if there are any occasions where specific help or skills are needed within a Lodge, this can then be quickly provided.
There are occasions, and through no fault of their own, that some Lodges face a decline in numbers. This could happen for a number of reasons; however, the members of the Retention Team have the resources and skill set to meet with the members of such Lodges and provide the necessary aid and resources to help the Lodge recover and continue for years to come. It is recognised that it is not always possible to rescue all Lodges, however, the West Group has saved one Lodge and is actively engaged at sabing another two.
It is also acknowledged that there will be occasions when Brethren decide that they have come to the end of their Masonic journey and wish to resign. Should such an occasion arise, our team has a dedicated person who conducts a personal interview with the member to ascertain the reasoning behind the resignation and to see if there is any specific assistance we can provide going forwards whether they continue with their membership or not.
Community Engagement
The “Third Pillar” of the “Strategy for Freemasonry 2022 and Beyond” is Community Engagement. As Freemasons, we are taught that caring for those less fortunate than ourselves should be at the forefront of our minds and that we should strive to assist at every opportunity. In the West Group, we fully recognise that Freemasonry has a rich tradition of community engagement and charitable works. As such, each of our Masonic Centres within our area has a dedicated team who ensure that local Freemasons integrate with and support their local communities. The West Group understands that by extending Charity to local worthy causes, this is not confined to solely giving of money. Charity also includes the giving of our time by way of volunteering, so that other organisations and groups can benefit from utilising the core skills that our members may have.
Each Masonic centre arranges for its members to take part and be present at local charitable events throughout the year which are organised by other organisations within our local communities. Our members also freely give up their time to various charities and organisations, whether that is working in charity shops, museums, historic buildings and the like, teaching, coaching, mentoring, provision of handyman/construction skills, cooking and domestic assistance, care and support with homeless charities, and security/ general attendance at local events etc. By integrating without local communities in this way, we help to increase the public’s awareness of what it means to be a Freemason and how we help and support those less fortunate than ourselves. It is hoped that by integrating more fully with our local communities, they in turn will support us and be inspired to the extent that they too wish to become Freemasons.