In Odd Fellowship, there are some practical reasons to “level up” as quickly as possible. The more Odd Fellows there are who meet minimum requirements, the more operational roles can be filled. Staffing critical roles keeps our important work going: the work of organizing, serving, leading, and moving the democratic process forward. This is especially important in times of attrition, or gaps in the lodge leadership.
With that acknowledged, members who sprinted into the daily work of Odd Fellowship right after initiation should do their best to backtrack, and to build up their knowledge about the Order. To their credit, most members do thoughtful and admirable research before joining up. Because Odd Fellowship has secrets only known to the initiated though, it’s possible to be made a member without a detailed knowledge of the Order’s inner workings, evolutions, lessons, successes and struggles. As a newer Odd Fellow, you simply don’t know what you don’t know.
As a relatively new Odd Fellow here are some great ways that I’ve discovered, to expand my knowledge of the Order:
Finding Mentors:
- With time and discerning, figure out who is knowledgeable and consistently willing to share that knowledge. Often, established Odd Fellows are one of the best sources of information about Odd Fellowship. Find folks who celebrate your curiosity, and who will let you pick their brain.
- Remember: mentors also exist outside of your lodge. Assisting a sister lodge, attending regional Odd Fellow events or connecting with Odd family through the internet can also build bridges with knowledgeable Odd Fellows.
Finding things to read:
- Whether these are publicly available books, or writings that are for Odd eyes only (like a charge book), there is a wealth of information out there on our history, structure, and processes.
- If your lodge doesn’t already have a member library, ask them to consider putting one together. It may make learning easier for the members.
- Websites like odd-fellows.org, askmeimayknow.com, and oddfellowsguide.com link to a number of great resources as well.
Listening to podcasts and recordings:
- Did you know that there are a number of easy to search podcasts about Odd Fellowship? These can be a good way to get episodic snapshots of the history, mystery, varied perspectives, and daily workings of the Order.
Getting involved (when practical) and looking for the lessons:
Life is busy, especially for many of us in the sandwich gap generation. With that said, there are many ways to get involved with Odd Fellowship that can vary with the size of your lodge. Each type of involvement allows you to see a different dimension of how we each fit into Odd Fellowship, and how Odd Fellowship fits into the wider world.
- Helping with degree work reminds us of the lessons Odd Fellowship hopes to teach, and center. It also shows us nuances that we might not have caught the first time around.
- Helping with committee work reminds us of who we are to our various communities.
- Helping with lodge leadership gives us more insight into the democratic process, and inner operations.
Continuing to learn:
- Even as we get more seasoned and gain deeper knowledge about the Order, let’s never stop being curious. There is always more to learn!
So why is it so important to build knowledge? Because that expanded knowledge helps you to better understand where the Order and its mission speaks to you. It helps you to better understand how the Order fits into the wider world. And lastly, growing your knowledge of the Order helps you to better serve as a resource, and a mentor to others.
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Want to more about the Odd Fellows? Ask Me I May Know!
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