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What do you say when someone asks you what Royal Arch Freemasonry is and what it means to you?
Until now providing effective responses appears to have been a tough call, with a range of different answers to both parts of the question. That’s the view of Steve Roberts, Second Provincial Grand Principal, whose professional life included inspecting lifts and escalators, about which he knows a thing or two…
“Some of the answers I’ve heard are misguided, and some are simply wrong,” he says. “But all are delivered with sincerity, reflecting the beliefs of those answering the questions.”
But as part of the UGLE approach of ‘One organisation, one journey’ a simple document has been produced to help avoid confusion and provide the answers. Said Steve: “We’ve called it an ‘elevator pitch’; the kind of thing you might say to someone in a lift, when you’ve got to get the whole of an idea over to them in the brief window of opportunity before the lift stops at their floor and they get out.”
The pitch is based on the Discover More booklets which have been circulated to Royal Arch reps around the Province, and is intended to help make deliver consistent answers to questions about the Royal Arch throughout the Province. Steve said: “In answering questions about the Royal Arch it’s important that we’re clear, confident, and consistent in our answers, and that we don’t overwhelm people, but feed them information in bite-sized chunks.”
The ‘elevator pitch’ is being shared with the Province’s Royal Arch reps, and supports a guide produced for new members of the active Royal Arch team who’ll be appointed at the Provincial Grand Chapter meeting in May.
Steve added: “The messages within the Royal Arch are not always immediately apparent, so our role initially is to stimulate further interest and encourage brethren to find out for themselves by joining us in the Supreme Degree. We can be most effective in this task by responding to the question in a way that avoids overwhelming the Master Mason through our own enthusiasm.”
He added: “It’s important that we remember to highlight the benefits of Royal Arch Freemasonry to the individual; companionship, the splendour of the ceremony, and perhaps even learning a little bit more about themselves.”
