Order of the Secret Monitor in the
Province of Warwickshire

ACTING PROVINCIAL RANKS

An acting rank within the Order of the Secret Monitor means just that. Each rank comes with its own responsibilities, and successfully carrying out those responsibilities may mean an appointment isn’t just for one year, and may even be progressive.  The Book of Constitutions provides the limit of the number of acting Officers the Provincial Grand Supreme Ruler may appoint in any one year, so being offered an acting rank within our Province is a great honour.

All acting Officers are expected to attend at the Annual Meeting in May and support the PGSR and his Deputy at team visits and, where possible, support the PGSR and his Deputy at Installation meetings and other special occasions. They will also be included in invitations to attend Provincial Meetings throughout the country to represent the Province of Warwickshire.

Most first time Provincial Officer appointments are to a Past or acting Provincial Grand Steward. Stewards are expected to assist and support in all aspects of official attendances by the PGSR and his Deputy and especially at the Annual Meeting.

The Provincial Grand Sentinel and Provincial Grand Guarder hold essential duties at the Annual Meeting, with the Provincial Grand Guarder having a speaking part.

The Provincial Grand Organist tends not to be a progressive role, and his vital duty is to bring pomp and ceremony to important meetings and to entertain the Brethren with background music whenever appropriate.

The Provincial Assistant Grand Recorder again tends not to be progressive, and he is expected to provide appropriate support to the Provincial Grand Recorder.

Having shown enthusiasm in a junior role, future appointment may be to Provincial Grand Sword Bearer, Provincial Grand Standard Bearer or Provincial Grand Bow Bearer. These Brethren form the escort for the PGSR and his Deputy when entering the Annual Meeting, and on other special occasions.

The next step of progression is to Provincial Grand Visitor. These Brethren have a special duty as dictated by the Book of Constitutions. They will be allocated three or four Conclaves from the Province and will be expected to attend their allocated Conclaves on a regular basis and report to the Provincial Grand Guide on the health and well-being of those Conclaves. These Offices are a key role within the Province, as the Provincial Visitors become the visible face of the Province within every Conclave, and are a useful information conduit between the members and the Provincial Rulers.

The Provincial Grand Guide is nominally ‘in charge’ of the Provincial Grand Visitors. His role is to gather the reports and formulate them into a report at the Annual Meeting as to the overall health and well-being of the Province over the previous 12 months and the potential for the next Masonic year. This appointment is generally for two years.

The Provincial Grand Counsellor has the responsibility, in conjunction with the immediate past Provincial Grand Counsellor, for and over the development of recruitment strategies and the supervision of the two Provincial Membership Officers who undertake the ‘Friendship’ meetings throughout the Province.

The Provincial Grand Chancellor, in conjunction with his immediate predecessor, holds the overall responsibility for co-ordinating the organisation of the Provincial Annual Meeting in May of each year. Organising the Annual Meeting remains the joint responsibility of the Provincial Grand Recorder and the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, who, of course, hold other demanding responsibilities.

The administrative appointments of the Province tend not to be progressive:

The Provincial Grand Chaplain attends to our spiritual needs.

The Provincial Grand Registrar is responsible for all issues relating to Constitutional matters.

The Provincial Grand Treasurer is responsible for our financial health, and the financial health  of our Conclaves.

The Provincial Grand Recorder has overall responsibility for the administration and efficient and effective running of the Province and the keeping and implementation of its diary, whilst ensuring the maintenance of the administrative records of our Conclaves.

The Provincial Grand Almoner provides pastoral support to our members and undertakes any necessary applications for support to the OSM Benevolent Fund.

The Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, in conjunction with his Deputy and Assistant, form the DC team, who hold the responsibility for all ceremonial aspects of our Province, both at the Annual Provincial Meeting and whenever the Leaders are attending officially at Conclaves within the Province.

Finally, members of the PGSR’s Arch of Steel, who though providing an important ceremonial role, are not Provincial Officers, but Princes of the Order, and must retire from the Arch of Steel in the year they are promoted to Provincial Rank, apart from the Commander and Deputy Commander, although these must also retire if they receive an acting Provincial rank. This role is for those Brethren considered as having potential for higher positions and provides the Provincial leaders with a means of assessing their future suitability at an early stage.

Duties of a Visiting Deacon.

Introduction;
These notes are addressed to Visiting Deacons and are intended to help them fulfil their obligations to their Conclave and to understand their special and important place within the hierarchy of the Order. These notes however are not intended to overrule the custom and practise of any Conclave, but in every case, apologies should be tendered through the Visiting Deacons and not by the Secretary, at the same time bearing in mind that the dining steward will need to be informed of a brother’s intentions.

What is in a Name?
The full title of our Order is “The Order of the Secret Monitor or Brotherhood of David and Jonathan”. The second part of the title is easily understood – the story of the friendship of David and Jonathan is widely known and is an obvious model for our Order with friendship at its heart. The first part – The

Order of the Secret Monitor – is rather more obscure, but the word Monitor derives from the Latin word monitio, which literally means a warning of danger. There is thus a link with the special feature of the Order, namely the obligation we have undertaken, not merely to aspire to high standards

ourselves but to watch over and warn our brethren, and to give them special guidance and support.

