The Officers in a Craft Lodge

Craft lodge officers carry out the lodge's leadership, administration, welfare and ceremonial work. The account below describes practice under the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE); the governing rules and titles of other jurisdictions should be checked separately.

Responsibilities

The Worshipful Master leads the lodge. The Senior and Junior Wardens assist with its work and the orderly conduct of meetings. The Senior and Junior Deacons have supporting ceremonial duties.

The Secretary handles correspondence, meeting notices and administration. The Treasurer maintains the accounts and manages payments. The Almoner supports members who need help. These responsibilities continue between formal meetings.

The Tyler guards the meeting from outside the lodge room. UGLE lists the Inner Guard as a separate office.

Offices and selection under UGLE

Rule 104 lists nine regular officers: Master, two Wardens, Treasurer, Secretary, two Deacons, Inner Guard and Tyler. An Almoner and Charity Steward must also be appointed. Optional offices include Chaplain, Director of Ceremonies, Membership Officer, Mentor, Organist and Stewards.

The Master and Treasurer are elected annually. The Master appoints the Wardens, Deacons and other appointed officers. The Tyler has separate arrangements described in The Tyler. Advancement through offices is not an entitlement.

The Master's absence does not automatically put the Senior Warden in the chair. Rule 119 gives precedence to specified Installed Masters, beginning with the Immediate Past Master, and distinguishes ruling the lodge from conducting its business.

Welfare and charitable work

Welfare work includes helping members and families find appropriate assistance. The Masonic Charitable Foundation, operating as the Freemasons' Charity, offers grants and services covering financial hardship, health, care and education. It also provides a confidential Advice and Support Team. These are specialist services to which people can be directed; holding lodge office does not itself qualify someone to give medical or financial advice.

Almoners and Charity Stewards also receive training together. UGLE's account of the Suffolk conference in October 2024 records sessions on the Relief Chest scheme, Gift Aid and the work of charities receiving grants. Such meetings connect the raising of funds with an understanding of how assistance reaches its recipients.

Records and continuity

Minutes, accounts, summonses and correspondence also form a historical record of a lodge. The Museum of Freemasonry advises lodges on their preservation and on depositing older records with suitable repositories. Its guidance stresses that digitisation provides access copies and is not a reason to destroy originals. Maintaining these records allows later officers and researchers to establish what the lodge actually decided and did.

See also

• The Tyler
• The Layout of the Craft Lodge
• History of Masonic regalia
• Masonic regularity and recognition