 12th
July 2002 Resolutions
THE FAITH: As Churchmen and Orangemen our faith is
Christ centred, Bible based, and expressed in the
stated beliefs of the early Church, the Protestant Reformers
and the Articles, Confessions and Creeds of the Reformed Churches.
We declare our commitment to Christ as the Lord and Saviour
of human kind, not doubting His divinity or questioning His
power and authority over us and our constant dependence on
Him.
We determine to be faithful followers of Jesus with those
who mirror Christs loving presence in the world.
Our positive contribution to, and support of the Church,
is unlike the negative attitude of some who calling themselves
Christians deny the doctrines of the faith and in so doing
abuse the trust people repose in them.
We deplore the disloyalty and divisions that reduce the effectiveness
of the Church and which dissuades people from receiving and
enjoying the benefits of the Gospel.
We see it as our duty to defend the faith against those who
are in the Church but not of the Church, in sincerity and
honesty.
We are grateful to those who taught us the knowledge of the
faith and we accept our responsibility to pass that faith
on to others.
We take that obligation seriously.
LOYALTY: That we the Orangemen assembled at
..in
Commemoration of the 312th Anniversary of the Battle of the
Boyne do hereby reaffirm our devotion and loyalty to the Throne
and Person of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland and Her other Realms, Defender of the Faith.
In this Her Golden Jubilee Year we join in the tributes to
Her Majesty for Her Fifty Years of devotion and service to
the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
We were delighted to once again welcome Her Majesty and Prince
Philip to Northern Ireland as part of Her Jubilee Tour.
The Celebrations particularly those in June across the Kingdom
clearly demonstrated the love, respect, and devotion of a
people for their Sovereign.
THE STATE: As Orangemen while convinced of the value
of a devolved Assembly in Northern Ireland we are concerned
that it be of the kind and quality acceptable to all who want
the fair and just government we require.
The Assembly, as it is, is not what was promised to us by
the Prime Minister and the Belfast Agreement, with its members
totally committed to peace; and with no place for politicians
who have not in word and deed, renounced violence for political
or any other purposes.
The refusal of Sinn Fein/I.R.A. to honour its obligations
and to be politicians only, means that the other parties are
required to share in the administration with those whose loyalty,
honesty and credibility must be suspect.
The Assembly cannot have a good future when there is such
evident distaste of some members by other members within it.
Deploring the questionable means and methods used to obtain
the Belfast Agreement we realise that the level of disunity
among unionists, which means they neither speak nor act together,
is a factor in creating an undesirable situation.
We appeal again for unionist unity and for a better understanding
of how we must proceed in our efforts to obtain the government
we were promised.
We shall do all we can to help bring about that elusive permanent
peace and prosperity which is the desire of all good citizens.
SPECIAL RESOLUTION: Our Institution declares its total
condemnation of all violence.
It does so in a society constantly victimised by that culture
of violence which is prevalent in our world today.
We declare our determination to stand by the principles of
the Order and our Reformed Faith.
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