Chaplain’s View – November 2024

Christine Hebert, MSG Chaplain
(207) 743-5277

Cultivating a Thankful Heart

(Guest written by Tina Thurston of Norway Grange with the encouragement and guidance of Chaplain Christine Hebert.)

As Grange members, we are not only consistently reminded of our fraternity with each other but also reminded that we are servants of God. Good and faithful servants at that! Constantly challenged to not only build our own strengths and talents but to uplift and foster the strengths and talents of each other.

How then do we do this? What is it, good brother or sister reading this, that sparked your interest and desire to go beyond yourself to make a difference in the world around us?

Although I cannot answer that question for you, I can surmise from my own calling that the answer would have to be God’s knowledge. The knowledge that if we greet the world with unwavering thankfulness, the faith and belief that God is the creator and s/he loves us more than anything- “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if received with Thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” (I Timothy 4:4-5) We can do anything.

Like all Bible quotes, a wealth of implied instruction is there waiting for us to open ourselves to the true beauty of God’s plan for us.

God created everything. Everything is good. Therefore, there is nothing bad, and if we perceive anything as less than good, we know it is not of God, but a distraction away from our path. So, no matter what confronts us, God says to receive it with Thanksgiving. Being thankful is one of the most powerful ways to be. The act of giving thanks is consecrated by the word of God and prayer –
an ability to turn a frown upside down. To be witness to the awesome love our Lord and Savior has for us by doing his will. We are so very fortunate to know the power of a thankful heart and mind. We are so blessed with the abundant love a thankful countenance affords us. No wonder we are told to spread the good news!

As we continue to ponder the great mystery of this thing we call life, I remind you – “With God all things are possible.” (Mathew 19:26)

And most importantly – and I sincerely believe this to be a commandment: “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

Carry on with a thankful heart, good and faithful servant, carry on!

Note that as requested, the words to Veterans of the USA are available in the Chaplain’s View of the Program Books and Information Page.

President’s Perspective – November 2024

By Sherry Harriman,
Maine State Grange President/Master
207 490-1029

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Hug your family and friends. Help someone every day.

Our 150th State Grange Session went well. Thank you to the Officers, Delegates, Members, Deputies, Directors, and Committee members who attended. I appreciate your participation and input during the business and activities. A wonderful banquet & luncheon were shared, awards were presented, Juniors participated, and a heartfelt Memorial Service was held; Barbara Foster was pleased to be with us. We elected Carolyn Van Horn to the Executive Committee and welcomed five new State Grange members who received the Sixth degree.

The new Department Program Books and Annual Reports were given to the Delegates for your Grange. If you did not have delegates at session, you may download the programs and reports from the web under “Program Books” or if you want a printed copy, email or call the office or myself and we will send them to you. You may request all or just select certain ones. Agricultural Scholarship, Educational Aid & Howes Nurses Scholarship requirements and applications can also be found on the website or requested from the office. Grange Enterprise Award information and the application can be found there too or requested.

Deputy School was held on Nov 2 with several State Officers & Committee people also attending. Paperwork was passed out, we covered Opening & Closing — Opening the Bible, Presenting the Flag, Introducing Honored Guests, balloting, and discussed other Grange business.

I would like to do instruction meetings in your areas again this year. Think about setting something up in the spring with me. I would prefer a Saturday meeting during the day but could do an evening if requested. We will be covering the same as above. Everyone is invited to attend.

Contact the office or myself if you would like to have any of the following materials:

  1. Expectations of State Officers and Deputies
  2. Visitation reports — Subordinate and Pomona
  3. Maine State Grange Guidelines, Information, and Instructions.
  4. Hello Worthy Master and Members (information regarding closing/consolidation of Granges)
  5. Maine State Grange Ritual Handbook
  6. Suggestions and Instructions for Grange Procedure
  7. Code Book with instructions on Grange Ritual
  8. Official Obligation Ceremony
  9. New Member Welcoming Ceremony
  10. Official Fifth Degree Obligation Ceremony
  11. By-Laws of the Maine State Grange (newly revised edition)
  12. Officers, Deputies, and Directors List 2025. The complete roster will be available soon. Additional materials are listed in the book.
  13. Maine State Grange Leadership Directory from Webmaster.
  14. Maine Granges, Town, and Contact Brochure (many changes included)
  15. Subordinate/Community Manual Edition 2023 (printed on regular-size Paper)
  16. Manual of Pomona Granges 2017* (printed on regular-size paper)

Grange Today! 11-14-2024

During the National Grange Convention, Grange Today! is being published daily.

The Newsletter of the National Grange

While National Grange continued to publish a daily edition, I realized the “In this Issue” (table of contents) section did not accurately reflect the content of the actual newsletter. Rather than risk confusion, I decided not to post the daily summaries. If you click the “Read the Current Issue” button below, you should have access to all the issues published during the convention. When regular publishing starts, we’ll resume posting the summaries. Thanks for understanding.

Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to Grange Today!

Read THE Current Issue
Subscribe to Grange Today!

Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. To save server space, we only post the table of contents on the MSG Website.

Valley Grange Presents Dictionaries

Watch the story Here!

Please note that there is one correction to the story–The Dictionary Project has actually distributed 37,000,000 dictionaries in total!

Grange Today! 11-13-2024

During the National Grange Convention, Grange Today! is being published daily.