So, what is special about Visiting Deacons?
The Visiting Deacon is, in many ways, the true ‘Monitor’ of our Order. He has the specific duty, unique in Freemasonry, of watching over the brethren placed in his care, and of warning the Supreme Ruler and other Conclave members of any problems of which they confronted. The duties of a Visiting Deacon are set out in the Constitutions and Regulations of the Order and are incorporated in the by-laws of every Conclave. These duties are, of course, also summarised by the Fourth Visiting Deacon at the opening of every Conclave meeting.

Although these notes are mainly concerned with the responsibilities of Visiting Deacons in relation to the reports which they are required to give at each Conclave meeting, it is worth mentioning that the duties of the Office, as the title suggests, include responsibility for visiting sick or aged Brethren, and

encouraging other members of the Conclave to follow this example. A Visiting Deacon should also expect to be able to attend all meetings of his Conclave during his term of office.

Compiling your report;
Clearly your first requirement is a list of the brethren for whom you are responsible. Most of the Conclaves in this Province provide a full list of member’s names on every summons, and those which do not supply a separate sheet with your responsibility’s lists. These show to which Visiting Deacon a brother is allocated. Most also give address, telephone numbers and email addresses – if not, you will need to put your own list together, but your Conclave Secretary should be able to help.

Having compiled your list, the means of communication is yours. You may visit in person or, more likely, make contact by email or telephone.

Remember that your first duty is to enquire after the welfare of your charges, not simply to establish whether or not they will be attending the next meeting. With this in mind, you should aim to make contact about one month before each meeting, so that if one of your charges is ill there is time to try and visit him, to advise the Supreme Ruler in advance of the meeting and to take any other action which may be appropriate.

Even if they are going to be present, make enquiries of their health and that of those nearest and dearest to them, their business commitments or any other significant events that a friend could reasonably be expected to know about so that, if for some unseen reason the Brother unexpectedly does not arrive at the meeting, you can at least give some update.

Please remember that any issues which may arise from correct and proper performance of your duties should be flagged to the Provincial Almoner and any other Brother required to render assistance. Remember, however, to respect any confidences shared.

Do not limit yourself to one contact between each meeting; additional contacts, particularly where the gap between meetings is long are strongly encouraged and should be, almost always, welcome.

Responsibility for compiling a report remains with you, even if, exceptionally, you will yourself be absent from the Conclave meeting. In such circumstances the completed report should be posted, emailed or telephoned to the Conclave Secretary at least a week before the meeting so that a substitute can be delegated to present your report and to perform your ritual duties.

Giving your report;
The aim must be to inform the Conclave of the precise reasons for a brother’s absence. In this Order, the words ‘apologies Supreme Ruler’ are not acceptable. Absences today can be for a whole host of reasons which take a brother away from his Conclave. There are three main groupings which I will expand to help explain the level of details expected.

If a brother is ill, you should report the nature of his illness, his present condition and progress and, where appropriate, the likely period of incapacity. The aim should be to give the brethren as much information as possible, particularly in circumstances where visitors will be welcome. Consider also sending a get-well card, or if it seems appropriate take a large card to the meeting for signature by all present.

Non-Masonic commitments may include family commitments, work or holidays. Again, your objective should be to inform the brethren and give them as much detail as possible, so try and establish, for example, the precise nature of the work commitment, or when a brother is away on holiday, the exact destination.

The third category, other Masonic commitments, particularly, demands a detailed report. A Brother may be appointed to high office in another Order and, in consequence may have ceremonial duties which were not foreseen when he accepted Office in the Conclave; this is very different from the case of a brother who simply chooses to go elsewhere. Once again, the objective is to inform the brethren, so that may judge for themselves whether the reason given is acceptable. Try to find out, therefore, what other commitment is being given priority over the Conclave meeting and report accordingly.

Whilst it is probably inevitable that there will be a very exceptional circumstance where a Deacon has to VD for their time and friendliness and, of course (if appropriate), give a short update on your life circumstances.

Finally;
Like most things in Freemasonry, the more you put into the performance of your duties the more satisfaction you will derive from your office. Please give the role your thought and effort. If Visiting Deacons are conscientious and faithful in the discharge of their duties a brother’s membership will be

enhanced and will value their membership, new members will be impressed and Conclaves will prosper report that there has been no contact with a Brother in his care, be very careful Brethren that this is, and should only be, a rare occasion and ‘no contact Supreme Ruler’ must never be considered

as the baseline for any report.

The Duty of a Charge;
When you are contacted by your Visiting Deacon, make sure that you do all you can to respond. Be careful to thank the VD for their time and friendliness and, of course (if appropriate), give a short update on your life circumstances.

Finally;
Like most things in Freemasonry, the more you put into the performance of your duties the more satisfaction you will derive from your office. Please give the role your thought and effort. If Visiting Deacons are conscientious and faithful in the discharge of their duties a brother’s membership will be enhanced and will value their membership, new members will be impressed and Conclaves will prosper