Ayrshire Young Masons’ Assn

History was made in the Province of Ayrshire recently. On June 17th, 2022, the Provincial Grand Master of Ayrshire Brother William C. Steel, officially inaugurated Ayrshire’s first ever Young Masons’ Association.

During the pandemic and after several lockdowns, Brother William Rowan of Lodge St. Thomas Kilwinning Dalmellington, submitted a proposal to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Ayrshire to have a Young Masons’ Association started in the Province. On returning to regular Lodge meetings in September of 2021 Brother Rowan approached the Provincial Grand Master personally to float the Idea and vision. Brother Rowan said “The idea was born out of an observation of dwindling numbers within Freemasonry in Scotland (and beyond), especially with younger generation of men in a fast paced, ever changing and challenging society.”

After the conversation with the PGM, Brother Rowan was assigned a contingent of younger PGL Brethren to assist and advise on the best way forward for the association, two of whom are now age-related qualified members. With a lot of hard work and fine polishing the AYM association submitted the final draft of their Constitution to the PGL, which was accepted at the February 2022 communication. At the same meeting Depute Provincial Grand Master and Depute Grand Master of Scotland Brother James Bell proposed a £1000 financial endorsement to help kick start and provide the PGL’s support to the association.

Brother Rowan said “The Provincial Grand Lodge’s buy-in and support is something that I wanted to achieve from the outset and has proved to be fundamentally important. This idea could have been fulfilled without their support, but we would not have been able to achieve the scale, professionalism, and status I had hoped for. The constitution, for example, could have been written on the back of a fag packet and it could merely have been a group of young masons In the province getting together with no formal structure to it, but that was not the vision.”

A working committee of Brethren duly elected from the membership, by the membership was then formed to act on behalf of the association alongside the PGL advisory group. The committee takes the form of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer (trustees) and three other elected Brethren to serve as general committee members (shown). This committee will work hard to provide the association with its road map for future events, Lodge visitations, Educational programmes and Charitable work.

The AYM Chairman, Brother Rowan said “The association will primarily function within three distinct spheres, Social, Charitable and Educational, all the while acting under the auspices of the Constitution and Laws of the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the bye-laws of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Ayrshire. This association, however, potentially has the power to achieve so much more. My hope is that it will also help to retain young members of the craft, increase visitations to Lodges in the province and beyond,

and potentially bring a lot more suitable young men through the doors of our Lodges.”

The Ayrshire Young Masons association was officially inaugurated by the Provincial Grand Master, Brother William C. Steel on June 17th , 2022. On this occasion, the constitution was officially adopted and signed off by the PGM, Chairman and Secretary. The membership received their membership cards and new AYM ties. This was also a fundraising occasion with the theme of a “Gala Night, At the Races” and it was a roaring success with funds being raised in excess of £2000 which will later be dispersed to local charities that are in need.

The Chairman, Brother Rowan said “Our Gala Night, At the Races” was a momentous occasion and tremendous success, that marked history in the Province. The success of this event fills us with hope that there are great things to come from the association in the future. We currently have a membership of over 80 Brethren from twenty-seven Lodges in the Province and that number continues to grow, which is a huge positive. It is our hope to have representatives from all Lodges in due course.”

For further information on the AYM association please use the QR code which will direct you to their information pack or to get in contact via email at ayrshireyoungmasons@gmail.com.

The Chairman’s closing remarks “We have a real opportunity to make a significant difference in our Province with the new generation of young Freemasons coming through. During my term as Chairman, I want to highlight Masonic education, not only the generic history of our Scottish Craft but delve into such things like Masonic etiquette, walk through the degrees and teach them the knowledge that they might otherwise not get in their Lodges. This might take the form of mentorship programmes, Lectures, and interactional talks from senior Brethren of our Craft. In turn, this might turn out to be a method of bullet-proofing them for their future endeavours in Freemasonry and will hopefully instil in our members a confidence that will encourage them to take up offices in their Lodges. This will not only help them, but the Lodges they belong to and our craft in general.” My thanks to Bro. Will Rowan for the article.

Ayrshire Masonic Bursary

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The University of Glasgow used to hold Bursary Exams where the top 100 would received money from the university. These became considerable and often used for holidays in recent times (1980s) by students . . . However, when instituted they were vital and the Province of Ayrshire supplemented them:

1892