St. Paul daily globe., 1892-12-27
SPIRIT OF ONENESS.
Grand Master McCurdy's Christ
mas Greeting to the knights
Templar Of America. AZ
From Ocean to Ocean Sir knights
Find Restful Music in the -,
Little Word One. o


Curdy, grand master of the Knights
Templar of the United States. issued
the following Christmas greeting in
response to a toast in his honor, which
was Joined in by members of that order
at meetings held all over the country
yesterday: @u sosla
"Corunna. Mich, Dec. 25, 1892. .-ToaAu
Knights Templar of Our Obedience
Greeting:. Acknowledging with pro-
found gratitude the high honor which
you tender me by meeting IN your asy-
Ium this day at noon and joining in this
Christmas toast: TO Our Grand
Master, Hugh McCurdy. From ocean
to ocean and from the gulf to the lakes,
ninety thousand TempIarS send merry
Christmas greetings In response to
this sentiment, can only offer you the
promptingS of heart oyert1oWing with
gratitude and good will to all-maIice
toward none-mellowed and Sanctified
by the divine inspiration of this hal-
lowed season of the year, when heart
goes out to heart, and redolent JOY of
sweetest fragrance fills every memory.
would not presume ftly to respond to
greetings from NINETY thousand Tenn
plars from ocean to ocean, from gulf to
lakes" were it not for the truth that.
TemplariSn'S magic word is that little
mon0syllable One. In this word what
restful music we find. OF its charm
all are conscious. There is no
word in language more power
full; it is the first element of thought; it
holds the first place in human life. 1t
is the beginning and the end of all
things. The best words and deeds of
men have been spoken and done in its
spirit. In this spirit. Sir Knights, your
greetings come; i'll this spirit are they
received. No greeting is more in har-
mony with all that Tenlplarism embodles
than Christmas greeting with its in
spring memories of the angels song of
Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men,
Only so far as relnpiariSm works for this
end has it claim to the homage of men.
The world cares very little for elevation
of sentiment in greeting, i'll sermon, or
in song, unless it sees it manifested in
some proof. It's not, then, 10000 Tenn.
plars sending Christmas greetings 20
which lam invited to respond, but to
the Templar unity which, in the ever
blessed spirit OF this glad season, greets
allAremplafs, and which ali Templars
greet.
The spirit of Christmastide is the
spirit of oneness. The spirit ofsthe Son
Of man who joined man and his God
with sense of companlOnShip. Words,
names, conditions. creeds, divide men.
These all become meaningless IN the
presence of the greetings of Christmas
time. How the walls of partition fall at
the sound of this word, One-the word
of the century-the watchWord OF our
day: a word which men may safely
trust and safely follow, wherever it may
!
is the mission of Templarism as it is the
mission of Christmas to conciliate' all
antagonisms. all dividing and separat
ing influences to make more sacred the
claims of the fatherhOod OF God,
and the brotherhood of man. Templafs
ism is in the world and we are Templars..
Human needs, human love, human SON.
row, i'll these all men one. 52
''remplarism is in the world today, ,a,,
The banner of the cross to bear. 'i'
And its strength with human weakness share.
Here, like 92
'.The star flower Of the virgin child hS
Sown by some wandering Frank to tell to-
Men the story of the Saylours birth. re-
''And, as !0h
From natures face that simple flower
'rhe lines of sin and sadness swept ITO
And magian pile, and paynim bower lJiv1
In peace like that of Eden slept.
$50 1emplarism grows in all its truer
better self to ease the burden of the
world. Its true life, like the life of its
leader-the star flower or Bethlehem--is
perpetual song whose music is the glad
ness of the world. because an echo of
that first Christmas song of a true broth
erhood. Peace on earth and good will
te men, And Sir Knights, on this glad
dest day of all Nthe year, assembled i'll
your asylums, and standing i'll magic cir
Gle around our shrines, we pledge each
to the other and to all Sir Knights
throughout the world a more unswerv-
ing faith in the principles and prayer
and practices of our magnanimous
brotherhood. Let US sing with the voice
and will:
"Behold the drink of Gods.
They drink and 10 in heart and brain
new glad life began: s
The gray of hair grew youngagain:
The sick.lnan laughed away h is pain.