The Provincial Mentoring Scheme

Mentoring has been used successfully in industry for many years as a vital element in the development of employees. Grand Lodge is now encouraging the use of similar mentoring principles in Freemasonry to support the integration of new brethren into our lodges and to engage and retain their interest in our Order.

In 2004 the Provincial Grand Master introduced the Provincial Mentoring Programme. Its objectives are to ensure that new brethren are helped to understand Freemasonry and the obligations and rewards of membership. We trust that, by developing this understanding, new brethren will gain more personal satisfaction and enjoyment from their membership and be encouraged to contribute fully to Freemasonry in general and to the life of their lodges in particular.

When the scheme was started Lodge Mentors were appointed to co-ordinate the mentoring activities within lodges and, with the help of proposers and other individual personal mentors, they have helped to guide their new charges on the first part of their Masonic journey. Part of their toolkit is the series of mentoring booklets, developed by the Provincial Education Committee, which explain key facts of each new mason’s progress and development. These are presented at the relevant stages of their journey through the three degrees and help personal mentors to open conversations with their mentees.

The objectives of the programme cannot be achieved by Mentors alone. The mentoring task requires everyone to be involved for the programme to be fully effective, either directly within the Lodge, or as active support to the many initiatives in the Province. Lodges that achieve the mentoring objectives benefit from active, enthusiastic and committed members who are an asset to their Lodge and confident enough in their knowledge of Freemasonry to invite suitable friends to join as well.

In 2006 the Grand Superintendent in and over Berkshire implemented a complementary Mentoring programme in Royal Arch Chapters. Chapter Mentors were appointed to work in a somewhat similar way to their Craft counterparts – to encourage newly exalted companions to understand the principles and teaching of the Royal Arch and to engage them in the life of their Chapters. As the principles of good mentoring apply to Masons in all Masonic Orders, the sharing of the features in the Provincial Mentoring Scheme are welcome.

Since 2004 steady progress has been made in implementing mentoring principles throughout the Province with many positive results. Although much remains to be done to sustain the programme, with enthusiasm and commitment, we will achieve complete acceptance of the principle of mentoring and its associated benefits.

The inclusion of the Mentoring Scheme on the Provincial website will permit the sharing of current information, the notification of further developments of the programme, news of key events and of course the opportunity for constructive communications and feedback.

David Lewendon
Provincial Grand Mentor.