INSTALLATION TEAM UPDATE.

22/01/12.

As most members are aware there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes by both the V.M.M.A. and Grand Lodge to sort out the issue of dress for our Installation Team.

Before going into detail on this subject it is first necessary to clear up a few other matters. The current Grand Master and the Grand Master Elect have given their absolute assurance of support to the V.M.M.A. via the Grand Secretary during a meeting on 04/10/11 and again via the Grand Inspector of Workings during a meeting on the 22/01/12. Should anyone hear otherwise they can confidently dismiss it as either misinformation or coming from people who perhaps have their own issues with Grand Lodge or the V.M.M.A...

We were also given absolute assurance at both of these meetings that our ‘approved dress’ for official visits remains the same and is not in question and again has the support of Grand Lodge.

At both meetings it was stressed that Grand Lodge does not believe the V.M.M.A. has ever brought Freemasonry into any disrepute nor has it generated any negative publicity, quite the opposite in fact.

The support of the V.M.M.A. towards Grand Lodge is also not in question.

The Caledonian Installation Team DO NOT have approval to wear kilts instead of dinner suit or tails, they did, however, have authority to wear them on one occasion and this has now been done and they are now subject to exactly the same dress codes as every other Installation Team.

There has been rumour about us leaving Grand Lodge in the ‘lurch’ by pulling out of the Bendigo City installation only four days before it was due to go ahead. Simply put this is completely untrue, the Grand Secretary and Grand Lodge were fully aware of our position in this regard, at no time did we say or even suggest we would perform in dinner suits, only in leathers. The fact is it took a week longer than the expected 48 hours for a decision on the compromise suggested by the Grand Secretary to come from Grand Lodge after our meeting with him and Bruce Cowie on the 4^th of October 2011. This brought it up to four days, but during this entire period we maintained we could not perform in dinner suits as this was unacceptable to our members.  

Now these are out of the way we can give a report on a meeting that took place on 22/01/12 in Yarra Glen between John Osborne, Grand Inspector of Workings, Robert Van Lunenburg, V.M.M.A. Installation Team Leader & David Hall, V.M.M.A. Committee Member and author of this report.

The meeting began and ended positively even though the outcome was not what either party hoped for. John had done a lot of background work formulating a compromise we all hoped would solve the impasse over the wearing of leathers in place of tails or dinner suit by our team members at installations. Briefly this involved us wearing a dinner suit at our next installation and should our work have proved to be of acceptable standard then a review of our dress code could then take place. It needs to be stressed at this point the standard of our work has never been in question especially as we had already undergone a  thorough and rigorous training programme to bring us up to a standard that is acceptable to Grand Lodge. It may be of interest to members to learn that at least three members who were involved in the V.M.M.A. training have accepted invitations to join the 2012/2013 active Grand Team. Our training programme was completed in good faith before we had any knowledge of change to the long standing policy by the Grand Master to our approved dress code.

Members of the team may recall that during the build up to the second meeting we contacted as many members of the team as possible and sought the support of each person for it to go ahead. This we received overwhelmingly but with the condition we did not ‘sell our soul’ i.e.; under no circumstances exchange leathers for dinner suit, not negotiable.

John Osborne’s compromise was also not negotiable as he believed that only by us accepting it would the Grand Master Elect consider further changes to Grand Lodge’s Installation Team dress code.

During the meeting Rob & I were reminded of our absolute acquiescence we had given on the occasion we became Masters Elect to unquestionably obey every edict from Grand Lodge and pay homage to the Grand Master and his successors and to not instigate change within the Craft. This has, on reflection made the author question his judgement on the three occasions I have made this commitment, but nevertheless I have done it, as has every member of our team on at least one occasion, and while we remain Past Masters we are bound by it as honourable men.

Rather than break our solemn and binding obligation as Masters Elect we had no choice but to immediately scrap the V.M.M.A. Installation Team. John reluctantly accepted our decision with genuine regret. This should be an indication to all of us how far Grand Lodge was prepared to go to have our team operational again.

We take this opportunity to thank John and Grand Lodge for the work that has been done and the willingness and enthusiasm they have shown in meeting with us on a number of occasions and trying to find a mutually acceptable outcome. I end this report by stressing the door is wide open in both directions should either party wish to start discussions again.