District Secretary User Guide
Last edited: October 22, 2026
This guide explains how an authorized District Secretary uses the Royal Arch Masons Ontario website, the shared administrative interface and District-owned management workflows.
1. Signing in and the primary menu
Sign in with your approved account. District Secretaries use the common signed-in navigation: WP Admin, GC Events, Chapter Events, Grand Chapter Organization, Directory, Forms, Log Out and Help. WP Admin is available through governed administrative access.
Practice: Identify the shared menu options and locate WP Admin.
2. Opening WP Admin and GCO2
Open WP Admin and use the approved GCO2 entry point. The shared administration menu provides access to tools according to the office assignment and authorized scope. Having access to GCO2 does not automatically authorize every administrative operation.
Practice: Locate Event Management and Resource Management without changing any records.
3. Confirming your assigned District
Before managing information, verify that the interface is operating within your assigned District. District authority is determined by the current governed office assignment and the ownership of the record being managed.
Practice: Identify your District and confirm its context in the available management tools.
4. Understanding District Secretary authority
A District Secretary may manage District-owned events within the assigned District through the authorized workflow. This does not grant permission to create, edit, cancel or delete Chapter-owned social events, regular meetings or Official Visits.
District Secretaries may be guests at Chapter events, but attendance or participation does not change event ownership or confer Chapter administrative authority.
Practice: Identify which event records belong to the District and which belong to individual Chapters.
5. Managing District-owned events
Use the governed Event Management interface to create or maintain authorized District-owned events. The workflow reuses the same event form patterns as Chapter management, but the record must retain its District ownership. Complete the form, save, reopen the event and confirm the recorded details.
Related procedure: How do I create an event?
Practice: Open the District event listing and locate its available Create, Edit and other authorized actions. Do not modify a live event during this orientation exercise.
6. Resource Management and other tools
District Secretaries can access governed Resource Management within their approved permissions. Review the applicable library and resource scope before making changes. Resource versions are retained, and uploading a different version does not itself authorize activation.
Use Directory, Forms and organizational information according to the permissions provided by the website. A visible record is not necessarily editable.
Practice: Locate Resource Management and distinguish viewing information from an authorized editing action.
Related Resource Management procedures
- How do I create a resource?
- How do I deactivate a resource?
- How do I edit a resource?
- How do I find a resource?
- How do I upload a resource revision?
7. Saving and verifying changes
After an authorized update, reopen the saved record and verify its details. When appropriate, check the public Chapter Events listing to confirm that a District-owned event is displayed with the correct classification and District ownership.
Review the available audit history where the workflow provides one. Public event pages should not expose administrative author or editor names.
Practice: Identify where saved District event information can be reviewed.
8. Help and troubleshooting
If a workflow or record is unavailable, verify the signed-in account, the current District office assignment, the event or resource ownership and the approved action scope. Do not bypass authorization restrictions.
Grand Chapter calendar events are managed externally through the shared Google Calendar. District Event Management does not administer that calendar.
All Help material is publicly readable, but reading an administrative guide does not grant its permissions.
Learning checklist
- I can identify the shared menu and access GCO2.
- I can confirm my assigned District.
- I understand District-owned versus Chapter-owned events.
- I can locate District Event Management.
- I understand the shared event form workflow.
- I can locate Resource Management within my permissions.
- I know how to save and verify changes.
- I understand the limits of District Secretary authority.
