Elevating Character – By Ian Love-Jones

I did not seek initiation because of famous Odd Fellows, though there are many. The marketing doesn’t hurt though! It can be exciting to know in the back of your mind, that your name appears in the same registers with titans in history … In our enthusiasm for shared kinship with strong willed leaders, and high achievers, we should also be discerning about whom we celebrate. I caution discernment not because I ever expect humans to be perfect and uncomplicated – I expect quite the opposite, in fact. I am only observing that notoriety is not always the mark of a life spent promoting or demonstrating good character, or even a life that demonstrated redemptive change.

Light A Candle – by Ian Love-Jones

Please know that lighting a candle rather than simply cursing the darkness isn’t about ignoring challenges, looking down on healthy venting, or creating some self initiated cure-all. Lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness is a reminder of how important it is to first find some hope, when throwing up our hands would feel far easier. It is an encouragement to do just what we can when the world seems bleak, and we are tired. Lighting a candle and not just cursing the darkness is a lesson: that even small lights when openly shone, can travel far, signal needs or solutions, summon non-judgmental helpers, and inspire others to light their own candles so that we can press back the gloom as a collective.

A Secret Garden -By Ian Love-Jones

The fraternal lodge is a sealed space where inner growth-work can happen in seclusion. It’s a secret garden of sorts, a place where we can cultivate the delicate fruits of change that the wider world may see later on.

The hidden journey of growth is a concept known to many fraternal folks. Odd Fellows shun worldly praise in favor of “treasures in heaven” (spiritual rewards). Hermetic scholars watch over the science of gradual transformation, knowing that a controlled setting is crucial to cause and effect.

The Lodge as a Microcosm of a Positive Society -By Torbjörn Andersson

The lodge as a microcosm of a positive society.

Within the quiet atmosphere of the lodgeroom, something remarkable takes shape.
Through ceremony, symbols, and fellowship, the lodge becomes far more than a meeting place. It becomes a reflection of society as it could be at its very best: a microcosm of a positive society built upon tradition, dignity, respect, truth, and brotherhood.

Secret Society, Public Society – By Ian Love-Jones

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.

Tiers of Transformation -By Ian Love-Jones

What stands out to you about degrees in fraternalism? Is it the regalia? Is it downloading large amounts of new information into your brain? Maybe it’s memory work and recitation, or theatre? When I think of degrees in fraternalism and in life overall, I can’t help but think about transformation. I think about the degrees of difference between a block of ice, and a cloud of vapor in the sky – one solid and unyielding, one soaring and expanding.

What does it mean to do FLT? -By Aiden Brink

For those uninitiated, FLT, or Friendship, Love and Truth is the motto of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. They make up the three links of Oddfellowship, its most important symbol. That being said, why do these principles hold such a high importance in the order? How do we actually do FLT?

Beyond the Threshold – A Passage – By Torbjörn Andersson

There are moments in life that arrive in silence yet remain long within us. Within the lodge, the crossing of a threshold forms such a moment. It appears simple, almost ordinary, yet it carries a depth shaped by tradition, intention, and shared experience. A threshold marks a turning.

The Way and the Why -by Ian Love-Jones

Lately my work has opened my eyes to how easily practices are either misunderstood, missing from formal writings, or disconnected from practical use as time passes. In my frequent reviews of written texts and oral-accounts, I find myself asking meaningful questions. Questions like: how did we get here, is this official, should we still be here, and sometimes, what might it take to get to something that serves us better?

THEY LAUGH BECAUSE I AM DIFFERENT. I LAUGH BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL THE SAME. -By Ian Irving Bacungan, Grand Sire, PHL

For a long time, I carried that line like a banner of defiance — as if being different meant standing in opposition, as if it were about resisting the crowd simply to prove that I could. I wore it like armor. I thought it was rebellion. I thought it was drawing a line between myself and the world and daring anyone to cross it. But the deeper I walked into Odd Fellowship, the more that understanding began to unravel.

On Being Kind and On Being Nice -By Ian Irving Bacungan, Grand Sire, PHL

There are seasons in the life of an Order when reflection becomes necessary — not because we are failing, but because we care deeply about who we are becoming.

This is one of those seasons.

Today, I speak not only as a leader, but as a brother who loves this insitution. A brother who
believes in its mission. A brother who has stood at the altar, felt the weight of the obligation, and understands that what we profess is not ceremonial — it is sacred.

Your Earnest Efforts -by Ian Love-Jones

Our Order demands that we care for the sick, and relieve the distressed. We are reminded not to judge another by their exterior, and to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. We are called on to show hospitality to strangers, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to be charitable. Simply declaring a positive belief or affiliation is hollow, without daily actions that are rooted in love.