Lodge Gleniffer 1219

Lodge Gleniffer was created on 6th May 1920 by a number of Brethren mostly members of Paisley St Mirrin’s and Renfrew County Kilwinning. The first meeting was held in the Star Hotel in Paisley and a number of names considered however the founding members eventually selected the name Gleniffer, taken from the hills which are on the southern boundary of the town. One major decision taken by the founder members was that the Lodge was to be dry so that no alcohol was served at any function of the Lodge – a matter which remained the case until 1970 when the Provincial Grand Master of the day ruled that item of the bye-laws unconstitutional!

One other major decision by our founding fathers was to adopt a motto for the Lodge: Ne Vile Fano. This, translated from Latin, means bring nothing base to the Temple. That is a very high ideal and affects all aspects of our Masonic life and our speech so that improper language is challenged as it should be. Our members do not always reach that high ideal but we still strive to meet it.

For the first three decades of its life, the Lodge held its meeting in High Street, sharing premises with two of our sister Lodges: Paisley St James 1116 and Craigielea 1218. It is remarkable that one of our Sister Lodges and closest friends, Craigielea, was created by Grand Lodge on the same day together with Lodges between the numbers 1212 and 1219 others being in Avoch, Ullapool, Glasgow and Maybole. In 2003, the Lodges created on the same day came together for the first time – something they hope to continue over the years.

Gleniffer, like all of its Sister Lodges, had its problems in the late 1920’ and 1930s but with the Second World War and beyond with the national desire to hold on to all that was traditional, the 1940s and 1950s had a large upsurge of members. A perusal of the Lodge minute books of the time shows a real optimism – sometimes almost bordering on arrogance! Change was not a concept much considered, why should one so consider it when every first degree had seven and then five new members with a waiting list stretching into at least one year? It was that kind of optimism which led to the three Lodges 1116, 1218 and 1219 purchasing the present Temple in 1957 but as a entertainer of the 1960s was to sing “the times they are a changing” – not quickly but changing they were. The 1970s however saw a brief revival in membership, committee membership, largely base on the well remembered jubilee celebrations in 1970 and so yet any need for major change was never considered. It was however in the late 1970s and early 1980s that the Lodge began to undertake seriously the task of asking the membership a series of questions: why are some of you not attending as you promised to do, what has prevented you from taking office in the Lodge, is there anything that the Lodge can do to improve communication between you and the Lodge. With the change in Gleniffer Bye-Laws about the sale of alcohol a license was obtained by the Lodge but a number of staunch members were also lost by this major change and thirty years on some have never returned; a sad loss.

In 1981, a further period of enthusiasm, the three owner Lodges surrendered their licenses and created the Maxwellton Masonic Social Club with a belief that this was a new era and that the Club would solve all financial problems: dream on! Too often the Brethren of Gleniffer, and most lodges, forget that a Lodge survives largely through the work and sound practice of its members – everything else is a bonus but cannot get in the way of hard Masonic work and principles. It became easy to sit back and not work as we should have done and so by the time of the Lodge’s 75th anniversary it became obvious that things were not as they should be. Older Past master’s compared that ceremony to the 1970 Jubilee even if some of them were young office-bearers at the 1970 event. Younger members and office-bearers were retuning from visits to other Lodges and saying “why doesn’t this or that happen in our Lodge?” Inevitably it was financial matters that brought sense back into the equation and the payment of a brewer’s loan for the Club.

The Master of the day invited all members to a special meeting and asked a question: do we surrender the Charter or seek a different way forward for the Lodge? The answer was not straightforward but it demanded an honest answer. We had the option of inviting representatives from Provincial Grand Lodge to assist us: we decided against that in the belief that if we could to resolve the problems, no-else could. Not every Lodge has that option but we did. Frankly although money brought our plight to the fore but money was not the real issue; we had and have a number of members with their own business or in senior posts in public institutions who could and would have paid the bills. After a lengthy and sometimes heated not blame-free meeting, we did the normal Masonic thing and created a sub-committee but unusually it was a committee of 2 with powers to co-opt and not a senior office-bearer in sight. That was probably against every known Grand Lodge law but here are times when you have to be adventurous!

The Committee became known as the Strategy Committee and it set out the problem issues under four headings: Finance, Education, Progression in Office and Planning and these four are still very much to the fore in Gleniffer practice. Some of the ideas tried out were as follows:

Finance – a proper Lodge budget was created so that we had income against a known expenditure. Members were and are asked to sponsor each harmony so that income from harmonies adds to Lodge income. Members are asked to consider annually the level of giving to the Lodge and if they are not there to think what they would have given if they were present.

Education – creation of a standing committee to revise the Lodge ritual and improve the instruction class. Remind the Lodge that meetings should be about more than degrees: Masonic teaching is an important matter for every member.

Progression – no man should be expected to progress to the Wardens chairs before they have a sound grasp of ritual.

Planning – This was a weakness. We had to stop the cycle of 1, 2, 3 a Mark and a night off for good behaviour – we called it an Installation! The Lodge decided that before a Notice of Motion about anything came to the floor the reason for the change would be discussed in the Lodge – another item probably not entirely Constitutional but it works. A proposal was brought forward to meet monthly with no recess. This was not wholly welcomed but was implemented and it is doubtful if anyone would wish return to the old pattern.

Much has happened and is happening in Gleniffer with changes we hope are for the better. Since 1995 we have become again part of the Masonic movement and not one of its monuments. We are now in contact with even more Lodges in our Province and with Lodges in Cincinnati, in Tiree, in many parts of Ayrshire, and in Lancashire. We have added meaningfully to our Honorary Members list not least by the inclusion of Brother Reverend Joe Morrow.

By God’s Grace, we intend still intend to bring nothing base to His Temple.