Grand Lodge Of Manitoba

MOST WORSHIPFUL GRAND MASTER

Most Worshipful Bro. Jose Constante (Chibu) Sison Uson

2011 Inaugural Speech

Distinguished East, Honored Guests, Brethren All, Ladies, Family & Friends,

First of all, I express my gratitude to MWB Steve Kane and to the Installation Team for an excellent job.

Secondly, I thank the Manitoba Brethren for entrusting to me the leadership of our Jurisdiction for this coming Masonic Year. Rest assured that I will do my best in representing and serving our beloved Fraternity and Jurisdiction.

I congratulate our Immediate Past Grand Master, MWB Kris Goodmanson, for his leadership and guidance during the past Masonic Year. His life can now return to normal. I thank last year’s Elected and Appointed Grand Lodge Officers, District Deputy Grand Masters and Board of General Purposes Members for their support to the Immediate Past Grand Master and to the Grand Lodge.

Special congratulations to this year’s Elected and Appointed Grand Lodge Officers and Members of the Board of General Purposes. I thank you for committing to serve our Fraternity at the Grand Lodge level. I look forward to serving with you during this Masonic Year.

At this point, I would like to present an outline of my vision and major objectives for my term in the Grand East.

On Masonic Education, Mentoring & Technology

These are exciting times. Younger men are petitioning for membership in and are being accepted into Freemasonry throughout the world, including Manitoba. As you know, a generation basically skipped getting into our Craft. But now, we have younger men knocking at the door of Freemasonry and being accepted by the Lodges.

These younger men are our present and, if we do well, will be our future. They have expectations from our beloved Fraternity and can be quite unforgiving if these expectations are not met. If we are not successful in providing their needs and wants, they will just be our past and there might not be Freemasonry in the future.

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The challenge to all of us is to ensure that we meet, if not, exceed their expectations. These younger men are looking for opportunities for personal improvement, interesting and efficient meetings, fellowship and family-related events. Some of them are looking for the pageantry and meaning of our various ceremonies. Some are looking for opportunities to give back to the community.

We say that “Freemasonry makes good men better.” However, we must remember that our Fraternity is not for everyone. We have to make certain that we are vigilant in ensuring that those who are allowed to enter the door of Freemasonry are worthy and well qualified. And when they are accepted into the Lodges, we must use all available tools and resources to enable them to learn as much of our Craft and Jurisdiction. We do have a lot tools and resources already available. We only have to use them effectively. This year, we will undertake a review of these various resources to ensure that they continue to be relevant.

The mentoring or counselor program is an excellent tool. It not only benefits the mentee but also the mentor. It provides an opportunity for the new Brother and his family to bond with his mentor and his family.

We will look into using how best to deliver Masonic Education to the Lodges and Brethren. We will look at alternative ways of providing Education and Learning to help ensure Membership Retention and Development.

With the increasing availability of and continuing improvements in technology, we will look at how best to use technology in operating our Lodges and the Grand Lodge. It will include, among others, the management of the website and, possibly, the preparation and sending out of an electronic newsletter. We will have Masonic Education correspondence courses, both online and in hard copy. To look into these matters, I am creating a Technology Committee, with RWB Ludo Grollé as the Chairman.

I encourage the DDGM’s and others representing the Grand Master to deliver talks containing Masonic Education when they visit Lodges. I also encourage Lodges to invite the JRC Evans Lecturer to present his paper. We will look at having the presentation made available on the Internet so Lodges away from Winnipeg will have an opportunity to see and hear it.

On Having fun and Family Involvement

We know that successful Lodges are those that have fun. That is part of the mission. If it stops being fun, then the activity and events become chores and the work becomes harder to do.

Some Lodges and Districts have Masonic Quizzes. Now that is an excellent way of learning and having fun doing so. I encourage all Lodges and Districts to continue or start holding these Quizzes.

We also know that some of the successful Lodges have their families involved in Lodge activities and events. This will help ensure the continued interest and active participation of the Brethren and the support of our wives, significant others and children. It will also help to ensure that the Brother has Freemasonry as a way of life. For the benefit of our non-Masonic guests, Freemasonry as a way of life entails using the basic tenets and principles of Freemasonry as guides for our daily life. A Freemason’s life then becomes an unending quest for perfection and understanding. Freemasonry is the journey and not the destination. Freemasonry is doing good and being a better husband, a better father, a better neighbor, a better citizen, a better employee, a better employer, a better someone, just because.

