WK News - Issue 11 (5) - Flipbook - Page 11
11
WEST KENT NEWS | ISSUE NO.11 WINTER 2023
How are you hoping to further
establish the link between a
RALO and a CMO?
We are currently working on a
project document for each Chapter
called a Chapter Membership
Recruitment Data and Exaltations
(COMRADE). This document will
provide
unique
membership
information for the CMO, such as
data of the last few Exaltations in
the Chapter including details of
Lodges the new Companions came
from and the Lodge RALO9s contact
details. Apart from Chapters that
may already have their historical
feeder Lodge9s RALO details, the
CMO will also have access to other
Provincial RALOs as well. A unique
Chapter COMRADE report will be
circulated to every Chapter CMO in
the coming weeks.
What challenges have you faced?
It is always going to be challenging
when new initiatives are introduced.
To our knowledge there isn9t
another RAMDT (or indeed similar
such unit) anywhere in a Province
under the jurisdiction of UGLE so
we haven9t had a template or
anything like an instruction booklet
to work with, there has been hours
of painstaking meetings between
ourselves in order to formulate
strategies
to
address
the
Membership
Challenge.
I
am
delighted to say we have received a
lot of positive feedback but this is
still a work in progress project, we
have been really impressed with the
efforts that many of our RALOs and
CMOs already have put in and are
continuing to do so. These are
members who have really embraced
the membership challenges we all
face and they welcome any help
and assistance which we can offer.
Statistically, speaking Lodges with
a large RA contingent actually
safeguard the long term future of
their Lodge, as dual Craft and RA
members are much less likely to
resign from the Craft. More and
more
Lodges
are
now
acknowledging this fact.
THE PROVINCIAL GRAND
MENTOR:
ALAN WONDZINSKI
The office of Provincial Royal
Arch Mentor is relatively new.
What do you see as your purpose
within our Province?
Well, I suppose it9s the Royal Arch
equivalent of the Craft Provincial
Mentor. My primary role as the
Royal Arch Provincial Grand Mentor
is to promote and maintain interest
in the Royal Arch within the
Province, and also to assist
Chapters, when they have no work,
to
keep
their
convocations
interesting and attractive to their
members so that they will look
forward to their next meeting with
enthusiasm.
I also work closely with the Royal
Arch
Membership
Development
Team in all aspects of recruitment,
retention and retrieval.
With regard to recruitment, we have
a presentation entitled 8A Glimpse
through the Archway9 which, as the
name suggests, is an introduction
to the Royal Arch for presentation
in Lodges. The script has been
written in such a way that it can be
presented to all members of a
Lodge, irrespective of grade.
I9ve also produced a document
entitled 8What to do when you have
nothing to do9, which lists several
suggestions for what a Chapter might
consider when they have no regular
work. It has already been distributed
to all Scribes E in the Province, and I
hope to distribute it further.
Included in that list are presentations
performed by members of the West
Kent Provincial Grand Stewards
Chapter Demonstration Team, and
I9m eternally grateful to the team for
their dedication in promoting the
Royal Arch in the Province. The
Added Theatre Demonstration has
been presented 20 times in Chapters
across the Province and has proved
to be very successful. Several
Chapters have advised me they
intend to introduce some of the
8Theatre9 in their own Chapter
ceremonies.
There are several other presentations
listed all with the aim of increasing
understanding and enjoyment of
Royal Arch Masonry.
THE PROVINCIAL ROYAL ARCH
MEMBERSHIP OFFICER:
JAMES ASHMORE
What are the main routes to
achieve the attraction and growth
objectives for RA in West Kent?
Firstly, we are now presenting the
Royal Arch as the natural fourth
element in Freemasonry, as part of
the UGLE/SGC strategy of cohesion