Have you ever wondered why your fraternal Order is sometimes called a “society”?
One simple explanation is that your lodge mirrors a model community, with all of its key roles and interdependent functions.
Musicians and Scene Supporters are like the creatives, artists, and actors that enrich our daily life by giving voice to our imaginations.
The Noble and Vice Grands along with their Supporters, are the governors and village leaders who help to organize and realize the desires of the people.
Past Grands are village elders who, because of their well earned experience, give historical perspective to newer leaders and to the people overall.
The Chaplain represents spiritual leadership within the community.
Guardians act as the neighborhood watch — ensuring that the community can enjoy peace and that their resources are not preyed upon.
The Recording Secretary is a historian, librarian, and archivist, helping members to organize communication, and to accurately remember the past.
Trustees stand in for the craftspeople in society who maintain the important dwelling and gathering places.
Committee members organize the gathering of food and other resources used to care for the collective.
The Treasurer and Financial Secretary are stewards of the town’s collective resources.
And the general members are the invested denizens of the community. They build and reinforce the network of connection, support, and social safety. Each person has an equal potential to lead.
Since all of these roles mirror a type of ideal society, this means that our participation in Odd Fellowship is practice. Odd Fellowship lets us practice being the best community member we can be. Odd Fellowship is preparation to build or rebuild community as needed, in the wider world.
As Odd Fellows we often talk about principles that tend to make people social and humane. Principles alone will never achieve that though; principles and practice must work in tandem. Odd Fellows practice civic engagement within an interactive interdependent community, and they carry that spirit, and those well rehearsed skills beyond the lodge.
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