On Youth

This year, we will increase our focus on the youth. It is our obligation to help ensure that our youth are provided with opportunities for personal development and learning valuable life-skills which will help make them responsible and better youth and, later, adults and citizens.

I urge everyone to continue supporting our two Masonic Youth Organizations, the International Order of Job’s Daughters and the International Order of DeMolay, two (2) of the world’s premier youth organizations. I encourage the Brethren and Ladies to attend the Job’s Daughters and DeMolay meetings, support and attend their social events, get involved as Advisors and volunteer workers, promote the organizations and invite other youth to join. You can help make a positive difference in the lives of these young women and men and, in the process, enrich your own life.

We will also look into other youth-related projects, such as security or ID programs and notification modes.

To this end, I am creating a Youth Service Committee, with RWB Doug Webster as the Chairman. This Committee will also provide oversight and any needed coordination for youth-related initiatives or projects such as youth service through sports.

On the Manitoba Masonic Family

We have a very cooperative and supportive Masonic Family here in Manitoba. We are extremely proud to have excellent working relationships and cooperation within the Manitoba Masonic Family. We will continue working together as a Family and to be more visible in the community. Individually and collectively, we contribute to the community our time, talent and treasure. But we do not seek recognition for our community service. As I mentioned earlier, we do good just because.

Expanding the Engagement with Canadian Cancer Society

We will expand our engagement with Canadian Cancer Society as there are other opportunities to support and work with them. For example, we have Relay for Life, which is more than just a fundraiser. It is an opportunity to get together with family and friends and celebrate cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost to cancer and fight back in the hope of finding a cure for cancer.

At this point, I thank the various Lodges and Concordant & Appendant Bodies I belong to for their continuing support.

Capitol Lodge No 136

Fil-Can Cabletow Lodge No 189 – Special thanks to the Ladies

Castle Island Lodge UD

Khartum Komedians

Queen Winnipeg Chapter No 1, OES

Valley of Winnipeg, AASR

Winnipeg Conclave No 4, OSM

I thank the Filipino, Filipino-American and Filipino-Canadian Brethren who came here and be part of this exciting occasion. Special thanks to the visiting Grand Masters and Grand Lodge Officers of other Jurisdictions, especially those from my Mother Grand Lodge, the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Philippines. I am deeply honored to follow the footsteps of MWB Oscar Jayme, PGM of the GL of Hawaii, 2008 and MWB Santy Lascano, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of Washington. MWB Oscar is the first from the Philippines to serve as a Grand Master of a Jurisdiction outside the Philippines. MWB Santy is the first from the Philippines to serve as a Grand Master of a Jurisdiction in Mainland U.S.A.

Like MWB Oscar, MWB Santy and the other ranking Freemasons with ties to the Philippines, I am honored and humbled to represent the Brethren who have roots in the Philippines and are laboring in the Masonic fields outside the Philippines. Rest assured that I will do my best to be an examplar of Freemasonry and represent not only the Manitoba Brethren but also all those who have ties to the Philippines.

A very special thank you to the Brethren from my Mother Lodge, Capitol City Lodge No 174, specially VW Bro Roy Chu, who was the Worshipful Master when I received the degrees of Freemasonry. He says that he still remembers the painful look on my face during my Raising. The Brethren from Capitol City Lodge No 174 who are here came from the four corners of the U.S.A. – San Francisco, California; Houston, Texas; Champaign, Illinois; and Jersey City, New Jersey.

I remember my parents. Papa was a Freemason of Hiram Lodge No 88, MW Grand Lodge of the Philippines and Mama supported his involvement. Both of them supported my getting into the Craft.

Lastly, I give very special thanks to my family. Thank you for your continuing and unconditional support and love.

Thank you, Anna & Mikey, my favourite daughter and my favourite son, respectively. While every parent hopes to have a good child, Mae & I am blessed to have two great ones.

And last but not least, Mae, my lovely ex-girl friend and my wife of 27-1/2 years. I am very blessed to have you by my side, every step of the way. These coming 12 months will be one of the most interesting and memorable chapters of our lives. Thank you, Mae, for your understanding, support and counsel. I love you dearly.

Finally, Brethren of Manitoba, thank you again for giving me this unique opportunity to serve you and our Grand Jurisdiction. I exhort all of you to continue to help spread the word about Freemasonry as a Way of Life. It is an excellent Way of Life. It has a glorious past with a lot of legacy. But we cannot live in the past. However, the past will be our inspiration. The present is our responsibility. And the future is our obligation. I pledge to do my best for this Jurisdiction. As Grand Master, I beg to remain your most obedient servant.

Thank you, all, for your patience and attention.