Official Organ Of The Slavonic Benevolent Order Of The State Of Texas. Founded 1897. BENEVOLENCE
VOLUME 53 — NO. 11 -
HUMANITY
BROTHE HOOD
Postmaster: Please Send Form 3579 with Undeliverable Copies to: SUPREME LODGE, SPJST, r. 0. flex 100, TEMPLE, TEXAS
MARCH 17, 1965
h DESK AIL SPRING . . . Before you know it, spring will be here officially, even if the temperature outside may not indicate it. With the coming of spring, all sorts of lodge activities will resume, especially where the weather precluded such activities during the cold winter months. Spring makes you want to get out and move around — DO something. Some of these renewed functions will include bazaars, picnics, dances, plays, and other forms of warm weather type of amusements. Don't forget to include the youth in all these activities. Let them assume an active part in them. Try to make your functions as high level as possible. Try to have them include more than just barbecue and refreshments. Include something of a cultural, lasting value that will arrest the attention of your community and make a lasting impression. The children will trus derive more from these activities. The Supreme Lodge has set forth the rules for the various king-queen and duchess contests coming up this summer and fall. There is room for everybody in these contests. Local youth leaders have the rules. Check with her and get your child to enter. Not only are they interesting but monetarily rewarding. Help your youth leaders! They will appreciate it, and you and
GUARD YOUR WORDS By our words we justify our worth, or condemn oursf.dves in the eyes of those who 'know us, declares Carl Holmes, a sage of Tampa, Florida. Our words reveal our character. our tastes, cm' reverence or irreverence, our sincerity or insincerity, our honesty or dishonesty, our loyally or disloyalty. Once Elizabeth Towne, the wellknown writer, said, "Would you be at peace? Speak peace to the world. Would you be loved? Speak love to the world. Would you be successful? Speak success to the world. For all the world is so closely akin that not one individual may realize his desire except all the world share it with him. A.ntl every good word you send into the world is a silent, mighty power, working for the ideal which you advocate." your children can only stand to gain from the experience. • Dissension and I armory In any group, dissension from within often contributes more to failure than resistance from without. When people undertake to change the status quo, they ase. bound to encounter a certain amount of disapproval. Some resent this "intrusion." They become especially sensitive to criticism, real or imagined. Consequently, in our deal-
ings with fellow members, we should bend over backward to be tactful. For example, try not to be too blunt about the weaknesses in a plan proposed by a fellow member. Choose your words carefully, so they won't sting. Frequently, in lodge work. quarrels are apt to arise over who had the right to do what without first putting it to a vote. Remedy: elect your chairmen of committees and sub-committees right oil Specify just which issues require prior approval, which ones require committee approval, which ones require individual initiative, and which require the approval of the whole membership. This may sound like a lot of formality and unnecessary ritual, but it sure promotes efficiency and, more important, helps protect the feelings of individuals. Some people are extrasensitive about procedural matters. Any group or organization involves INDIVIDUALS, and each one is apt to interpret things a little differently at times. It's human nature. Even in groups such as our SPJST lodges, where there are the same overall goals and aims, there may be a whole range of different attitudes about how or when something is to be accom plished. Remedy: clarify which projects get top priority, next priority, and so on down the line. At the same time, individuals can work on their own "pet"
PICTURES OF HOUSTON OPENING IN THIS ISSUE