Brethren, I am pleased to provide you an update of the happenings at Raytown Lodge #391. We have had a busy winter so far. Luckily the weather has been cooperative and we have been able to complete all of our scheduled activities.
On Saturday, January 9th Raytown Lodge hosted the Region C School of Instruction conducted by RWB Glenn Burrows, Regional Grand Lecturer. The school was well attended and all of the participants learned a great deal about Masonic ritual.
We held a special communication on Saturday, January 23rd to confer two first degrees. Both new brothers received their degrees in good form and we look forward to helping them continue their Masonic journeys.
Membership in our lodge is growing. In addition to our two newest Entered Apprentices we have two candidates in the process of investigation. We also have four brothers working to join Raytown Lodge either by transfer or dual membership.
As stated previously, the 2016 lodge officers are committed to achieving the Grand Lodge Silver and Gold awards for excellence in Masonic ritual. We have been practicing at our regular Study Club meetings which take place on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month, the day before our stated meetings at 7:00pm. All members and interested brethren are encouraged to join us. It has been many years since Raytown Lodge achieved the Gold ritual award, and in fact has been a while since any lodge on our side of the state achieved it, so this is a major goal for us.
Along with our own degree work, several members of Raytown Lodge have traveled to other lodges to assist with degree work. We recently had teams visit Sheffield Lodge to assist with both a 2nd and 3rd degree.
Also on Saturday, January 23rd we held the winter Pot Luck dinner and social event at the lodge. Those in attendance had a nice time and enjoyed good fellowship.
At our last regular communication the membership voted to proceed with preparations for our annual fireworks fundraiser. This is a big activity and the largest annual fundraiser for the lodge. Brother Tony Mesa will be putting together a committee to coordinate execution of this event.
Included in the winter edition of the Trestleboard newsletter that was mailed to all members was an overview of the recent parking lot purchase and a completely voluntary request for donations to help the lodge offset the substantial cost of the purchase. I’m pleased to report that many members have generously provided contributions to help rebuild our coffers. Thank you to all who were able to make a contribution. We have a long way to go but every dollar helps.
Attendance at our lodge meetings has been very strong. We have also seen an increase in the number of new members and transfers. It seems that Freemasonry is experiencing a renaissance and Raytown Lodge is pleased to be a beneficiary of this trend.
As a reminder, our stated communications are the first and third Thursdays of each month at 7:30pm with dinner served by our Junior Warden and Stewards before the meeting. We encourage all Raytown Lodge members and any other interested brethren to join us for good food, fellowship and a great Masonic experience. Our officer line is committed to preserving the principles of Freemasonry and Masonic ritual and do a great job of conducting our meetings. If you haven’t been to lodge in a while please don’t let that stop you; we are happy to help a brother get back into the swing of Freemasonry. We hope to see you all at our meetings.
Fraternally,
Steven Holbrook
Worshipful Master