Greetings Brethren,
We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. We are now progressing full speed ahead into the new year and new decade. The holidays are a time of refresh and renewal, not only of our personal selves but relationships such as family, friendships and fraternity. As we move into 2020 your Lodge officers will work hard to bring growth to our lodge through fraternal, social and community activities.
This holiday season we continued our support for It’s A Candy Coated Christmas, a group which helps provide holiday celebration for underprivileged children who might not otherwise be able to experience it. Although our schedule did not allow us to help with their wrapping party this year we were able to raise funds to help support their efforts.
We are also continuing our efforts to identify a charity to partner with and provide ongoing support. It is my hope that this decision will be made in January so that we can plan some initial efforts to help with their cause.
Now that the holiday season is past we will restart our regular ritual study club on the Wednesdays before each stated meeting (typically the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays) at 7pm. While this is an officer practice session it is open to all Master Masons who would like to join us and learn more about Masonic ritual.
For the past four years your Lodge has been one of only a small number in the state to attain the Gold ritual award. We again plan to pursue this goal in 2020. The Bronze and Silver awards can be done mostly with our officers and regular attendees but the Gold award requires the support and participation of many brothers. Please be on the lookout for more information and a request for assistance as we move toward that goal. Attendance at our study clubs will help with that effort as well.
In the next couple months we will focus on completing degree work for a number of brothers. At this time we have three Entered Apprentices and one Fellowcraft who are ready to advance. This is a great challenge to have, but lodge and candidate schedules have proven challenging recently. We will work on getting all of these brothers raised to the degree of Master Mason in the coming months. This may include a possible special meeting for third degrees. We are scheduled to confer at least one, and possibly two second degrees on Thursday, January 16, 2020.
With the new lodge year we have also fully embraced the Grand Lodge mentoring program for all new candidates. When a candidate is elected we will designate a more experienced brother Master Mason to meet with them between each degree, review the content of the Grand Lodge mentoring program, answer questions and build personal relationships. We hope this helps new brothers better understand our fraternity and its values and traditions.
Due to some schedule conflicts I have had to miss the last two stated meetings. One was due to my DDGL duties and the other a travel conflict. I would like to thank Bro. Doug Jonesi, our Senior Warden, for capably stepping up to fill the role as lodge Master in my absence, as well as others for stepping in to fill resulting open spots. This is not something that is easy to do, and I understand that Doug and the team performed admirably. This is a testament to the dedication and professionalism of our lodge officers.
As a reminder we now have a family dinner before the second stated meeting each months (3rd Thursday). We skipped December due to the annual blood drive, but will be back in January. Please come out and join us on the 3rd Thursday at 6:30pm and bring the family. The lodge provides the entrée and we ask those attending to bring sides and desserts. The prior dinners have been well attended and proved to be very enjoyable events.
With the new year many of us make new resolutions and commitments. If you have not attended lodge in a while we ask that you make a new years resolution to join us regularly in 2020. Attendance is the lifeblood of the lodge and we need your support to survive and thrive. We have changed up some things on lodge meeting nights which we believe provides a more entertaining and rewarding experience. Plus it’s a great opportunity to visit with brothers, catch up and stay informed. If it’s been a while since you attended don’t let that stop you. We’d love to see our brothers and can help you with whatever you need to join us for meetings. If driving is a challenge please contact me or WB Hank Bedsaul, our lodge secretary and we can help with transportation.
Raytown Lodge meets the 1st and 3rd Thursdays each month at 7:30pm. Dinner is served at 6:30pm. Please come join us.
Fraternally,
Rick Kingcade
Worshipful Master