Brethren,
It has been some time since I have posted a trestleboard and for that I apologize. Many things have happened in Raytown #391 and in Missouri Masonry since we have last communicated. We lost a great brother mason this month. WB Chriss L. Green Jr. passed away. The lodge had a great showing to send WB Green on his way to “that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”.
The lodge has been active so far this month. On June 2nd, we had our third trip to Frontier Justice. As always, it was a good time and great comradery. On June 3rd, several Raytown brothers and I assisted Lee’s Summit Lodge with their MOCHIP program during Lee’s Summit Downtown Days. MOCHIP events are always a good time and I can think of no better use of my Saturday then to help prevent a child abduction. My thanks to the brothers and their families that gave of their weekend to assist with this endeavor. Don’t forget that on June 17th, we will be having our classic car and bike show at the lodge. Please bring out all of your toys to show off to the masses. Lastly in the way of “fun” June events, should anyone find themselves in Lee’s Summit on the evening of June 23rd, and you happen to see a tall, thin, bearded guy in a cape running around Unity Village, please wave. It’s your friendly neighborhood WM, trying to put another smile on a little girl’s face.
The fireworks tent goes up at the end of this month. Brothers, do not forget that this is the single largest fundraiser we have for the year. It is a long 8-10 days, but it is the mainstay of what keeps our lodge solvent. I implore you to assist and sign up, if even for a few hours. Remember, the less spots we fill the less money we have to refill our coffers.
The lodge continues to make a name for itself again. My thanks to WB Holbrook. While he may not have started us down the path to ritual excellence, he certainly helped to stoke the fires in the lodge again to get the gold award in his year. I am very proud to reiterate to any brothers who have not attended lodge lately that we have achieved the gold award again! This is due to all of the brethren giving of their time and putting forth much effort to practice and hone our craft. Well done brothers!
The gold award achievement brings me to my next topic. Brethren, we have again become a ritual lodge. Our lodge members are constantly being pulled to other lodges to help them with degree work and you should be proud of this. I have noticed this before, but after all the traveling during my time in the East, it is evident that our lodge has become a shining example of what study and hard work can accomplish. Taking this a step further, it has been brought up that our regalia is not an accurate reflection of the lodge we have become. Our jewels are in need of service or replacement and our aprons have lost their luster. A few RWBs have informed me that our aprons are upwards of 30 years old! They have served their time with distinction, and should be retired as such. It does not escape me that replacing all of our aprons and jewels would be a costly endeavor. Nor am I suggesting that the lodge take funds out of its accounts to do a mass replacement. We are investigating ideas as to the best course of action. Whether we buy a few jewels at a time over a period of years, or do some spot purchases, this will eventually need to be done. It may not be in my year in the East but the problem will not rectify itself. From my time in federal service, I have learned many things. One is that talk is cheap (or words are wind, depending on who makes the statement) and you should always lead from the front. So, here are my thoughts on that: I will be donating $50.00 to the lodge to put towards the purchase (when we decide the best way to do it) or replacement of our tired jewels and aprons. In addition, I will also be donating any money put into the “donations jar” (or Master’s fund) through the end of my tenure in the East to add to my original $50.00. It may only be enough to buy one jewel or one apron but a start is a start. Please feel free to make contributions to this cause yourselves as you see fit. I may also do a pass the hat on our last meeting before the next line of officers is installed.
With that, a congratulations to our newly elected officers. The lodge will be in good hands with Worshipful-Elect Tony Mesa. Also, as a reminder we will be going dark for July and August. However, we still have some members out there that need additional degree work. So, plan for at least one or two specials during the time we are dark. I hope to see you all at some of these events.
Have a safe and happy summer.
Fraternally,
WB Bryan