Here comes a candle – By Torbjörn Andersson

Wisdom rarely means having all the answers. More often, it means learning how to listen. To listen to another brother. To recognize the person who stands quietly at the edge of the fellowship. To notice the brother who carries a burden beneath his smile. To offer encouragement when it is needed. Sometimes the greatest gift we can give another person is simply to see them. This is where our values become real.

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?

The First 90 Days as an Odd Fellow: Elevating Mankind Through Friendship, Love & Truth -By Jesus Paz

In a world obsessed with self-interest, joining this Order is an act of quiet rebellion. You’ve chosen to walk a different path — one built on the foundation of Friendship, Love, and Truth. But how do you live that out in today’s world?

Ask Me I May Know -By Ian Love-Jones

“Ask me, I may know.” is a warm invitation to others that puts our approachability, and our humble spirit on display. In just one line, that phrase connects two very important qualities – the willingness to share, and the modesty to admit when we don’t know it all.

The Covenant of Friendship -by Aiden Brink

While standardized benefits are largely gone at this point, caring and helping one another surely should not be. For my part, one of our senior members can no longer mow his lawn, so I have been going out each week to mow and clean up. I never would have known that he needed help had I not reached out to him, the structures we have in place had failed.

Which is the Most Important? Friendship, Love, or Truth? -by Ron Mills

I was recently asked of the 3 words which is the most important, Friendship, Love, or Truth? While there was no right or wrong answer in the question, it poses a philosophical question. Can you have Friendship without Love or Truth? Can you have Love without Truth or Friendship? I share these thoughts of mine, […]

The Odd Fellow Academy of Sweden: It’s Origins And Purpose -by Bro. Torbjörn Andersson

The Odd Fellow Academy, which is directly subordinate to the Grand Lodge of Sweden, deals with questions about the past, present and future. As the Odd Fellow Order in Sweden grew, it became increasingly clear that a central documentation of what had happened and is happening within the Order was needed to help out with and gather information […]

Making Your Lodge Discoverable -by Toby Hanson, PGM, PGP

Some of the fancier and more modern lodges embraced the new-fangled fad of electric lights on the side of their halls to advertise which branch was meeting upstairs. Lodges of today need to embrace the modern equivalent of those fancy electric lights to let their communities know that they exist and are open for new members to come in.

The Final Degree of Odd Fellowship -by Mason Wolf

When death comes, we have a degree for that…Euphemistically referred to as “the last degree”, it was written in the style of one of our degree ceremonies. It has no sign or password, but it does have a memento, the evergreen branch, which reminds us that the virtues of our departed brother or sister will remain ever green in our memories.

How We Saved The Lodge In Wenatchee

Everything seemed like it was going along well for Prosperity Lodge #301…. until Covid reared its ugly head. That wasn’t the only problem, however. Personality conflicts and disputes over the meeting time and other issues started tearing the lodge apart. When the meetings stopped in March 2020 the lodge looked like it was done for.

Growth Mindset -by Toby Hanson PGM, PGP

The hand-wringing keeps coming up: young people just aren’t joiners; nobody wants to be an Odd Fellow anymore; we don’t have the members we used to. But is that an accurate picture of Odd Fellowship and does it take into account the huge potential for growth going forward?

Rethinking Role of Chaplain -by Billy Sanderson and Eric Bramble

Brother Eric Bramble is perfectly positioned to use his special personality and FLT tuned mind in role of Chaplain…When he finishes his devotion to the principles of Friendship, Love and Truth is so strong, and crystal clear that there are moments when his own emotions strike him in the heart producing a flutter in his voice followed an “Amen” shouted by a brother in the room.