Using Arts Events to Connect to Your Community – by Toby Hanson

There are many different kinds of arts events that lodges can participate in. They can host concerts, lectures, dance recitals, art shows, plays, and many others. If your town has an Art Walk near your lodge hall, you can become a host and bring artists into your lodge to display their work on Art Walk nights. This also gives an opportunity to have members on hand to answer questions about Odd Fellowship.

Leadership in the Lodge – by Michael Greenzeiger GW CA

Leadership is a topic which should be of interest to everyone in our Order. Unlike many other types of organizations, Odd Fellowship is a democracy wherein all members in good standing have a say in the governance of the lodge. Not only do the members of the lodge have the final decision on all matters to come before it, but in a well-functioning lodge, all members are encouraged to take a turn in leadership positions and in particular to “move up the line” and become the Noble Grand. This gives our members the opportunity to develop their own interpersonal and organizational skills well beyond what a member might learn in other clubs.

Have You Started Your Inner Journey? -anonymous

One is often given a solemn warning that he has joined an organization that is far more serious than the Candidate realizes and that their involvement in the Lodge and the Order will unravel the mystery of our beloved Order…Far too often though, this excitement which has been building up in the Candidate both before and after entering our Lodge all but fades after realizing that there is seldom any further discussion of the Ritual that they have participated in.

Ghosts of Odd Fellows Past on Camera!

Check out Heart in Hand co-founder Ainslie Heilich’s haunted Lodge/Tattoo Studio/Home when the GhostNet Paranormal Investigations team came over!

“Oddball” Polar Plunge in Victoria, BC – by Billy Sanderson

And then one day, the shared Odd Fellowship took hold of them. How can we make this a way to give back to our community? Brother Drew jumped right into the topic, “I’m thinking we should get serious about a Boxing Day swim and a pledge drive… When the topic hit the Facebook group, each one of these “sticks” jumped up to form a unified “bundle” to bring life to the idea.

Lodge Meetings don’t have to suck- By Toby Hanson, PGM

All of us who have had any level of professional experience have sat
through meetings. At best, they can be productive and informative. At
worst, they can be mind-numbing. Since we all have to endure meetings
of various effectiveness in our professional lives, why would we ever
allow our lodges to hold sloppy, disorganized meetings? Such meetings
represent a disregard for members’ time and a disincentive for their
continued participation in the lodge.

Odd Fellowship is Progressive Part II by Michael Greenzeiger, GW CA

Unlike other types of organizations, which may find it desirable to have a set of officers or leaders that varies little from year to year, in Odd Fellowship we see value in giving as many brothers and sisters as possible the chance to participate in leadership. While, the “desk officer” positions of Recording Secretary, Financial Secretary, and Treasurer do often remain with the same individuals from year to year, there also exist the “line offices” which comprise a series of steps leading up through Noble Grand which are designed to be switched every year as the members advance.

50,000 Views in Two Years!

A little over two years ago, two Odd Fellows who were Facebook friends were discussing the lack of new Odd Fellow content online. So we cooked up a crazy idea of starting a blog together. We had no idea where we would go with it or if anyone would bother to read it, but it was worth a shot. So here we are two years later! Not wanting to toot our own horn and we know we aren’t the biggest blog in the world but all expectations were blown away. 50,000 views is a lot more than we ever expected to get.

We’re on a Mission from ODD. New Art by Ainslie Heilich

Who doesn’t love The Blues Brothers? In the 1980 film, the Brothers are sent “on a mission from God” to raise the funds necessary to save the orphanage that they grew up in. They concoct a scheme to get their old band back together and then hold a blowout fundraiser concert that brings in just enough to save the orphanage and save the day.