Chapter meeting Facebook post gets traction in America
Less than 48 hours after being taken and published on Facebook, a picture captured at Lincolnshire’s Provincial Grand Chapter meeting has been attracting interest in America, where it’s been shared by Freemasons in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Texas.
The picture is of Steve Roberts, the Province’s Second Provincial Grand Principal, and John Elliott, who’d been appointed as Third Provincial Grand Principal only minutes earlier. Although they’d wanted to be photographed with MEGS Dave Wheeler, they settled for the Province’s imp, who, in an earlier incarnation, had been seen by thousands in a street art project in the city of Lincoln in support of the St Barnabas Hospice.
The picture was captured by Chris Jones, the Province’s round-Britain walker, who is currently 3,000 miles in to a his sponsored walk of at least 7,000 miles in aid of the Masonic Charitable Foundation, but had returned to Lincolnshire for a number of Lodge meetings.
News of the picture’s fame spreading to North America has been greeted with much good-natured banter at home. John’s friends on the Province’s Membership Forum WhatsApp group, set up as an ‘idea exchange’ to promote good practice in support of The Membership Challenge, have weighed in with lots of comments, including requests for his autograph (on a twenty pound note), queries about American tour dates, and a question about which of the three is John…
The serious side to John’s appointment is that he’s been entrusted with the task of promoting the Archway project in Lincolnshire, lifting the profile of the resource in engaging members and growing Chapters. John is also a member of the Province’s Chapter Focus Group which is working to raise the profile of the Royal Arch and its representatives in Craft Lodges as part of the ‘One Journey, One Organisation’ message.
Provincial Communications Officer Stuart Pearcey said: “The Imp raised the profile of Freemasonry in general and in Lincolnshire in particular when he first appeared; it’s good to see that he still has the power to attract attention worldwide, showing not only the good done by Freemasons in serving our communities, but just how much fun Freemasons have whilst doing it.”
