Death and The Lady

Believed to be written during the Bubonic Plague or “Black Death” during the late 14th and early 15th century, this song reflects on some of the lessons in the Initiatory Degree. English Folk Singer Norma Waterson sets the song up and sings magnificently. The lyrics can be found below. Waterson:Carthy sings Death and the Lady As […]

James Montgomery, Author of Friendship, Love, and Truth.

James Montgomery may be a poet that influenced some of our ritual. He may have written some of it as well, but he is absolutely the author of the Odd Fellow’s song “Friendship, Love, and Truth.” James Montgomery’s parents were Moravian missionaries, and from County Antrim, in what is now Northern Ireland. After James was […]

Facebook and Political Posts.

It’s political season in the United States. In the lodge, politics and religion are forbidden topics of discussion among members. Outside of the lodge, not so much. Here’s a reminder: THIS is who we are in IOOF: We’re friends! This is who we are NOT: As an Odd Fellow, I do everything in my […]

Interview Committees Are Important

Interviewing Committee: A committee appointed to call on applicants for membership, to check their references, to determine the moral character and other qualifications of said applicant and recommend the admission or rejection of said applicants. This committee shall also determine the proficiency of applicants for admission by card in the degrees indicated on the card. […]

The All Seeing Eye and Objective Consciousness

Although pop culture (like the AMC show LODGE 49) idolizes lodge symbolism in general, there is absolutely no way those on the outside can ever understand our symbolism unless they are members of the Order of Odd Fellows. Because no matter how hard they try, they always miss the exact things to which our symbolism points. […]

I Have Never Seen the Righteous Forsaken

King David holds sway over Odd Fellowship, much as King Solomon, David’s son, holds sway over Freemasonry. David is represented in both our Initiatory and First Degrees. In the Initiatory Degree, many believe the Warden plays the role of King David. Others believe the Warden is simply the archetypal wise man. He is old, hard […]

odd fellows and “that fresh cut!”

How you feel when “YOU GET THAT CUT!!,” and become an Odd Fellow! Please visit and LIKE our Facebook page: Heart In Hand Blog on Facebook “The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) will not discriminate against any individual on the basis of disability, age [other than that of minimum to join the Order (lodge, […]

What We’d Like To See From Sovereign Grand Lodge

Some of our staff at Heart In Hand have compiled a list of things we’d like to see Sovereign Grand Lodge discuss. Some of these ideas may already be under discussion and we may not be aware of it. Collect data, and use it to develop specific and measurable plans to grow membership. Encourage the SGM […]

Katy Perry, Polarity, and Problem Solving

Hermes Trismegistus, an Egyptian mystic and philosopher, stated that all things have polarity or two sides. My grandmother used to say “there are two sides to every story.” And it’s true that every event, every position, every direction, has two sides, two aspects, or has an opposite. Front and back, on and off, hot and […]

Disability, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Race, Resolution No. 5!

(Italics, red letters, boldface is used by author of this post to HIGHLIGHT important parts of the code in this first section) From the IOOF Code of Laws: “Resolution No. 5 – 2017 – by unanimous consent – adopted Thursday the 24th August 2017 The Executive Committee of The Sovereign Grand Lodge moved the following, […]

23,000 Views, and THANKS!

23,000 views…daaaang! We never expected this! We’ve been a blog for just over a year. Thank you, if you’ve ever read ONE article on Heart In Hand. If you’ve read more than one, thank you again and again. And, to put some of ya’ll on blast, we’ve learned something about you: You love the Order, […]

Odd Fellowship and a View of Urban America

Do you hate living in the city? Or do you live in the country and you’re glad you don’t live in the city? Even though country living may be seen as the ideal by some, the truth is, the United States is becoming more urban each decade. There has been a decline in rural population […]