Brethren, the New Masonic Samaritan Fund was established in 1990 to fill a major gap in
Masonic Charity, namely the provision of hospital support to sick freemasons, their wives
or widows, children and dependants. The fund gives relief to those who are unable to
obtain treatment on the National Health Service without undue delay or hardship and who do
not have the ability to purchase private healthcare to relieve more quickly their
necessities.
The objective of the fund, therefore, is highly laudable and one that deserves our
generous and committed support because, sadly, it seems that there is an increasing number
of our Brethren and their dependants who find themselves sick and in difficult
circumstances.
This arises firstly because although, happily, the tendency today is to live longer,
the consequence is that things wear out more and require expensive hospital procedures to
correct. The NHS itself is, to some extent, a victim of its own success and we all
know that in spite of new funding, public expectation generally is increasing and waiting
lists follow suit. Secondly, life generally today is relatively unpredictable
and financially more demanding on all of us. This is particularly the case for the
elderly, who find the value of their savings being eroded as the cost of maintaining a
reasonable standard of living rises. Thus, when sickness strikes or the burden of
pain becomes unbearable, they find themselves unable to fund the high cost of
hospitalisation.
Such then is the purpose of the New Masonic Samaritan Fund but, being a new charity, it
is not yet endowed with investment income and must rely very heavily on a flow of cash
donations from The Craft to support its work. It is a credit to The Craft in general
that the New Masonic Samaritan Fund proudly boasts that no qualifying petitioner has been
refused treatment due to a lack of funds. Nevertheless, for the reasons that I
have stated, the demands and pressures of the Fund are constantly increasing and this is
why the 2007 Festival is so important.
Brethren, I am proud this Province is to hold a Festival for the New Masonic Samaritan
Fund.
