Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life
by Walter Boomsma
People like us do things like this…
Seth Godin recently described culture as “People like us do things like this.” That’s an interesting definite that Grangers could apply to our Ritual and Heritage. Seth also noted that “Our conversations and arguments about how we react to changes in the culture do little to change the forces that are shaping our future, though.” He concludes “Our response to change is often all we have control over. And the way we respond is how we create the next cycle of culture and possibility.”
That somewhat coincidently aligns with some conversation I had recently with Amanda Brozana Rio regarding the reorganization and fantastic growth of Jefferson Grange in Pennsylvania. (If you missed that interview, it’s available on the MSG website and YouTube channel. After reorganizing, they doubled their membership in three months.) One of the components of the reorganization was considering what the culture of Jefferson Grange would be like. In Seth’s terms, they thought long and hard to define what “people like us were going to be doing.” The basis of their recruiting program became finding like-minded people doing the things Jefferson Grange would be doing.
Of course, that also meant they had to be clear on what they would be doing—and, to some extent, thinking! For an organization steeped in tradition, this can become challenging in part because tradition and ritual sometimes mean doing without thinking. But it’s also important to realize that “thinking” doesn’t mean changing or abandoning.
“Syncretism” is one of those fancy words that describes integrating new cultural ideas and practices into the ones that already exist. We might think of it as “evolving” and it’s common in religious practice. It’s not about this or that; it’s about both.
We’ve recently entertained some families with younger children. We realized that while unrelated, nearly every child who visited was defined as a “grazer,” meaning they didn’t eat full meals—they tended to snack throughout the day. I confess we wanted (and to some extent did) stand our ground when it was mealtime. While the adults sat together at the table, the child “came and went.”
The families weren’t related and didn’t even know each other. We ultimately realized we were witnessing a new culture and we’d have little to gain by expecting something different. Well, we might have gained some frustration, I suppose. My point is not to argue the value of a sit-down family meal. We did have an established mealtime—it just took place over an extended period of time. And we were able to visit with the appearing and disappearing children. Later, we could reflect on the realities of family schedules with multitudes of activities and begin to understand that the family meal (an old cultural practice) was fitting into some new cultural realities.
I was reminded of the Grange president/master who declared the end of potluck suppers. He made it his job to prepare a meal for the membership before every meeting. His explanation was that “today’s young people” don’t have time to plan and prepare a portable meal to bring so I’ll do that for them. It was a potluck in the sense they didn’t know what they were getting until they got there, but it was a new approach and practice. I think that’s syncretism.
It’s easy to resist change, to dig in one’s heels and be unequivocal. But the results often are not productive beyond creating polarity. Whether or not we believe in evolution in the Darwinian sense, the term can be used to describe a comfortable change that recognizes it’s possible to be in favor of something without being against something else. In my potluck example, being in favor of the master/president providing the meal didn’t mean being against the “potluck.” (An interesting variation could be different members volunteering to provide the meal each month.)
You don’t have to be an intense student of history to recognize how the “Grange Way of Life” has evolved over the years. And to be thankful that it did! We can be equally thankful that some things have not changed.
We need to recognize, however, that society (culture) is changing at a much more rapid pace than ever before. In a recent adult class, I asked for a show of hands representing the reality and impact of 9-11. Over ten percent of the class were either not alive when it happened or were too young to remember what for many of us was a significant and very personal experience.
When we study the Grange of 150 years ago and compare it to the Grange of today, it’s comparatively easy to accept the differences. But, whether we like it or not, the timeline is shortening. Consider what the Grange (which usually means the one you are a member of) of ten years ago looked like in comparison to today—not just in terms of membership and budget but in terms of purpose and personality (or culture). What will it look like in a year or two?
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.