Lodge 281 held its last communication of the season on Thursday the 25th of June. The brethren now go dark until after summer. Before the hall falls quiet, it’s worth a look back at the season that’s just closed.
It was a busy one.
The season’s charity breakfast set the standard early. Brethren cooked, served, and cleaned up together. Over £2,500 was raised for local causes, and the lodge’s recipe book sold well alongside it. It was the kind of morning that reminds you what the lodge is for.
In April, the brethren and their wives and partners did something Lodge 281 had not done before. They travelled to Freemasons’ Hall on Molesworth Street, Dublin, and held a Stated Communication in the Grand Lodge Room at the Headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. A stop at Newry Masonic Hall on the way down. A warm welcome from the Grand Tyler once there. It was a long day, and a memorable one.
Steak, Music, and a Full House
June brought the Summer Steak BBQ and Dance. The hall was packed. Steak and chicken off the grill, Gary McMusic on the floor all night, and a raffle that had the room buzzing. Nights like that don’t organise themselves, and the thanks for it goes to everyone who put in the work behind the scenes.
Closing the Season
A charity breakfast that raised close to £2,500. A first-ever visit to the Headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. A summer BBQ that filled the hall. That’s a season’s work by any measure.
The lodge now rests until after summer. The Hall Management Committee aren’t resting, though. There’s a Country and Western Steak Night already booked in for July, and more to come before the brethren reconvene.
We’ll see you on the other side.
