Lions Club Invocation And Loyal Toast (Newest — 2024)

That lantern has been passed down, not as an object, but as an invocation. Tonight, we light it again.

The Loyal Toast can be adapted as “To our host nation” or “To the nations we serve,” followed by a moment of silence for each member’s homeland.

Good evening, fellow Lions, distinguished guests, and friends of service. Lions Club Invocation And Loyal Toast

Part Three: The Closing – Why Both Matter (The speaker lowers their glass, smiles, and addresses the room warmly.)

The story goes that during the first Lions convention in Dallas, 1918, a charter member from Canada stood up. The world was still bleeding from the Great War. Empires had fallen. Trust was fractured. And this Lion said: “Before we toast our own success, we must first toast something larger than ourselves. We must toast the nation that shelters us, the flag that unites us, and the peace we are sworn to defend.” That lantern has been passed down, not as

So now… let us eat. Let us laugh. Let us plan.

Fellow Lions, there is a second object on that imaginary table with Melvin Jones’s lantern. Not a lantern—a cup. A simple, unadorned cup. Empires had fallen

In every Lions Club across the globe—whether in Delhi or Detroit, Nairobi or Nottingham—the Loyal Toast is not a political act. It is a promise . It says: our service does not exist in a vacuum. We serve because we belong. We belong because we are loyal—to our country, to our community, and to each other.

A Story for Lions Part One: The Invocation – Lighting the Lantern (The speaker steps to the podium. The room settles. A single candle or club banner is illuminated.)

That was the birth of the .

You cannot serve if you do not see clearly. That is the invocation. You cannot serve if you stand alone. That is the loyal toast.