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Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
  Orange Standard

Institution Is Expanding Worldwide

Article 1 ~ September 2004

The Orange Institution is expanding, and not only in Northern Ireland but throughout the world.

The encouraging upsurge of interest includes the formation of new Lodges, and an influx of new recruits. A significant number have joined after connecting with the Orange websites, not just in Northern Ireland, but in Canada and other countries.

The past year saw the formation of a very impressive new Lodge in Alabama, USA, while in neighbouring Canada, the Orange membership in Toronto increased by an impressive 10 per cent.

Closer to home, new Lodges have been formed in Scarborough and other parts of England, while north of the border the Scottish Orange Institution continues to grow at a remarkable pace.

Here in Northern Ireland, the numbers on parade these past two years have reached pre-Troubles numbers, while in the Republic, the brethren continue to witness in large numbers.

This is all highly encouraging and all Orangemen must redouble their efforts to attract more recruits, ever bearing in mind the need to ensure that these welcome newcomers meet the high requirements placed on membership, especially that relating to Christian commitment.

In an increasingly changing and complex world, the Orange Institution can be a bulwark for the Protestant faith in any country, expecially those where the Roman Church has a dominant position.

In the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth nations like Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the Orange Order is in the forefront in standing firm for the Crown and the Monarchy.

In non-Commonwealth countries like the United States, Togo, and other countries, the Order has no difficulty in identifying itself with the defence of Protestantism.

New recruits have come from countries like Poland and Germany in recent times. A Lodge has been formed in Wales, where the Orange Order once had a significant membership, and there have been inquiries from South Africa which once had a number of Lodges.

The Reformed faith is under pressure in many parts of the world, while the British ethos is being challenged by republican groups in Australia and New Zealand.

Canada, long an Orange stronghold, and in the days of Empire the premier dominion, is still strongly attached to the British link.

But Toronto, once the great fortress of Orangeism, and peopled mainly by folk from the British Isles, is now mutli-cultural, and the British presence is now a minority one.

The province of Ontario is overwhelmingly British in chararcter and that is where the Orange is strongest. But as parades of every ethnic group in Europe take place in Toronto each year, the need was never greater for the witness of the British 'founding fathers' and that is performed by the Orange Order each July 12.

It is a tradition now recognised as vital by the Canadians of British extraction, and they are dertermined to maintain this proud tradition.

The constant clamour of Roman Catholic and French Quebec for special treatment by the Canadian Government means that people in the other Canadian provinces, mostly founded by British people, look to the Orange Order to make their views known. And in the great island of Newfoundland, the Orange Order continues to prosper, with membership steadily increasing.

In Australia, the Orange Order created a new interest a few years ago as it stood firm during the constitutional referendum for the Queen and the Crown.

Republicans lost that particular battle, but they will be back, and that means the Orange Order must continue to be vigilant and to make its stand for the Monarchy.

No lack of issues there to keep Orangeism on its toes, and when one adds things like growing secularism, materialism, the debasing of traditional morals and principles, and the inroads on Sunday observance, then the great need for the Orange Order is underlined.

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