Provincial Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of Hertfordshire
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Stanstead Abbotts Royal Ark Mariner Lodge Consecration
Brethren - As Masons we all share a Common Bond – that Common Bond - is our Belief in God – The Great Architect and Creator of the Universe – and which of us has not at some time considered the works of His fingers and stood transfixed and gazed in awe at the serene cerise sky as the sun sinks slowly into the western horizon – or when in warm summer rain we have seen the handiwork of God – we have stopped – as most people seem to do – and wondered at the result of light passing through the rain – creating a glorious multi-coloured Rainbow. Since the beginning of time that has been man’s reaction – he has marvelled at the creative power of a Supreme Being – and inherent in men of all races, colour, and creeds has been the desire - to set aside a place wherein, or whereat, to make intercession with his Deity - the God that he sees to be the creative or ruling force in his world. This has been perhaps a cairn – a simple pile of stones – a totem pole - a bush that burned or - as we have come to recognise in these days – a simple Chapel, or a mighty and magnificent Cathedral erected especially as a house of Worship and Adoration to Him who said ‘I am that I am’. At the end of the Flood - ‘When the Waters Abated’ we read in the Bible – that ‘Noah builded an altar’- and so - the new life of man on the earth began with an act of worship. This is the first record in the canon of Scriptures of Man building an altar. And so today we are in a sense continuing that primordial instinct or desire to recognise a power greater than ourselves - today we are going to create in this ‘Masonic Temple’ - a Lodge - dedicated to the presence and power of the Supreme Commander of the Universe. The Origin of the Order: The precise origins of the Royal Ark Mariner Degree are unknown. The earliest confirmed record of such a degree being specifically worked is 1790 in Bath, although the existence of Noachite traditions within the body of English Freemasonry is suggested as early as 1726. Whilst The Degree seems to have been practised in a variety of ways in a host of different Lodges, there was probably no Grand Lodge over the Degree. Today it is administered from Mark Masons Hall and is governed by the Grand Master’s Royal Ark Council. The Substance of the Order: As Royal Ark Mariners we need to be rather careful when we consider the family of Noah. There are two records of the genealogy of Noah, both recorded in Genesis – one in Chapter 4 and one in Chapter 5 - Brethren - it is from Chapter 5 that our Ritual and teaching is founded. Thus, we learn that, Noah is descended from Adam, being nine generations in descent from him. His half-brother was Tubalcain, who is well known to us as the First Artificer in metals. Noah was no mean craftsman either, which must have been a contributory factor in his being chosen by God for the task He set him - as the work and the skill required in designing and in building the Ark - by which mankind was to be preserved from perishing in the 'Universal Deluge' - would have been considerable. Indeed, some have seen the dedication and skill of Noah as a builder - with the enormous nature of the task and the importance of what he constructed - on God's direct orders, as comparable - or a least identifiable - with the magnificent construction of the centre-piece of Masonry - the building of King Solomon’s Temple. Like both Craft and Mark, the Ark Mariner Degree has reference to that great Masonic allegory of Building. However, in this degree, the issue is not so much how to build something, but our focus is directed to celebrate the Patriarch Noah in his construction of the Ark, which the ritual describes as an ‘Ark of Safety’. (For further information I commend to you the discourse entitled – ‘Did Noah ever have an Ark’ - written by our own Deputy Provincial Grand Master – John Oakley-Smith.) Just as the Craft and indeed the Mark Master Mason's Degree, are both based on an established fact - namely - the construction of the Temple at Jerusalem - so the Degree of Royal Ark Mariner is also based on an actual happening - the Great Flood, as recorded in the Bible and as verified in 1929 by archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley - who - not only found clear evidence of the flood, and established that it had occurred some 6000 years previously, but also proved that it had covered an area of some 4000 square miles of what was then Mesopotamia, now known as Iraq. To the people of that part of the world, who probably had never travelled beyond the perimeter of their own villages, it must have seemed that the whole world was under water. In our ceremony, analogies are drawn between the dangers of the flood and the dangers of life, and how we should strive to reach the 'Ark', the haven of rest, just as Noah's family and the other occupants of his Ark did, according to the account in the Bible. The degree above all celebrates the providence and mercy of God in saving Noah and his family from the destruction meted out to the rest of the population. Furthermore, it teaches the futility of relying on any human endeavour or expedient to escape divine justice without the direct instructions of the Almighty. Obedience to the Deity is not to be avoided, but is to be embraced. And so it is appropriate that today we – Dedicate – we set apart - we Consecrate this Royal Ark Mariners Lodge. The Creation of this Lodge: In considering the establishment of this New Royal Ark Mariner Lodge - We need to refer back to the forming of the Stanstead Abbots Mark Lodge: During the time that the late R W Bro Dennis Thomas was the Provincial Grand master, Bro’s Len Mellows and Ted Benebo recognised a potential for Mark Masonry at the Sawbridgeworth Masonic Centre. Five Craft lodges and a Royal Arch Chapter were meeting there, but there was no Mark Lodge. Following several years of sustained effort by Bro’s Len and Ted, thankfully our present Provincial Grand Master gave his blessing for the formation of Stanstead Abbotts Lodge of Mark Master Masons 1809, which was consecrated in May 2000. Bros Len Mellows and Ted Benebo always had in mind that sometime in the future, the formation of a Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners should logically follow. Largely due to the sustained efforts of these two brethren, and R W Bro Keith Emmerson, we meet today to fulfil the wish of the founders of Stanstead Abbotts Lodge of RAM. Our Application of The Teaching of the Order: Earlier we considered - the Rainbow, one of the two Symbols of the Order, and then the Altar that Noah built – the two are inextricably linked – for when Noah knelt and gave thanks to God for deliverance from the Deluge – God made a Covenant with Noah - A Covenant is more than just a promise. A Covenant is an agreement. God entered into a Covenant rather than a promise in order to give Noah a greater assurance and to declare that He had pledged himself irrevocably – God says ‘I do set my Bow in the cloud and it shall be for a token of a Covenant between me and the earth’ - Noah had seen the Rainbow many times before, but from that moment it was to stand as a reminder to him - and to all men - of God’s Covenant – God’s pledge - ‘that the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.’ And so we are about to Consecrate a New Lodge – A Lodge – which is a group of men - who are symbolically the ‘Keel’ of the Ark that we are creating today – a Keel or backbone of the structure - comprised of good men - men who acknowledge the existence of God - men of high regard - and men who - bound together - wish to build and launch - a new Lodge. I am reminded of the Prayer based on the words of Sir Francis Drake – a Great Mariner: “O Lord, when Thou givest Thy servants to endeavour any great matter, Grant us also to know that it is not the beginning - but the continuing of the same, until it be thoroughly finished - which yieldeth the true Glory.” There will, no doubt, be times when the Lodge, metaphorically – will pass through stormy waters – But our prayer is that it will know calm waters and safe passage to the harbour of safety and tranquillity. Charge: I charge the members of the Stanstead Abbotts Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners to ever be conscious of the significance of the rainbow and of the covenant you individually and collectively have embarked upon - and do all in your power to keep the Ark that is this Lodge sailing as a place of refuge and security so that each Ark Mariner will finally come to know the joy of reaching ‘safe harbour’ and the welcome of our Supreme Commander.
David M Sawyer |
© 2009 / 2010 The Provincial Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of Hertfordshire. All Rights Reserved. Updated:3rd August 2010 |
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