Duke of Sussex Chapter
Chapter No: 3343
venue Oswestry
Address
Freemasons Hall, Roft Street, Oswestry SY11 2EP
Meeting Date
4th Wednesday (Oct and Feb) Lodge and Chapter together
4th Wednesday (Jun) Chapter only - Installation
Installation Date
4th Wednesday in June
CHAPTER PROFILE: ‘One journey, one Organisation’
Compass Lodge and its associated Duke of Sussex Royal Arch Chapter have enjoyed previous lives in different parts of the country. It is fair to say that both units recently were in the process of returning their warrants. This became unnecessary when some like-minded and progressive masonic individuals created a scheme with the purpose of unifying the meetings a Craft Lodge and Royal Arch Chapter. It was possible to breathe new life into the Lodge and Chapter; both were saved and transferred to the Province of Shropshire.
This project has gained momentum. The first joint Craft and Royal Arch meeting was held in June and as above, joint meetings will, in the future, be the order of the day.
The reason for the joinder of the units is that the general impression across the country was that Royal Arch Masonry was losing ground with both member numbers falling and enthusiasm for the degree waning. The reason appears to be that there are many competing interests in the daily life of the modern generation.
Please remember that our forefathers, in the late 18th and perhaps early 19th Century, used Craft meetings as a basis to open and work the Royal Arch degree and various other orders.
This concept, which adopts a fundamental change in the status quo, goes hand in hand with modernising ceremonies, conducting multiple ceremonies, avoiding time being wasted during meetings and the importance of dinner, which should always be remembered as an entertaining and memorable part of the evening. We dine on a long table and in masonic regalia. The lodge is closed at the end of dinner.
The framework of Compass and Duke of Sussex is intended to give young men of the ‘digital generation’ an opportunity to find masonry to be an interesting, enjoyable and worthwhile organisation. We have intentionally avoided the stiff and prescriptive, at times bordering on proscriptive, approach which in fact is likely to create barriers to new and younger members.
The overriding ambition at the front and centre of the Lodge and Chapter is fun and enjoyment at meetings. The number of meetings per year has been reduced to five. This includes both Craft and Royal Arch. We have a more relaxed attitude, a more relaxed dress code and we to dine well.
All this has been achieved within the BoC and the standard of ritual has been and will continue to be of the highest quality.
All members of Compass Lodge will be Royal Arch masons. The Exaltation ceremony to become a Royal Arch mason will follow, as a matter of course, at least 28 days after a candidate has been raised to the sublime degree of a MM.
In conclusion, the first joint meeting was an opportunity to establish a system which will incorporate and unify the Lodge and the Chapter, in a way to exemplify and demonstrate the ‘one journey, one organisation’ as promulgated by Grand Lodge.
We have demonstrated that a Craft Lodge and Royal Arch Chapter are able to operate, co-operate and successfully meet as one unit.
Finally, it is interesting to find, when the suffix (not Sussex) ‘-ion’ is added to Compass the resulting word is COMPASSION. This of course is whole purpose and generally accepted ethos of all Freemasonry. It is a wonderful coincidence how, with the addition of three letters, an instrument of navigation can become the word which epitomises Freemasonry