Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life
by Walter Boomsma
Let’s bring a few things together…
After our hiatus last month, let’s come back to the teachings of the First Degree. I’ve mentioned in the past that when I occasionally visit Granges I somewhat enjoy asking if everyone is aware of the “rule” regarding not passing between the altar and the three Graces–a portion of the hall sometimes referred to as “sacred ground.” Most are. But the second and more important question is “Why is that so?” That question is often met with silence.
I am tempted to point out that not being able to answer the question is proof that the lessons of the First Degree have been forgotten. (And after this column is published, proof that either it wasn’t read or also is not remembered.)
The Master gives the answer after providing the “secret” instructions of the first degree. Note that the Master’s answer is not meant to be a secret.
It is also my duty to instruct you that to honor Womanhood and show our reverence for the Bible we respectively refrain from passing between the Altar and the station of the Graces when the Grange is in session, except as prescribed in the Manual.
Master, to candidates during the First Degree
So now you know. It’s easy to remember: the key words are reverence and respect. But wait, there’s more!
You are now Laborers and Maids in the First degree of our honorable Order. The salutation of this degree places Faith in God.”
Ibid
Does this “ring a bell?” We repeat the salutation, too often robotically without remembering that the roots of the salutation are found in the lessons of the Degrees! (To see how robotic it may have become, try reciting it while seated, without the hand movements. “A Patron places…”)
It should also be interesting that having paid homage to Womanhood, the three Graces next offer important instruction to the candidates. Ceres reminds us to save “the best seed” as a symbol of Faith in a promised reward. Pomona speaks of the “products of the earth” as “food [which] tends a healthy and refined temperament, both of body and of mind.” Flora speaks of flowers as making life pleasant and teaching us that there is another and a better world. Combined, these lessons provide a complete cycle both in nature and in life–seeds, flowers, fruit.
The scene of the First Degree is a farm in the springtime. As I write this, we have just a week of spring left before we officially begin summer. Additional symbols of spring are childhood and seeds. New beginnings with a promise that the cycle will repeat itself. Have faith!
Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-sixth edition of the 2013 Subordinate Grange Manual or the most recent edition of the Pomona Grange Manual. The views and opinions expressed in “Exploring Traditions” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine and policy of the Grange. Information about the book “Exploring Traditions—Celebrating the Grange Way of Life” can be found at http://abbotvillagepress.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.