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Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
  Orange Standard

For Christ and the Church

Article 3 ~ July 2003

"Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, live like men, be strong. Let everything you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:13.

We constantly admire the commitment of our brethren to their church. There is a splendid devotion to it as the repository of the faith expressed in words and actions which contribute to the acceptance by many in this society, of Christian values and principles.

Their loyalty to the church is of inestimable value to them and to it, spiritually, in the shared worship of God, and in forms and ceremonies often of proven worth over several centuries; and practically, in the maintenance of its structures to meet its obligations to Christ and people.

The church has had to accept changes in a society, increasingly secularist, irreligious and indifferent to what were previously generally accepted ethical standards of conduct. This is an age of revolution and the church more than ever must present the faith in words that are simple, clear, precise and appealing.

Time was when few people were outside the influence of the church. Time is that very many have little or no contact with the church or with church members, how to best reach people with the gospel is the task the church faces continuously, and pressingly, whatever the difficulties. The church has to be in touch with people, using any available means of communication necessary to persuade them to turn to Christ, to receive and to enjoy the benefits He brings us.

While the old and proven means of reaching people with the good news of Jesus Christ - teaching and preaching - remain very important elements in Christian communication, other ways are being used to ensure that the faith is known, understood and accurately evaluated. They include methods which were used for generations - radio, television, books, newspapers, tracts, pamphlets, play, film, pageant and exhibition - initiative has never been lacking. More concentrated use of these mediums and with the incredible machinations of the computer added, evangelism has widened its scope.

The talent and skill of the Christian can be used in numerous ways for the primary purposes of the church which are:

  • to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom;
  • to teach, baptize and nurture new believers;
  • to respond to human need by loving service;
  • to seek to transform the unjust structures of society.

The proposal of the Anglican Lambeth Conference 1998 was to add:

  • to safeguard the integrity of creation and renew the life of the earth.

The faith and the practice of it is spelled out here in terms acceptable to church people whatever their denominational allegience.

And in evangelism there is always the one to one, person to person, contact. The Christian whose personal testimony to what faith in Christ has meant in his life, can at times persuade others to turn to Him too.

The stand for Christ and Christian values has been a charge on Orangeism from its beginning.

We commend, then, the educational affairs committee of Grand Lodge whose publications - the tract, "Know Surrender" is one of them. These are intended to remind the brethren, and to tell the people of their need for a personal commitment to Christ as the Saviour and Lord of their lives.

It is regrettable, unfair end unjust, that as a Christian organisation, we suffer from misjudgment and misrepresentation when those good things for which we stand are obvious to everyone.

In a statement of December 1998 the Order said:

"Our thinking on religion, politics and social questions is governed by our Christian beliefs. Anything which is not compatible with them is to be refused and rejected,"

In a prayer:

"We ask God for the clarity to hear His voice, the wisdom to understand what He is saying to us today and the courage to rise up and do it."

Canon Dr. S.E. Long

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