WM's Installation address.
This is the address that our Worshipful Master, W Bro Raminder Panesar, gave at the Festive Board following his Installation on 12th October 2017.
Distinguished Brethren, Brother Wardens, Brethren All,
An opportunity to feel as I feel tonight doesn't come very often in most people's lives. I might sound overly emotional, but I'm not sorry about that, not this evening of all evenings. I shall remember today like no other day.
Tonight I stand before you enormously proud to be your Master and I thank the Brethren of the Aylesbury Lodge for entrusting me with the Mastership. I think we all know that there's a weight of responsibility that comes with the office and over the last few weeks that responsibility has been weighing on my mind and I sometimes find my feelings bouncing from elation to trepidation and I expect they'll probably find an equilibrium somewhere in the middle as the year progresses.
I also have this nagging feeling of not being quite ready for this. Did any of you feel that way? It's the nagging feeling that I can't possibly be a real WM. Real WM's dwell in the ranks of the Past Masters of Aylesbury Lodge. They're the heavy weights, I'm a light weight so to speak. They are the ones who know what they're doing - really distinguished practitioners of the arts and mysteries of Masonry - for me it's still all a bit mysterious. So I've been asking myself what does Masonry mean to me? How do I see myself? These are not easy questions to answer but ones which I think emerge from the other parts of what I have to say this evening.
IPM
I want to pay tribute to the Immediate Past Master, W Bro Tony. You presided over a great term in office last year in your effortless and faultless ritual. To install me, you learned a ceremony which you delivered just as flawlessly as you always do. Thank you so much for all the hard work you put in and it was such pleasure watching your commanding performance.
Officers
To my officers this year, whom I've already thanked for taking up their offices, all I can say is that I could not want for better. I know that each of you is equally committed to doing well and supporting each other. That makes it so much easier for me; I have only to settle back and relax into an enjoyable routine. A big thanks again from me to all my officers this year. My only sadness today, one we all share, is that the late W Bro Richard Sherman is not with us in person. But he is here because we feel his presence. Every kind word we exchange with each other reminds us of the kindness, goodness and fellowship that he embodied. From my first meeting with him to the last he encouraged me as he also encouraged all others as well. May he rest in peace in the Grand Lodge above. Bro. Richard wasn't alone in encouraging me and others. In this Lodge, encouragement comes from practically everyone, on practically every occasion.
So who am I in this stage of Masonic career?
Having spoken about the Lodge, I come back to the question of what this point in Masonry means for me. Well, practically everything I know and have experienced about Masonry has been shaped and moulded by the Brethren of the Aylesbury Lodge. So Brethren what I know, I know from you and what brought me to you was at first a curiosity, then growing interest and then a fraternal bond of brotherhood based on our shared values of goodness and decency. Just as my mother brought me into this world, so my mother lodge, the Aylesbury Lodge, has welcomed me into the fellowship of brothers who strive to do good and be good in their endeavors.
Masonry has changed me for the better, which means that you've changed me. That we learn a great deal from each other is something I've come to appreciate more and more. I didn't think that way in the beginning, I do now. The universality of Freemasonry is surely embodied in the fact that our learning inside a lodge never stops. From a practical perspective I've also come to know that the same conduct we follow and apply inside our Lodge can also be applied in the secular world outside the lodge. Trying to make my dealings with others level, square and regular gives me a frame of reference which my involvement in Masonry continually reinforces.
The other thing I'm very happy to observe is that the Brethren of this Lodge have a long standing tradition of striving for excellence in their ritual and early on I was encouraged to study and learn, beginning with small parts and gradually extending the range and depth of what I knew. They did so by sharing intriguing and fascinating views of the rituals which sparked my interest in the roots, language and meanings in the Emulation Ritual. In many ways, the ritual book has been written with the purpose of being read aloud for the information and education of the listeners and all of us appreciate its words and language.
Charity
But we are not here only for the purpose of socialising and enjoying each other's company. We each of us believe in doing what we can to promote and support the charitable purposes of the Lodge. In honour of the memory of the late W Bro Richard, our charity this year will be to continue his wish of installing a much needed electric hoist in the renal unit of Stoke Mandeville Hospital. I know that the Brethren, within their means, have already given generously and will continue with their donations today and at other events.
Social Events
Let's turn to what we've got planned for the coming year. I'd really like to extend my thanks to all of you who have been involved in the planning. As usual, Bro Barry assisted by other officers has kindly taken the lead and already set up some events. We have a Christmas dinner booked. Please see Bro. Barry to put your names down as early as you can. We also have a Valentine's lunch which has always proved a popular success in past years. And the event I'm particularly looking forward to is a garden party which is being planned tentatively for 26th May next year. I'm inviting you all to my home where I hope to have live music and singing led by an remarkable gentlemen who is a concert level pianist and also likes singing and playing the popular Beatles hits! We can all enjoy a sing-along in the garden and hopefully it'll be a nice sunny day. There may be also be other events in the offing. So watch this space.
Inviting members to become more active
One last thing, Brethren. I went to a Master's workshop put on in the summer by the Province. It was really helpful and I learned a lot. One of the messages that stuck with me I'd like to share with you. Several of our Brothers commit many hours of time and much energy to administer our Lodge and have done so over a number of years. It was suggested to me at the workshop to ask if any members who may not previously have been quite as active would like to participate going forward. No pressure, but if any member wishes to become more active in the Lodge or to further progress in any way, please let either me or any officer know so that it can be taken into account in succession planning.
Concluding remarks
In concluding this address, I wish to give my personal thanks to all the Brethren who have brought me in Masonry, encouraged me along the way and helped me in reaching the chair. If I mess up during this year - and I'm bound to say something either out of turn or crass - forgive me in advance. If I somehow mess up the lodge workings, I know you will continue encouraging whilst pointing me in the right direction.
My wish for the year
Finally Brethren my wish for this year. Let our Lodge be a lodge that shines its Light as does that bright Morning Star that rises in the East, and brings us peace and whose warmth will undoubtedly preserve the harmony of our Lodge.
My thanks to you all.