The Newsletter of the National Grange

Articles in this edition include:

  • Stepping back: How to gracefully become a “has been”
  • Reaching Rural Surgical Seniors
  • Running a Grange Meeting
  • Imagine If… Facilitating Brainstorming from a positive place
  • Food Safety for Group Meals
  • Science of Butter
  • Corn & Ag/Job Industry
  • Charcuterie Boards
  • Fidget Building
  • Finding Hidden Potential & Embowering Members
  • Regional Seedballs & Pollinators
  • Finding History in the Mystery of the Grange
  • Escape Rooms
  • Bedtime & Stories & Homework time

Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to Grange Today!

Read THE Current Issue
Subscribe to Grange Today!

Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. To save server space, we only post the table of contents on the MSG Website.

View from the Farm – November 2024

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column includes all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! Phil writes this month’s column.

Making Microbes Happy

In my life, I’ve had a problem understanding wealth and success. The message I get from the culture around me is very different from the message I live.

As a farmer, wealth and success have different iterations, but they are all connected. The base of the issue is microbial. In order to accumulate wealth, I must make microbes happy. My first billion must fit easily on a spoon.

There are many ways to make microbes happy. It’s all in the recipe that you prepare and having proper ingredients. Aerobic microbes need oxygen; anaerobic do not–different recipes for the little buggers even though they eat the same foods. Feed them well, and they will make rich compost or living soil. Treat them poorly, and your soil suffers.

This base of wealth supports the soil, which then feeds everything. The invisible is made tangible.

Soil can then be used to grow food for humans directly or indirectly. One might pick a carrot and eat it for nutrition and pleasure, or one might pick a carrot and feed it to a hog that will later be eaten.

The community that grows around a small farm sits atop the pyramid of wealth and success. Soil creation and microbial de-light occur to tickle palates with flavor. They occur to further life.

Find yourself supporting microbes and soil, the wealth and success of local farms, and local ecosystems–the dividends are fantastic! Take your lessons from the deer in the pasture or the clearing, the fox in the hedgerow, and the hawk above the garden; they all know the food is better where the bases for wealth have been flourishing. We do, too.

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 permitted us to share some of their columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.

Grange Today! 11-12-2024

The Newsletter of the National Grange

Articles in this edition include:

  • The Heart of our Grassroots Structure: The Resolution Process including new strategies for Research and Writing
  • Cookie Decorating (Pre-Register)
  • How to Lead a Workshop
  • What to Do When Stuck Vertical Thinking.
  • Wreaths Across America
  • River Rock Painting
  • Planning and Executing Successful events: New Strategies
  • Emblem & Founders Activity
  • Bedtime & Stories & Homework time

Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to Grange Today!

Read THE Current Issue
Subscribe to Grange Today!

Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. To save server space, we only post the table of contents on the MSG Website.

Celebrate Veterans

elderly man hanging american flag by the window
Photo by Mike Jones on Pexels.com

Here are some ideas for celebrating our veterans on their special day that don’t require much planning.

  • Visit a Veterans Memorial or Cemetery. Contrary to some social media posts, Veterans Day honors both fallen and living Veterans. Memorial Day is meant to honor those who paid the ultimate price.
  • Serve the Veteran Community by volunteering or donating. You can combine this with your visit!
  • Go to a Veterans Day event. It may take some searching, or you could create your own. Put up a flag!
  • Create a moment of silence. A simple but powerful activity would involve concentrating on what our veterans make possible for us all.

These and some additional ideas are available at Veteran Life.

CWA Report – November 2024

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

Committee on Women’s Activities

It was nice to see many of you at State Grange session.
Thankfully, the items that went to “Big E” got back to me a few days before State Grange, so I was able to return these entries to the ladies who entered them. Winners at “Big E” from Maine:

  • Class B Doilies: Grace Weste, 3rd Place
  • Class C Embroidery: Gail Butterfield, 1st Place
  • Class E Plastic Canvas: Elmira Collins, 1st Place
  • Class G Adult Garment: Kathy Gowen, 3rd Place
  • Class I Quilted Wall Hanging: Jackie Morgan, 1st Place
  • Class J Stuffed Toy: Ann Burns, 3rd Place
  • Class K Baby Afghan: Elmira Collins, 2nd Place

Congratulations, ladies, you make Maine proud!

Also, at the State Grange Session, certificates were presented to the Granges that made donations to House in the Woods, Home for Little Wanderers, and prize money. A check for $630.00 was presented to Richard Harriman, who will present this to House in the Woods. I went to Home for Little Wanderers and presented them with a check for $605.00. There were also donations of diapers, diaper wipes, hats, mittens, and toys for them. These organizations are very thankful for the contributions the Granges donate to them.

I hope that you all have a very enjoyable Thanksgiving with your families. Let us be thankful every day.

Valley Grange Updates “TelaGranger”

By Walter Boomsma, Valley Grange Program Director

TelaGranger Masthead

The most recent issue has just been released! Articles include:

  • Veteran’s Day 2024
  • Meeting Friday, November 15, 2024
  • Knitters Kneeded!
  • Members Are Stars
  • Dictionary Days Update
  • Facebook Forward
  • Another Dues Reminder
  • Did Ya Know?
  • Area Grange Events
  • Valley Grange Contacts and Resources

You can read the entire issue here!

A recent review of our subscriber list shows we’ve lost some folks due to automation. Our program automatically stops sending issues if your email address doesn’t work. (The most common reason for this seems to be full mailboxes. Check your email and keep it clean!) Once the program stops sending to your address, we cannot override and resubscribe you. But you should be able to re-subscribe!

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