Dear Dedicated Members for Change,
It’s April 1, a new month. As we enter into Spring – a new season – here are some thoughts to contemplate from Grand Chaplain Rita Cooper.
F – L – T
Dave Rosenberg
Grand Master
Jurisdiction of California
Revival, Resurgence, Renewal
As I enjoy the lengthening days of the Spring Equinox, watch a tumble of excited children in their Easter egg hunt, and reflect upon the timeless messages of hope and renewal in the world’s great springtime spiritual traditions embodied in Easter and Passover, in the Hindu Ramanavami and the Islamic Ramadan, I think of our own precious Fellowship. I think of how our traditions, our time-honored rituals, and too often, even many of our Lodges, are all threatened by the persistent decline in the number of brothers and sisters needed to keep them alive and thriving.
So, as I watch new life leafing-out the sturdy old trees around me, new shoots greening the ancient hills on the horizon, I believe new life can be stimulated to bud forth in the Odd Fellows. I know that there is no more valuable thing that I can do for my world, for our world, than to work at rebuilding our Order. As an affirmation of life, I can work to assist in reviving Lodges threatened by extinction, can advise in the development of programs to recruit like-minded people to bolster our numbers. Although we may be hunkered down after a long winter of decline, I believe that Spring can come to the Odd Fellows from a commitment we can make for revival, resurgence, and renewal.
We can unite our hearts and minds and efforts so that our Fellowship, its Order and Mission, will continue to bring the warmth, the light, and the life of Spring to our troubled world.
In Friendship, Love and Truth,
Rita Cooper
Grand Chaplain