From the Deacon’s Bench – December 2022

By Clay Collins, MSG Chaplain
207 837-0564

“Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people.”

1 Chronicles 16:8

 

We are now in the Advent season of the Christian calendar. Have you ever really thought about what Advent is? Many will correctly answer that it is the four Sundays leading up to Christmas day (the day that all Christians celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus) and begins this year on Sunday, November 28th.

Each year as December draws near, many of us try to commit to finding rest in a season notoriously wrought with materialism, busyness, and exhaustion. We try to focus on what really should matter, and try to prepare our hearts and minds to remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus, and all that it means to us, the believers. One way we do this is by celebrating the season of Advent, which for centuries has been tied to the first coming of Christ.

Other ways we celebrate is by building crèches depicting the nativity depicting the manger scene with the baby Jesus surrounded by Mary, Joseph, and the animals along with the Wise Men (who actually came later). Most importantly (or we sometimes think so) the presents! But are the presents really that important?

Think about it for a minute. What are we actually teaching our children about the true meaning of Christmas? I can remember as a boy growing up Christmas meant getting as many presents as I could. I didn’t know much about the birth of our savior until I was in my teen years (my parents were not church-goers). I did know that it was Jesus’ birthday, and we should be reverent to this fact, but that was about it. I did not know or understand much about Advent. For the longest time, I got the seasons of Advent and Lent mixed up! I did not fully understand until I started attending Church on a regular basis and got involved with Grange.

You might think that is strange and you are probably correct, but the Grange charges that we hear every meeting (especially the Chaplain’s charge) mirror a lot of the teachings you hear in Church.

Mainly, be thankful, thankful for the birth of Jesus who took all of our sins to the Father and asked for forgiveness for us. Be thankful for your loving families who, more often than not, overlook our misgivings and misjudgments. We all should take time to thank the Lord for everything that we have around us; the trees, lakes, oceans, mountains, and all the wildlife in the forests, without which we would not be able to survive.

 I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a very Happy New Year! I hope the new year brings you all a bit of relief and a busload of happiness!

 Until the next time, remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.” Amen.

Benediction: “Gracious Father of us all, thank you for the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. May we all learn from this miraculous birth.  Amen.”

He who loses money loses much;
He who loses a friend loses more;
And he who loses faith loses all.                                        

An Irish Friendship Blessing

Grange Heirloom — December 2022

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 responses link at the top right and share your comment with us!

Grange Heirlooms are snippets from the lessons of the Grange as taught in the Rituals and Declaration of Purposes.

For additional information and resources regarding the Heirloom Program, visit the Heirloom Resource Page on the Maine State Grange Website.

Quick Tip – Grange Bees!

Cool Idea

Valley Grange uses “Grange Bees” in conjunction with our meetings… simply stated, Grange Bees are members who agree to be the official hosts for a meeting. While all members pitch in, we find it efficient to rotate the “official” responsibilities among members. Grange Bees are responsible for opening and closing the hall. (Our checklist is available on the Valley Grange website.) We try to set up a schedule for the entire year each fall. We also occasionally all “swarm” to the hall for major cleaning and projects. Everybody can be a bee!

Don’t Forget the Cows’ Names!

The following article was originally part of a handout from Walter Boomsma’s presentation at the Northeast Leaders’ Conference in 2013.

If you don’t help with the milking, you’ll forget the cows’ names.

Amish Proverb

milking of a cow
Photo by Juan Jose Davila Zevallos on Pexels.com

Your members are an untapped market! We tend to think of “markets” as customers. Those in business are aware of the tremendous strides made in understanding what motivates customers. Businesses spend a great time of time, energy, and money marketing products and services to their customers. But we tend to deal with people differently when we think of them as “members.”

We’d like to think that members should love and promote our organization. Well, customers should buy products and services, but companies still work hard to get them to want to! As Grange Leaders, we can be equally good at getting members excited about the Grange. After all, it doesn’t “cost” much to belong to and love the Grange.

