Official Organ Of the Slavonic Benevolent Order Of The State Of Texas. Founded 189'7. BENEVOLENCE
VOLUME 56 — NO. 21
HUMANITY
BIt0PIIERHOOD
Postmaster: Please Send Form 3579 with Undeliverable Copies to: SUPREME LODGE SPJST, P011 100, TEMPLE, PEW.. 76'501
MAY 22, 198R
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK HORSE SENSE
THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER "If you have faith in us and trust in us, we can do a better job for our SPJST in the years to come." • The above quotation is taken from one of the winning posters displayed by one of the youth clubs in District II at that district's spring meeting at Beyersville. The simple thought and plea expressed in this sentence caught my eye and I was quite impressed by its message. In it, the young people are asking for nothing more, really, than a chance to prove that they can do things in our SPJST and that they have faith in the outcome of what they do. They ask that we trust them with responsibilities and let them prove themselves to us. Someone wrote not too long ago about the days when women and young people at our lodge meetings were considered more of a tolerable nui sance than anything else, and if you happened to have had the courage to express yourself as a younger member (in your twenties perhaps), you were promptly put in your place by one of the older members of the lodge. Even though the woirienfolks were taken
A horse can't pull while kicking — This fact I merely mention, And he can't kick while pulling, Which is my chief contention. Lot's imitate the good old horse And lead a life that's fitting; Just null an honest load, and then There'll be no time for kicking. in as members from the very start of our Society, their presence in lodge meetings was frowned upon and discouraged for a good many years. We did not take juveniles (under 18) in as members until sometime in the thirties, although this was primarily because of the then-existing hazards of childhood diseases that have since been conquered by modern medicine. After that, it was a long time before we included our children in our lodge activities and came upon the idea of forming youth clubs to foster youth activity. Times have changed — and for the better! Today, those lodges that do not resound with the voices of children engaged in all sorts of activities are apt to be in trouble. They are the mainstay of our future growth. All they
ask is to be a part of us. All we have to do is Let them .. . Maturity. One of the principal tests of maturity is the ability to tolerate discomfort, criticism, and anxiety without taking it out on others. This holds true for the waitress, teacher, salesperson, secretary, as well as the physician, nurse, and other professional people. No one is immune to these stresses of human character, but not all successfully withstand the test. Charity. There are many kinds of charity. It certainly involves more than giving money to charitable causes. More and more, this attribute involves relations between individuals and how one person treats another. Charity is the finest of human qualities. It cannot be forced. Only the desire to be helpful makes help an act of charity. It is not merely an offering of money or material help. It has the quality of graciousness, of doing something that one is not really obligated to do, of making a concession now and then. Our SPJST family atmosphere is charged with a great deal of emotion and strong feelings and opinions, especially now in the countdown period just prior to the convention. No one
1967 ANNUAL STATEMENT IN THIS ISSUE