District Grand Lodge of Guyana

Under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England

R W. Bro. RICHARD B. FIELDS SC

          District Grand Master

W. Bro. DOODNAUTH PERSAUD PJGD

          Deputy District Grand Master

W Bro MAJ WATSON H F BOWLING PAGDC

       Assistant District Grand Master

W. Bro. IVOR E. O’BRIEN MS, PDistJGW

           District Grand Secretary

 

W. Bro. IVOR E. O’BRIEN MS, PDistJGW

         District Grand Secretary

 
 

FREEMASONS’ HALL

COMPANY PATH

GEORGETOWN

GUYANA

 
 
                                                           

                                                                                               

 

 

                                                                                                      

 

         www.dgl.org.gy                        Inaugurated on 28 October, 1899

 

 

 

 Report of the District Board of General Purposes to the Annual Communication of District Grand Lodge of Guyana

 

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

 

The Board, on behalf of Freemasons of the District Grand Lodge of Guyana, regrets the passing to the Grand Lodge Above of the MW Past Pro Grand Master - The Right Honourable Lord Cornwallis.- and notes the several  positive contributions he has made to the advancement of the Craft.

 

Since the Half- Yearly Communication of District Grand Lodge on the 19th September 2009, the full Board met on Saturday February 20th 2010, A meeting of a sub- Committee of the Board was also held on Friday February 5th 2010.. Members of the Board also met with representatives of the Ituni and Phoenix Lodges in New Amsterdam on Saturday October 24th 2009.  and with representatives of Kara Kara Lodge in Linden on Saturday March 6th 2010.

 

Obituary

The Board regrets the passing to the Grand Lodge Above of: W Bro Albert Bertram Ho Past District Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies and a Past Master of Silent Temple Lodge No 3254.

 

Financial Matters

The Financial position of the District at December 31st 2009 stands at $14,641,670, distributed among the various Funds as follows; General Fund - $ 363,431, Benevolent Fund - $1,518,558. Charity Fund - $12,759,681. Details of the various sub-heads are included in the formal presentations of the Accounts that have been submitted to the Annual Communication. The projections for 2010 indicate that the routine operating costs of the District will be $ 1,600,000 in 2010. This will include minor maintenance to the Company Path Building, Georgetown, as well as the costs of Insurance and operating expenditure for the District Secretariat. The Trustees of the District have undertaken to support the maintenance of the Masonic temples.  Required maintenance and repairs to the four buildings are estimated at over $7,000,000. The infrastructure of the Masonic temples has deteriorated to the extent that work on these buildings can no longer be delayed. The District will contribute in 2010 the sum of $ 731,000 for repairs to the Temple in Ferry St, New Amsterdam. This sum will cover the first phase of the repairs to that building. The identified area is the eastern wall.  Approval has also been given to make available $ 650,000 to commence repairs to the Temple at Kara Kara, Linden. The front and north-western walls are the most critical sections of that building.  Board members will be meeting in early April with representatives of Mount Olive Lodge to agree on the priorities for repairs to the Masonic Temple in Carmichael Street, Georgetown, and the extent to which these repairs can be supported. It must be emphasised that the Trust does not have the resources to undertake all the work that is required for these Buildings and that the Brethren in the owner Lodges will be expected to make the extra efforts to raise funds towards fulfilling these objectives. The Board and the Trustees will of course support all efforts by the individual Lodges in this regard. It is expected that the momentum generated by the initial injection of funds will not be allowed to be lost. The Board is encouraged by the reports from the individual lodges that fund raising programmes have been developed and are being implemented.    

