Grand 1st Principal

INAUGURAL ADDRESS 

MOST EXCELLENT COMPANION
William Jeffrey (Jeff) Knight

GRAND FIRST PRINCIPAL – GRAND CHAPTER ROYAL ARCH MASONS OF ALBERTA

CONVOCATION – MAY 14, 2022

Most Excellent Companions, Grand Chapter Officers,
Distinguished Guests and all Companions of this Grand Chapter.
On this, the 108th Convocation of this Grand Chapter, I stand before you having
just a moment ago taken upon myself a solemn Obligation relating to the faithful
performance of the duties pertaining to this office of Grand First Principal. I am
filled with a feeling of humbleness, and at the same time a feeling of great pride,
and I am deeply grateful to the Companions of this Grand Chapter for the honour
that you have bestowed on me this afternoon. I pledge to do my very best to
prove your trust in me to be well founded.
I would first like to thank M.E. Comp. Gerald Tetzloff, my Installing “Z’, for his
efforts in assembling the Team of Officers who carried out the Ceremony of
Installation and Investiture this afternoon. To those who assisted him, thank you
all for your time and effort in making this Ceremony as dignified and meaningful
as it was. I also wish to thank MEC Rod Ponech for the honour of having him
obligate and install me in the Chair of Grand “Z”. Both Gerry and Rod have been
Masons and Companions who I have looked up to over the years. They have
helped in many ways, often unbeknownst to them, to guide me to where I am
today. I am humbled to have them as part of the installation team.
To my predecessor, MEC Gerald Waldern, I extend my appreciation for your
efforts during your term of office. Your dignity and integrity will be remembered
by this Grand Chapter. Your attention to the duties of the office of Grand “Z”,
during the pandemic and your constant consideration for the health and
wellbeing of all the Companions of this Jurisdiction was unwavering. On behalf of
this Grand Chapter, we thank you for staying the course.
I now accept the Sceptre of this high office, with humbleness, and an immense
feeling of gratitude at the faith which has been placed in me to carry this Grand
Chapter forward. I shall attempt to uphold that trust during the course of my
duties by demonstrating good leadership, patience, understanding and
acceptance. I wish to congratulate, the Grand Chapter Officers who have been
Installed and Invested today. I look forward to working with every one of you
during our time in office together.
Many Challenges face our Royal Craft, today, as they have in the past. But
Companions, the work we have before us for the coming year in Capitular
Masonry is enough to keep us more than busy. In some cases, it will be a tough
hill to climb. I am not referring to just the Grand Chapter Officers, or the Officers
of our constituent Chapters. If we are going to maintain this fraternity as we
recover and move back to the quarries, it will require the effort and support of
every Royal Arch Mason within this jurisdiction. It will require patience as we pick
our way through the rubble to find the pillars again and get our Chapters back on
their feet. It will take understanding as we determine how best to meet the
challenges of today, whether they be in the way we do business going forward, or
how we maintain the fundamentals of our Royal Craft while still ensuring a safe
and a fulfilling environment for all our Companions. But most of all, it will take
acceptance. Acceptance of the fact that we are not all the same and we are not
all going to bounce back from the last two years in the same way or at the same
rate, or even perhaps, some of us may not bounce back or return to Chapter at
all. We need to reach out to each other, help each other and most of all respect
each other. Capitular Masonry has withstood the trials of the past 275+ years and
we will do it again. Masonry can still be the bulwark that is needed to move
beyond what is still unknown about our future. Let’s work together, positively
and joyfully, to ensure that this Royal Craft, that we love, this family of Masons
and Companions, is strengthened and enriched in the months and years to come.