| NOVEMBER 5, 2014 -- “Oh, how good and pleasant it is, when brethren live together in unity!” These words from Psalm 133 also appear at the end of our Grange installation ceremony. We find an echo of this in our Grange motto: “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity”. And finally, at the Last Supper, our Lord said “ A new commandment I give you: that you love one another as I have loved you.”
Thus the message is clear. Despite the fact that our fellow brothers and sisters in the Grange come in all colors, flavors, and sizes, despite the fact that we have a high diversity of opinions, of backgrounds, of religious and political viewpoints, we are bound together in a single fraternity. Sometimes we may find ourselves in strident disagreement with one another, sometimes we may be angered or distressed by another Granger’s actions or words, but at the end of the day we must put these aside and embrace each other in a spirit of love and brotherhood.
What unites us is stronger than what divides us. In the Grange, as in any large family, we will have likes and dislikes, people we prefer being around compared to others. But we must learn to LOVE even those we do not particularly like, because we ARE all one family, one community of brothers and sisters, with common goals and objectives. |