 The Lodges in the District have satisfied their obligations to United Grand Lodge with respect to dues for 2008. The Annual Returns for 2009 were received only recently.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       These have been sent to all Lodges which are requested to complete and submit their dues to the District Grand Secretary without delay. Time is not in our favour. Lodges are also at this time reminded of their commitments to District Grand Lodge.  Two Lodges remain indebted to the District for payment of United Grand Lodge dues in 2008 and 2009. The accumulated debt is $ 261,190.00. Four Lodges also have outstanding dues to District Grand Lodge amounting to $177, 000. The Freemasons Hall Management Committee has received only one Lodge’s contribution towards the commitment for use of the Company Path Building. None of these matters reflect well on the Brethren or the manner in which some of our lodges are administered. I have commented on a previous occasion that if Freemasonry in this District is to meet the ideals to which the Order is committed, we have to put our own house in order to fulfil our commitments to ourselves prior to making the order relevant to the wider society. The Board is confident that the brethren will take note of this situation and make their individual efforts to ensure that their outstanding commitments are settled before April 30th, 2010   

With approval of the Right Worshipful District Grand Master, the sum of US$2,000 has been donated to relief efforts for earthquake victims in Haiti. This contribution is part of a regional effort that is being co-ordinated by the District Grand Lodge of Jamaica.  We are confident that brethren will welcome the opportunity to add their individual support to this cause

 

The Company Path Building:

It is planned that the programme to secure investments for re-modelling and modernising the Company Path building will commence in earnest in 2010. The Committee that has been appointed by the trustees is to be formally convened after some delay, The new building will be constructed in concrete, but will preserve all the   relevant architectural features of the present structure. The historical significance of the building could be a significant factor in attracting funds towards its preservation. At the same time it will be important for future sustainability of this building that more use be made of the structure for Masonic education and also for income generation as these opportunities may present themselves. The Trustees’ Report will expand further on this concept, but all constructive ideas from Brethren would be most welcome.

 

Other Matters

The President of the Board will be holding a meeting with the Masters and Secretaries of all Lodges during the third week of June 2010. It is anticipated that this interaction will build on the exchanges of views developed at the first such meeting in 2009 and will serve to strengthen relationships among lodges and to enhance participation by the membership in the work of the District.

 

Lodges are reminded that they are required to submit completed Registration Forms for new members on their Initiation as well as to make subsequent applications for their Grand Lodge Certificates as soon as these members have been Passed and Raised. The numbers of registration forms that have been received and submitted to United Grand Lodge is significantly less than the number of brethren admitted to the Craft.

 

The District Grand Orator has constituted a small Committee to support him in his Programme of promoting Masonic Education. By now most Lodges would have been made aware of the objectives of the office and how the Orator’s Committee intends to function. The Board looks forward to this committee’s effectiveness intensifying during the course of 2010. During the course of Board discussions in 2010, it was also determined that, in addition to the District website, it would be desirable that the publication of a magazine would be benefit to the wider membership. A four man committee has been tasked to make this objective a reality in 2010. The Board commends the University Lodge of Guyana on its recent initiative in hosting its 20th Anniversary Seminar at the University of Guyana on March 11th 2010. This effort can only serve to make the discerning public more aware of Freemasonry and its work in the country and lead to a more positive view of the Craft. It would be useful for the presenters to consider repeating some of this material .in Berbice and in Linden to support   stimulation of interest in the Craft in those communities.

  

 The Board continues to be committed to strengthening fraternal relations among all Freemasons. The Board is working with the District Board of Benevolence to promote the development of a Masonic charitable organisation open to all masons within Guyana. Members of both Boards have met with representatives of the District Grand Lodge of Guyana under the Scottish Constitution. Agreement was reached that both Districts would collaborate in the establishment of a Masonic Charitable/Benevolent Institution that would be relevant to masons in Guyana in general. A Group Medical Insurance Scheme (family benefit unit) proposal has been circulated to the various Lodges for discussion. There are other options that may be more readily achieved in the medium term. These will be expanded on by W Bro Dunstan Barrow in his report. 

 

Reading of the Report

It is requested that this Report be read in every Lodge of the District at the first meeting of the Lodge after the Half- Yearly Communication of District Grand Lodge on the 13th of May 2010 so that every brother may be aware of its contents. The text of the report will also be posted on the website

 

Dr Harold B Davis

President

March 13th 2010