“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.”
Ephesians 5:15-16
Here it is August already! Where has the time gone? May all of your plans be accomplished, and you have a great time with your family and friends.
I was talking to a friend of mine a while ago gave me the following poem. It was attached to a figurine of an owl that was purchased at a county fair that he attended recently. It seemed very appropriate in these times.
There once was an owl
Who perched on an oak;
The more he observed
The less that he spoke.
The less he spoke
The more that he heard;
There’s wisdom for sure
We can learn from this bird!
As you go through life
Remember you know
What you know;
When you listen and watch
You’ll continue to grow
Until the next time, I am continuing to pray for good health for you and yours, and remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
Don’t forget to thank a Veteran for his/her service in the defense of our country and pray for their safe return to their families!
Benediction: “Gracious Father of us all help us to spend less time thinking of ourselves, and more time thinking of You and Your many wonders. Amen.”
Thought for the month:
May good luck be your friend in whatever you do and may trouble be always a stranger to you.
Recently, there have been some questions regarding sources of information for meetings and rituals. The fundamental source is the Subordinate Grange Manual (SGM). So where do we find one of those?
First, a few words about the SGM. Technically, “Grange Manuals are sold only to Grange units themselves and are never sold to individuals. They must remain the property of the Grange and, as such, should always be accounted for by the Worthy Steward of said Grange.” While that’s true in principle, it is not so much so in practice. If you don’t tell anyone, I’ll share that one of my treasured possessions is an SGM published in 1908 that belonged to a relative. His name is written in the front, and many handwritten notes throughout the book. I guess the rules haven’t been strictly enforced for some time. I occasionally see them offered for sale on eBay.
The SGM contains much of the “ritual” used throughout the Grange: procedures for opening and closing a Grange Meeting, conferring the First Four Degrees, and installing officers. There’s even a Grange Burial Service. I recently had the distinct honor of conducting one!
We can think of the SGM as a procedure manual—the “how to” book focused on the ritualistic aspect of Grange meetings and events. There were some significant changes and additions made to the paperback SGM published it 2013. A few language updates were made, and a number of “alternate” procedures and ceremonies were added. For example, this edition includes the Welcoming and Obligation Ceremony—streamlined paths to membership approved by National Grange. (Conferral of the Four Degrees is still highly recommended but not required for a new member to become “official” with voting rights, etc.)
Another SGM reality is that copies (pre-2013)can often be found lying around Grange Halls. These older copies remain useful because procedures have not altered significantly. Sometimes, the older editions are useful for their additional detail. For example, when I conducted that burial service, I used an older manual for its rich language and some additional information.
A Grange seeking copies of these older editions can try contacting:
Neighboring Granges. Many will have more copies than they need, particularly if they’ve accumulated manuals from closed Granges.
The local Grange Deputy. The deputy has contact with those neighboring Granges and is charged with assisting.
A State Officer. The State Master/President would be a good place to start.
It might also be possible to find one on eBay or in a used bookstore, but looking “in-house” will likely be most efficient.
The most recent (2013) SGM will be a bit more challenging. Normally, it can be purchased from the National Grange Store, but as of this writing, it shows as “out of stock.” Hopefully, it’ll be available again soon!
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.
Grange Heirlooms are snippets from the lessons of the Grange as taught in the Rituals and Declaration of Purposes.
Use the icons below to share this Grange Heirloom on social media and help others understand what the Grange stands for! If this heirloom has a particular meaning for you, click the “leave a comment” link at the left and share your comment with us!
For additional information and resources regarding the Heirloom Program, visit the Heirloom Resource Page on the Maine State Grange Website.
Warning: I am joining a Sister Granger in her Facebook Rant. As a guest columnist, I think it’s permitted.
We have several Granges here in Maine that are shining examples of what the Grange can be. Ironically, they receive a fair amount of criticism. Accusations include statements like, “They are trying to change the Grange.” (Saying it like it’s a bad thing!) and “They are not ‘doing’ the Ritual and following proper Grange procedure..” I could go on. But, as my sister notes, she is “sick of hearing this [sort of comment] with no action behind it.” The expression that comes to mind is that we must walk the talk.
