William Penn Life, 1988 (23. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1988-06-01 / 6. szám
Page 10, William Penn Life, June 1988 CELEBRATE FLAG DAY JUNE 14 Americans celebrate Flag Day, Constitution’s Bi-centennial Throughout the nation, many church, civic and fraternal groups are preparing special activities to celebrate Flay Day June 14. Listed below are just nine ways to mark this holiday. Some are relatively simple while others require more planning. While there most likely is insufficient time now to start planning an event for this year’s Flag Day, there is plenty of time to organize an event for next year. Any of these activities would also be an appropriate way in which to celebrate the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. I The flag symbolizes freedom, and the U.S. Constitution guarantees this freedom. Sponsor a community program highlighting the Bicentennial of the Constitution. Contact a local speaker’s bureau for suggested speakers. Incorporate a flag raising ceremony into the program. Advertise the program through public service announcements to air on radio or television. ■ Sponsor an essay contest again tying the Bicentennial of the Constitution and the celebration of Flag Day. Suggested topics include "What Freedom Means to Me” or "How the U.S. Constitution Affects My Everyday Life.” Read the winning essay at a special flag raising ceremony. ■ Plan a picnic for your monthly meeting and a special flag raising ceremony. Have families bring covered dishes and have games and contests planned. ■ Present a new flag to a local nursing home, church or community center. Follow with a flag raising ceremony. Invite the Boy Scouts and/or American Legion to participate. Purchasing flags in bulk can reduce costs. ■ Sponsor a poster contest and ask downtown merchants or the main or branch libraries to display entries. Encourage participation by producing a public service announcement for local radio stations to play. ■ "As American as apple pie” is a familiar saying. Sponsor an apple pie eating contest on Flag Day with proceeds to go to a civic project or to your branch’s favorite charity. I Plan a community program in conjunction with the American Legion or other veteran’s group. Include an invocation, a speech on the meaning of Flag Day, the flag raising, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the singing of the "Star-Spangled Banner,” and a benediction. Ask a high school band to play patriotic music at the park. ■ Present a special award certificate to a member of your branch or a local resident for his or her civic accomplishments at a flag raising ceremony. ■ Arrange for a dramatic reading or interpretation of the Constitution including a special flag raising ceremony at your branch. Invite the public and hold an open house afterwards. Renewing our pledge A message from the National Fraternal Congress of America "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and justice for all.” Each day thousands of youngsters at school and adults at public meetings recite this pledge to our beloved Flag which represents our great country. June 14 is our Flag’s day. It commemorates the adoption of our first Flag by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. It is the day especially set aside by President Woodrow Wilson on May 30, 1916, when he issued a proclamation in which he said in part: "It has seemed to me fitting that I should call your attention to the approach of the anniversary of the day upon which the Flag of the United States was adopted by the Congress as an emblem of the Union and to suggest to you that it should this year and in the years to come be given special significance ...” "I, therefore, suggest and request that throughout the nation, and if possible, in every community, the fourteenth day of June be observed as Flag Day, with special patriotic exercises, at which means shall be taken to give significant expression to our thoughtful love of America ... our determination to make it greater and purer ...” "When we observe Flag Day, we help our children to better understand the principles of liberty and justice which make our nation great. We show the world that we are a nation of responsible citizens dedicated to preserving these precepts for future generations. Finally, as individuals, we renew our own belief in America and freedom and justice for all.” This year, it is the hope of the National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA), an organization of over 100 fraternal benefit societies in America, that we heed President Wilson’s words and honor our Flag with "special patriotic exercises.” Flag Day has a very important meaning for members of the NFCA for it marks the end of Fraternal Week. A week designated to better acquaint America with the volunteer efforts of some ten million members of fraternal benefit societies—members who carry out programs and projects for the betterment of mankind and our nation. What better way to show our love for this great country than by honoring the symbol that represents America across the entire world than by raising the Flag at your home or office. May "Old Glory” always wave over a peaceful land, and may it be shown in a peaceful world. Observe rules while flying the U.S* Flag On Flag Day, June 14, we hope all William Penn members will fly the U.S. Flag proudly in front of their homes and workplaces. By flying the flag, you demonstrate your belief in the ideals upon which our country was founded. Here are some rules you should observe when displaying our flag: 1. When the flag is suspended over a sidewalk from a rope extending from a house to a pole at the edge of the sidewalk, it should be hoisted out, union (blue field) first, from the building. 2. When the flag is displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle from the window sill, balcony, or front of a building, the union of the flag should be placed at the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half-staff. 3. When displayed in a manner other than by being flown from a staff, the flag should be displayed flat, whether indoors or out. When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be uppermost and to the flag’s own right, that is, to the viewer’s left. 4. When displayed in a window it should be displayed in the same way, that is, with the union to the left of the observer in the street. 5. When carried in a procession with another flag, the flag should be either on the marching right, or, if there is a line of other flags, in front of the center of that line. 6. The flag should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of states, localities or societies are grouped and displayed from staffs. 7. When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height with the U.S. Flag in the position of honor at the U.S. Flag’s own right, which is the extreme left to the viewer. The flags should be of approximately equal size. 8. The U.S. Flag should never be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags are dipped as a mark of honor. TMnnal Proclamation CONGRESS ———^ OF AMERICA A Fraternal Week and Flag Day WHEREAS, the fraternal benefit societies of America for many years have sponsored FRATERNAL WEEK as a means for informing the American people of their patriotic and civic activities; and WHEREAS, cultural and spiritual values have long been recognized by ff atemalists as the foundation of our nation; and WHEREAS, ffatemalists with a long tradition of reverence for the ideals of patriotism have promoted respect and recognition of the flag of our nation; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that seven days beginning Wednesday, June 8, 1988, and ending Tuesday, June 14, 1988, be designated as FRATERNAL WEEK and that member societies of the National Fraternal Congress of America along with state fraternal congresses promote the celebration of FRATERNAL WEEK and call upon the leaders of local units throughout this Land of Liberty to apprise the nation of the ideals and objectives of the fraternal benefit system, and be it further RESOLVED, that on June 14, ffatemalists throughout the United States be encouraged to observe the birthday of the Stars and Stripes by organizing, promoting, and conducting flag-raising ceremonies in cooperation with other civic groups, and be it further RESOLVED, that this proclamation be sent to all member societies of the National Fraternal Congress of America and be communicated by them to their members. &Z Cß Cßi <=2/. C/fbasbieso President, NFCA
