“To our country—” All: “AND TO THE PEACE AND PROSPERITY IT DESERVES!”
That lantern has been passed down, not as an object, but as an invocation. Tonight, we light it again.
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.” Lions Club Invocation And Loyal Toast
And tomorrow, let us go out and be Lions.
Let us bow our heads in a moment of quiet reflection. “To our country—” All: “AND TO THE PEACE
Tonight, I ask you to stand. Raise your glass—water, wine, or soda—it does not matter. What matters is the chain.
So now… let us eat. Let us laugh. Let us plan. The world was still bleeding from the Great War
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.