The Grange is replete with rich traditions. We need to stop using them as a restraint and figure out how to make them the resource they should be. If we took the time to understand Grange tradition fully, we might realize that creating excitement with new programs that benefits our communities and members is not “changing” the Grange. It is returning the Grange to its original passion and contributions to society. If we studied the early history of the Grange, we would discover that during its first few decades of explosive growth, it made several major changes to policy and practice.
Instead, we’re like a bunch of old hippies, trying to decide whether to “hang on to the old or grab on to the new.” No, that’s not right. We’re like a bunch of old Grangers, trying desperately to hang on to the old. In so doing, we’re actually rejecting what’s great about the Grange.
Another way of thinking about it is to ask ourselves if we are embracing the important traditions and keeping our priorities straight. I have often said and written that I don’t think our forefathers created the Grange so they could create Ritual and Degree Work. I think they created the Grange to cause positive change in rural communities and members. We need to see the irony of the resistance to change—and lack of support for it—in an organization that was meant to create it.
I think I smell tar heating and see feathers being gathered. Let me assure everyone that I deeply appreciate the Grange Tradition. I think the teachings of the Grange in the Ritual and Degree Work are amazing. Just yesterday, while I was weeding and replacing some “drowned” plants, I was reminded not to fight nature but to work with her.
How appropriate! Instead of fighting change, we need to at least work with it. We might be best served by embracing it, but for some, that’s apparently too much to ask.
I have two questions we should be asking and one suggestion for you. Whenever we encounter someone from another Grange we ought to ask:
What’s the most exciting thing your Grange has done recently?
Who is the most exciting person in your Grange?
It hopefully goes without saying that we should listen carefully to the answers. I suggest we visit or talk to some of the more exciting Granges—and maybe some other local organizations with a positive story to tell. Then we need to start writing our own story.
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.
By Mary French, Director of the Dictionary Project
Communication Director’s Note: Now is the time to start planning your Words for Thirds Project–or, if you’ve never done one, consider starting it! If you need some help or information, just let me know!
Reprinted from the Summer 2023 Issue of the Dictionary Project Newsletter
The Dictionary Project is about giving people value in their lives. We are helping children build their lives one word at a time. The purpose of an organization is to help people have lives. Giving people lives refers to many characteristics that are the result of education, support, work, and relationships.
This year the Dictionary Project has confronted the reality that hundreds of thousands of children in schools are discouraged and prevented from using a paperback dictionary because school administrators do not think they are beneficial in this age of technology. It is a disservice to the clubs that want to improve literacy in their communities by providing dictionaries to the students and letting them know what a civic organization does and looks like. Presenting the dictionaries in the classroom lets the students know that they are valued and supported and that the club members want to see them succeed by giving them an essential tool for a quality education.
We often hear that children don’t need dictionaries because they are tech savvy and they won’t use a dictionary because it is old fashioned. Nothing has been created to replace a printed dictionary. Children who do not have a dictionary will not understand the “world they live in. They will feel confused and angry because they cannot comprehend their surroundings and describe what they see. It is putting children at a disadvantage in the world when educators leave them in front of a screen eight hours each day. Children cannot learn how to approach and solve problems without using their five senses. They need to learn what their five senses are telling them and how to use this information to live a better life.
A dictionary is the fastest, easiest and most cost effective way to learn new words. lt teaches children sequential learning; there are steps to take to reach a goal. It is important to know the meaning of words and that most words have more than one meaning. Children are curious how our world works. To collaborate with people to solve problems they need to learn new words to contribute solutions to improve the world we live in.
Everyone comes from a different place and they see things from where they stand. This diversity of thinking enriches our country and expands our ability to create new tools and make the best possible use of our resources. It is disappointing that lead educators are not encouraging children to learn new words by using a printed dictionary to expand their frame of reference; this is the most beneficial way to grow and live. By not giving children a dictionary, they are deprived of fulfilling their potential by teaching themselves new words. Giving children a dictionary is giving them their lives, because their lives depend on their ability to express themselves with words. The thoughts of children are important and they need to know that they are innate gifts to be shared because they are unique.
