Installation Speech
I thank all of you for the honour you have bestowed upon me today, and I pledge to each of you to work tirelessly for the benefit of the Craft in Manitoba and its members.
One year after I returned to Manitoba, my dad turned to me at dinner and said “next year I will be Master of my lodge. That would be a good time for you to join.” His timing was impeccable. I had started my career, got married and bought a house, and I had reached the stage where I was wondering if there was more meaning in life.
Thirty-five years ago, I walked through the door of the preparation room at Sturgeon Creek Lodge and began my search for the answer to that question. My journey to attain more light continues to this day.
My focus as Grand Master will be on the future, but on my first day as Grand Master I cannot help but reflect on the past, and on the men who guided me to where I am today.
Last Monday I attended Sturgeon Creek Lodge and. Looking at the pictures on the wall, I remembered all my mentors who saw potential in a youngknow-it-all – my dad, John Reid, Bruce Burke, Al Sampson, Al Brock, Ken Wardle and others.
When I joined Ancient Landmark Lodge, I had more experience, but I still benefitted from a new group of mentors – Rudy Wiedenbacher, Ron Werry, Ron McFarlane and Bert Puls in particular.
I also benefitted from learning from some of the most notable Scottish Rite Freemasons – Kempton Keeble, Bert Comrie, Jim Bassey, Don Murray, Ross Johnston, Roz Iwanicki and Jim Wood. I also learned from Russ Tennant, Dave Logan and Trevor Odgers that leadership without work is wasted effort.
Most of these brethren have passed to the Grand Lodge above, but their presence is always with me, and I am mindful of the fact that I am only a guardian of the legacy these great brethren created.
I would also like to thank my family for their support throughout my journey. To my dad, VW Bro Gervin Greasley, who led by example throughout my childhood and who supported me at all times in my Masonic labour. I am honoured to have him as an officer on my line.
To my mom, who would have loved to be here today. She loved her Daughters of the Nile, and she was always so supportive of any of my Masonic endeavours.
To my children – Sarah, her husband Chris and our granddaughter Lilah, and Serena. Sarah and Serena were exposed to Masonic events at a very young age. Serena’s Masonic debut was the Shrine Midwest in St. Paul, when she was one month old. Several Masonic family leaders encouraged us to put the girls front and center at events, and they always were cheerful and well-behaved. They were also very tolerant of my frequent absences at meetings.
And most of all, to my Lady Carla, whose ongoing support has been critical to my ability to take on Masonic responsibilities. From our first date, where she learned that the guys that went door to door talking about religion were Mormons, not Masons, to the past year, where she was unstinting in her support of Grand Lodge, she has been there.
We had talked about me running for the Grand Line a few times in the past, but the circumstances were never quite right. We had reached the point where we had started planning for a quiet retirement. However, when I came to her last year and told her I was thinking about running for Deputy Grand Master, and I had three days to decide, she stated without hesitation that now was the time. She has thrown herself into supporting me, even though she still has a busy career.
I would also like to thank our immediate Past Grand Master, MW Bro Rey Galapon, for his support, guidance and leadership. Rey was blessed with three brand new line officers for his term, so he spent a fair bit of time explaining things to us. Throughout his successful year, I was impressed by his skill at handling problems, his willingness to listen and his ability to make difficult decisions.
Rey’s theme of harmony in diversity was the right theme at the right time, and I would have liked to see Rey’s year proceed without a hitch. However, every Grand Master has at least one problem in his year, and Rey faced his problems with courage and leadership.
While the vast majority of the brethren chose to cheerfully follow in the good work, a small number promoted disharmony. As I have travelled to different jurisdictions and attended conferences of Grand Masters, I have been struck by how many jurisdictions are concerned about the increase in disharmony in the Craft. This disharmony is everywhere, but it is particularly present on social media. Many jurisdictions report a distressing increase in Masonic trials.
Robust debate is essential to any functioning organization, but criticism without engagement, personal attacks instead of reasoned debate, and a refusal to accept the will of the majority and move on from an issue have no place in a values-based organization.
In particular, I am disturbed by a creeping legalism that dominates our discussions and actions.
