Brethren,

I wish you all a happy and healthy new year. Raytown Lodge #391 has been active this month both within and outside the lodge. We have had several brothers assisting other lodges with degree work. Brothers have been working and achieving their “sub” cards, keeping Raytown on the map for expertise on all things ritual. We had a very nice turn out for the amended Chili with Santa. My apologies for changing the date if it kept any from attending, but Mother Nature was not playing nice.

We helped 2 needy families for Christmas. I will not go into specifics but I will say to those who were in lodge during our “pass the hat”, that the heat has been fixed and everyone was warm and toasty for Christmas.

Finally, we buried one of our own. Joseph LaChance. I would like to personally thank RWB Thayne for leading the service as well as all the RWBs, WBs and brothers who attended the Masonic Funeral. I have been lucky enough to not have to attend any Masonic Funerals up until this point but I believe we had a great showing and the family was very appreciative of our efforts. Joe definitely wanted this so I am pleased that we were able to have a command presence to help Brother Joe on to that “house not made with hands”.

As we bring in the new year, we will continue on our trek towards the gold award. Study club will begin again in January and I hope to see all of you there. Don’t forget to check the lodge calendar for the next events. We have tried to schedule at least one event every month so please attend if possible. Finally brethren, let us continue to do what we are best at; being good Masons. Enjoy your holiday.
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Fraternally,

WB Bryan

Brethren, let me start out by wishing all a Happy Holiday season. Raytown Lodge #391 has continued to shine and others are taking notice and interest. After over a decade, our lodge has again been awarded the best attendance for our Regional Lodge of Instruction School. The lodge has achieved the Bronze award. It is my hope that the lodge will continue its extraordinary efforts as we continue on our trek for another gold award. Brothers, pay attention to our texts and emails as I am hoping that we will be prepared by January to go for the Silver! We successfully completed the lodge’s first (and technically second) MOCHIP event for this year. While the turnout was lower than in past years, we still made enough of an impression that the Holly fest has officially invited us back for next year. In addition, our 2 newest members received their fellow craft degrees on November 17th.

Please keep WB Andy and his family in your prayers. After a long battle, Megan is finally getting her kidney transplant! This surgery has been years in the making and has taken a severe toll on Andy and his family. Give him a call, I know he’d love the support and it never hurts to remind a fellow brother that we are there for them should they need us.

The lodge continues to have events through the holiday season. The next event (after Thanksgiving of course) is the Chili with Santa dinner. This is scheduled for December 17, 2016 with a social hour at 4 and dinner starting at 5. I have it from a good source that the man in red will be attending and “may” have additional surprises. Please bring your children, your spouses and anyone else who may enjoy some good food and great camaraderie. Lodge members are also welcome to bring goodies for after dinner treats. Should anyone want to bake some corn bread, that is always welcome. Please reach out to Tom B. if you have any suggestions or plan to bring additional food/chili.

Our “little” BBQ competition may be growing. For those that did not attend our last communication, The Raytown Mainstreet Association has expressed interest in “partnering” with us to make the competition bigger. We will be having a meeting to discuss their interests. This does not mean that we are turning the reins over to them. However we definitely want to see what they have to offer. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for December 11th with the location and time to be announced. All brothers who wish to attend are most welcome. I know that WB Steven and I will be there to protect the lodge’s interests.

As the leaves change and the weather becomes colder let us not forget the less fortunate as we enjoy our upcoming holidays. This is not only the season for celebrating, but for assisting others. There will be no shortage of food/clothing requests as we approach December. Therefore, I would love to see the lodge come together for a food/clothing donation to a worthwhile charitable organization. I’ve been hearing about a coat drive this past week but am definitely open to ideas. Please reach out to me, Tony or Tom with suggestions. Again, Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Fraternally,
WB Bryan