Albert Einstein said, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what then is an empty desk a sign?” An electronic device cannot replace the activity and knowledge that a mind can develop by using it to solve a problem. If we do not teach children to approach a problem with words they will approach it with a weapon. If children do not have a dictionary they will not feel empowered by words. They will not have the words to defend themselves.
The idea for the Dictionary Project came from Annie Plummer. At the time she was looking for people to expand her initiative by giving everyone a dictionary in 1995. A middle school student in Charleston, South Carolina shot and killed his classmate in front of the school. Everyone was shocked that this would happen in our community and we never wanted it to happen again. School leaders said that mentoring would help the teenagers in the school. I was handed a young man who was I5 years old who was in the sixth grade. He had recently been released from the Columbia detention center where he spent six months after being arrested for pointing a 357 magnum at a woman in an embroidery shop to rob her of $20. I went with him to his home and met his mother who was illiterate and recently widowed. She supported her family by cleaning bathrooms at night in the mall across the highway. She walked to work in the dark every night. When I entered the cafeteria to meet Tyrone for our mentoring session, I saw him slapping girls who were talking to him, he hid in the bathroom when he saw me. I asked him several times in our meetings to apologize to the woman he had assaulted. He refused to acknowledge that he did something wrong. I told the principal that I could not help him because he had not learned to respect women. He wasn’t avoiding me he was avoiding the humiliation of being illiterate.
When I saw a letter to the editor asking readers to expand the Dictionary Project in Savannah, Georgia, I jumped at the chance to put a dictionary into the hands of children where I live because I knew that it is the antidote for illiteracy. It has been for hundreds of years. Reading is still the only way out of poverty.
Grange Heirlooms are snippets from the lessons of the Grange as taught in the Rituals and Declaration of Purposes.
Use the icons below to share this Grange Heirloom on social media and help others understand what the Grange stands for! If this heirloom has a particular meaning for you, click the “leave a comment” link at the left and share your comment with us!
For additional information and resources regarding the Heirloom Program, visit the Heirloom Resource Page on the Maine State Grange Website.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”
Genesis 1:1-3
Sometimes it does feel like the beginning of time when God created heaven and earth, but it isn’t. We have just gone through what seems to be the wettest month ever, but we have survived, and we will continue to survive. We just have to be determined and have faith that God has not and will not forget us.
We just have to remember just who is in charge! It is NOT us. This is just one of God’s plans for us. If you want to make God chuckle, just tell Him your plans for the future!
Remember, He will not disown us and leave us stranded by the side of the road like a sack of grain. We are all His children. He loves us. So cheer up, the sun will come out again to brighten our days and lives. While we are waiting, why don’t we all look around to see if there is something we can do to brighten someone else’s life? By doing this, we will probably feel good doing it!
Until the next time, remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
Benediction: “Gracious Father of us all, help us to remember that we are all able to brighten the day for someone, if not ourselves. Amen”
Thought for the month:
May good luck be your friend in whatever you do And may trouble be always A stranger to you.
The Grange has a rich heritage of song, with a number of songbooks published starting in 1874. Katherine Rhoda loves to share these songs celebrating agriculture, rural life, and the pursuit of the common good. You can learn more about this music at her website.
Katherine has several performances of Vintage Grange Songs coming up this month. The first is this Sunday, July 9, 2023, at 3 PM, at the Standish Historical Society, The Old Red Church, 55 Oak Hill Road, Standish, ME. Donations to the SHS Building Fund are welcome.
Next is Friday, July 21, 2023, at 7 PM at the Effingham Historical Society, 1014 Province Lake Road, Effingham, NH. Admission is free, though donations are welcome.
“And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment. For she said within herself, ‘If I may touch His garment, I shall be whole’.”
Matthew 9:20-21
We are heading into summer with the sun and the fun that goes along with it. When you are out celebrating, try to be careful. Always walk by faith, not by sight.
When reading this month’s scripture lesson, remember that the woman, who had physical problems for twelve years, had enough faith to believe that if she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment she would be healed. The world needs more faith like this.
Remember, God loves us all!!
Until the next time, remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
Benediction: “Gracious Father of us all, help us to remember that if we live our lives by faith, we will be saved. Amen.”
Thought for the month:
May the luck of the Irish Lead to happiest heights And the highway you travel Be lined with green lights.