We have a constitution and regulations that reflect 150 years of wisdom and experience of the Grand Lodge. For generations, we have held a common understanding of what each provision was intended to accomplish. However, in the past few years there has been a tendency to look for loopholes, to question the plain meaning of words long understood with the goal of turning the intent of the provision on its head.
This legalism has extended to constant hair-splitting challenges of actions taken by the Grand Master, when those actions have been taken by previous Grand Masters without question.
Brethren, the basis for our fraternity is brotherly love, relief and truth. We meet on the level and we act upon the square. We are supposed to be a high-trust organization. If you cannot function within a high-trust organization, then perhaps this is not the organization for you.
Freemasonry is the preeminent values-based organization in the world. Our values and principles are second to none, our lessons are designed to make good men better, and our lodges are sanctuaries of brotherly love, relief and truth.
The focus of our fraternity is on the intellectual, spiritual and moral improvement of our members. This is accomplished through the allegory of the ritual, through education and through the practice of our virtues.
However, it is not enough that we talk about our principles and virtues – we must act on them. We should be measured by our deeds, not our words.
As individuals, our deeds must match our words in our commitment to each other, to our institutions, to our communities and even to the stranger. Our commitment to each other must include a commitment to ensuring the health and well-being of our brethren, particularly their mental health.
As lodges, we must be a presence in our communities. We must demonstrate on our commitment to the improvement of the social order and our civic life through our actions.
As Grand Lodge, we must ensure that the world knows who we are, and we must lead by example. We must also ensure that Grand Lodge creates an institutional structure that allows lodges to succeed.
At the Conference of Grand Masters of North America, one Grand Master spoke of how he called on his members to undertake 250 acts of service to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps 250 acts is a bit ambitious for a jurisdiction our size, but we have 44 lodges and I believe that 44 acts of service is an achievable goal.
I recognize that many lodges are already engaged in acts of service. However, I encourage all lodges to engage in a new act of service, particularly an act that is visible in the community. I will be asking District Deputy Grand Masters to report on those acts of service at every Condition of Freemasonry meeting, and I hope that we can make the list visible on a renewed Grand Lodge website.
I will also be exhorting lodges to place increased emphasis on member retention. Last year the number of men initiated or restored exceeded the number of men who passed to the Grand Lodge Above. However, our membership declined because of demits and suspensions. Each lodge must do more to ensure that their members are engaged. Each lodge must find out why some of their members no longer choose Freemasonry, and they must work to correct that.
Finally, Grand Lodge must work to address the issues that have come to the forefront in recent years. It is unfortunate that in the past the content of some of these important issues was lost in the presentation. However, we cannot ignore these issues anymore.
I will be appointing a Fiscal Sustainability Review Committee to develop an action plan by the next Annual Communication to address the medium and long-term fiscal challenges of the organization. The committee will be charged with delivering its report prior to the next Annual Communication.
I will be calling on lodges that meet in independent buildings to come together to develop a best practices guide to retaining and maintaining independent buildings. I will ask lodges who have recently given up their buildings to share their experiences, because sometimes the best practice is knowing when to let go.
I will appoint brethren to the Masonic Memorial Centre board that have the skills and experience necessary to help the board strengthen its governance, financial reporting and planning, particularly capital planning.
I will be reviewing the membership attraction and retention practices of other jurisdictions to determine if Grand Lodge should take a more active role in membership initiatives.
Our agreement with the Canadian Cancer Society is up for renewal in April 2027. This program has been a long-standing source of pride for the past 40 years, but a forward looking organization engages in a continuous review of its programs and actions. Prior to renewing the agreement, we will survey the membership to gauge their support for continuing or revising this initiative.
We will also seek opportunities to assist our concordant bodies with their acts of service, particularly the Valley of Winnipeg’s efforts to establish a learning centre. I will seek opportunities to increase the visibility of Freemasonry in Manitoba.
I have chosen the beehive as my emblem for my year. Masonically, the beehive is a symbol of industry and cooperation. It represents leadership, unity and purpose. The
beehive expresses my intent to exercise leadership built on unity, structure and shared effort.
Brethren, together we can make Freemasonry a force for good in our communities. We can focus on the improvement not only of our members, but of our society.
And may the Great Architect of the Universe strengthen us and continue to guide our united endeavours.