Successful marketers know their customers’ values and get the business by offering obvious satisfaction (benefits, rewards, consequences). Successful Granges and Grange Leaders get motivated members by using exactly the same approach. Grangers, like customers, are motivated by outcomes and the amount of value placed on those outcomes.[1] This is a basic premise for all marketing: the price a customer will pay for a product is equal to the amount of expected benefit.

This simple formula (effort = outcome + value) is the basis for every choice we make. Usually, it takes place on an almost unconscious level. You choose a restaurant based on what kind of service and food (outcomes) you expect. The place just down the street may be cheaper, but the service is almost non-existent. You’ll drive the extra miles if you value the service more than the few extra dollars you’ll pay and the extra effort required. But notice this is about what YOU value.

There are hundreds – perhaps thousands – of tools available to excite and motivate. But we may need to change our thinking a bit. Member relations and member-centered publicity mean that we don’t preach. It means we don’t “sell” the Grange; we excite and influence people. For example,

  • The way you package your Grange includes the building, the grounds, and the material you print and publish. What does that packaging say about the Grange? Does it communicate caring and pride?
  • Companies work hard at “customer service.” What about “member service?” Are you modeling fraternity? Does a member feel a sense of Grange Community? Should we rename “good of the order” “good of the membership?”
  • Can you write an advertisement for one activity your Grange does? Will it be something that screams to others “you just have to be part of this?”
  • Are you making news? “It’s easier to make news than it is to write press releases!”

These programs are not as important as the thought process. Consumer marketing works when the product has real value. Member-centered publicity works when you value your members and offer them intrinsic benefits.

Customers buy products because those products do something for them. People will join the Grange if the Grange does something for them. Your current members contribute energy because they get something in return. As a leader of your Grange what are you giving those members?

 

[1] Vroom, V. H. Work and Motivation, New York: John Wiley, 1964,

Exploring Traditions – November 2024

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

by Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

All is secure and the labors of the day are complete…

If we are inclined to doubt that the Grange is about a way of life, we might simply pay close attention to the things we say and do somewhat automatically. In one of my teaching assignments, I am responsible for “locking up” the building when I finish. This includes “walking the building” to insure lights are off and no one remains inside. Once I’m outside I “report in” by texting the person in charge. I usually text “All is secure.” In my mind the words “Worthy Master” accompany my message of assurance.

I then call home to report my progress. I’ll admit that I am on occasion tempted to announce at the beginning of the call, “The labors of the day are complete.”

While the language of the Grange can readily become part of our lives, an occasional pause and reminder to make sure we are living the Grange way of life can be worthwhile. The language helps us. “Let us be quiet, peaceful citizens…” I often stop right there. I like the word “peaceful.” Merriam Webster defines it as “untroubled by conflict, agitation, or commotion” and offers as synonyms “quiet” and “tranquil.” Those are some tall orders in today’s society which seems filled with conflict, agitation, and commotion.

The way we end our meetings is mean to ensure “all is secure” but it goes beyond closing the Bible and implement case to include the assurances offered the Grange Way of Life. We are also reminded that we “place faith in God, nurture hope, dispense charity, and are noted for fidelity.” These are the qualities that drive us to “add dignity to labor, and in our dealings with our fellow men be honest, be just and fear not. We must avoid intemperance in eating, drinking, and language, also in work and recreation, and what ever we do strive to do well.”

I can imagine leaving a Grange meeting years ago, riding home and unhitching the horse, and achieving another “all is secure” at home and in the barn. The animals are settled in for the night. The labors of the day are complete. All is secure. The farm and home are quiet and tranquil. The world we are in is at peace.

Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 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.

View from the Farm – November 2022

By Heather Retberg, Quills End Farm

The Small Joys

Sometimes, it is necessary to notice the small joys that await while working.  That is difficult for those of us who only possess two speeds, full-tilt and stop.  It is also difficult when work is constant, because another task always awaits, often an urgent one.

