Is Your Lodge a Sanctuary? -By Ian Love-Jones

Odd Fellows, how well do you understand sanctuary? I ask because lodges that serve their members to the fullest, provide some forms of it. Depending on your age or circumstances your introduction to sanctuary could look very different. At 44 years old, my earliest memory of the word came from two different movie versions of Quasimodo swinging into church and calling for protection against persecution, and violence.

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?

Lesser Known Lessons From the Encampment -By Ian Love-Jones

Have you noticed that the main symbol of the Encampment is not a hulking impenetrable fortress made of stone? Instead, the emblem is a humble tent. The tent may sit on solid ground but the shelter itself is changeable, moveable, and built for constant progress. It reminds us that we are all travelers in motion, on life’s roads.

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 of Things -By Torbjörn Andersson

Before each meeting, the lodge room waits in silence. The altar stands prepared. Candles rest unlit. Chairs form the room open and expectant. For a moment, the hall feels like sacred ground, as if time itself has slowed its pace.Then footsteps arrive. Quiet greetings. The soft rustle of regalia. And the work begins.

Assembling Speaking and Taking Action -By Ian Love-Jones

I’m always impressed by the sheer volume of support that can come out of just one Odd Fellow’s lodge. Support for not only members but for the larger community.

My lodge provides communal space for dance, music, theatre, and martial arts classes. We have a museum of local history centering influential Odd Fellows. We award laptops to high school seniors who actively give back to their community. We donate to relieve the distressed and to support humanitarian causes. We raise money for local PTAs with an annual Halloween carnival, and much more! And that’s all in addition to the support that we Odd Fellows offer to one another inside the lodge. I’ve seen first hand how we render aid to our members in need. Members that have gone through everything from strain and sickness, to the loss of a job, or a loved one.

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.

When We See Humanity First -By Ian Love-Jones

Is it our fraternal association with one another that makes us realize all are worthy to be cared for? Or, is our agreement that all are worthy to be cared for the reason that we joined together in fellowship, to relieve the distressed, and to celebrate Friendship, Love and Truth. Does our union within Odd Fellowship give rise to us seeing the humanity of others? Or do we see that humanity first, which compels us to unite as Odd Fellows?

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.