Farming isn’t always joy filled;  sometimes, I have to confess, my passion does feel rather like work.   This morning, while I milked the cows and after I had finished with Merry, she turned to leave the parlor and stopped to lick my forearm, so I took a second.  She is a lover, and she’d be okay to just sit and kiss and hug, so we did for a second.  

After milking and before the rain started in earnest, I needed to take a round bale of hay down to the hogs.  The last big rain made their paddock soggy where they had rooted up the ground.  The round bale covers the scar, seeds the soil, and entertains the hogs for a bit.  It is also really entertaining to watch happy hogs.

At the first sight of the tractor and the 4 foot by 4 foot round bale, they followed to where I placed it in the paddock.  They lined up and started nosing it instantly, and only moved out of the way as I rolled it slowly and left a swath of hay behind me.  Then came sheer joy as they cavorted and galloped and rolled and smelled and ate and collapsed on the fresh carpet of hay.  It was so like hearing the uncontrolled laughter of a toddler…pure, unbridled joy. As the rain poured down this afternoon, I wasn’t just glad of the moments of pleasure I’d been lucky to provide and witness.  I was also glad that their shelter has a deep layer of hay in it, and that despite the elements, they were snoozing away the day in comfort.  

Editor’s note: Phil continues to write “View from the Farm” while Heather recovers from her surgery. Send her a card/note at Quill’s End Farm, 192 Front Ridge Road, North Penobscot ME 04476

Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Heather is Vice President of Halcyon Grange #345 and writes a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and has generously given us permission to share some of her columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.

National Grange Convention

Patron’s Chain Daily Issues

National Grange publishes a special daily issue of the Patrons Chain during the Annual Convention. Each issue contains a wide array of articles ranging from convention reports to entertainment. If you’ve been curious about what happens, here’s a way to find out! We won’t be adding a new post every day but will add to this list as the week progresses.

CWA Report — November 2022

By Margaret Henderson, Director
Committee on Women’s Activities
207 948-2762

Committee on Women’s Activities

It doesn’t seem possible that the State Grange session is over for another year. It was great to see everyone. This year seems to have gone by way too fast.

I received the entries back from the Eastern States. I am proud to report that Maine had two winners. Ann Burns won second place for her three-piece baby Set. Ellie Collins won first place for her plastic canvas entry and first place for her adult garment entry. I presented their prizes at State Grange. Nice work! Congratulations, ladies.

I also had the honor to present donations to House in the Woods and to Home for Little Wanderers. Thank you to all of the Granges for your support of these two wonderful organizations.

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  Let’s all be thankful for all that we have and let’s be kind to others.

From the Deacon’s Bench – November 2022

By Clay Collins, MSG Chaplain
207 837-0564

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  

1 Thessalonians 5:18

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Here we are on the downhill side of the Fall season. I just finished raking leaves along the stone wall in front my house, and that is all the raking I plan to do for this season!

By the time you read this, we have already passed Veterans’ Day. I hope that you had the chance to attend some kind of remembrance ceremony for all veterans. I have a chance every day to thank a different veteran for their service. I hope you do, too! They are the reason that we are able to live in a country such as this, and have the freedoms that we so richly enjoy. If I haven’t thanked you personally yet, please accept this from my heart, “I thank you for all that you did in the past, now, and in the future. I appreciate all that you do and have done.”

We have other things to be thankful for in our lives. We should be thinking about them all year long as we go about our daily lives, but we tend to get so wrapped up in our daily lives that we forget sometimes.

The list is long (at least for me, it is!). I can think of many as I know you can, too. Be thankful, first off, for your family, for without them you would be nothing. Next, you fill in the rest. I’m sure those lists will be long, some longer than others.

 I am most thankful for my loving family, and friends that I have, for without them, I would not be the person that I am today. THANK YOU all for everything that you do, whatever it may be.

 Until the next time, remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.” Amen.

Benediction: “Gracious Father of us all, teach us to be thankful for the good things in our lives. Show us that we must always be thankful for Your love and forgiveness.  Amen.”

May the grace of God’s protection
And His great love abide
Within your home-within the hearts
Of all who dwell inside.                                              

An Irish Family Blessing