Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn. ~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You
March sure is acting quite leonine this week, hopefully this means Easter weekend will be sunny, serene and lamblike !
Speaking of lambs…
I can’t resist putting a picture in of my guardian dog Littl’un and one of “her lambs” . According to Facebook, I took this picture on March 14,2012 .. March is fickle !!
I can’t tell y’all how psyched I am about the way 2018 is starting for Lodge #38! Here we are with 5 new brethren waiting on degree work, and 5 waiting on initiation!
Folks seem to be enjoying our monthly potlucks. (That or they’re just humoring me! What eva’ ! )
There is some method to my madness. Just a little bit. Our society is busy!! We are all up to our eyeballs with meetings. It seems to me that the reason people dwindle away is because we are having meetings without creating a family! Odd Fellowship is a fraternity, we are supposed to be thicker than blood.. but the fact is you can’t throw a bunch of strangers together and expect them to become Brothers and Sisters by just seeing each other at a meeting twice a month. We have to nurture our Odd family in the same way we do our own families.. We care for one another. When one of us is hurting or sick, we tend to that persons needs, we laugh together, we break bread together, we work together, we are engaged in the common goal of helping others in need.
In this way, we create a family. The words we say in the Initiation Ritual are just the beginning, it’s the doing .. The actual demonstration of Friendship Love and Truth.. That’s how we keep Odd Fellows wanting to come to Lodge! Sure, they have to have some level of commitment, but so do we, the seasoned members. It’s awfully easy, because we are so close, for new folks to feel like outsiders. It’s a challenge to keep that from happening when we only see each other at meetings.
The other day Kathy Weaver had a car problem, Jim isn’t well.. who did she call? Her Brother Sam. And he went. Who got my broken truck off the mountain? My brothers Sam and Joseph. Who got Blythe and Seth’s new washer into their house?
Uhhh .. y’all .. Sam’s seriously overworked!
I’m joking.. everyone in this lodge is doing the same things. It’s 1:30 AM and I know if I needed help right now I could call any of you and you’d be here. Except Sister Lori who would say “Moooommmmm I’m asleep, go away”
Seriously y’all, think about it. Each time we are together outside of formal meetings.. every time we share a meal or work or silliness, the Lodge becomes more cohesive, more like family.. or.. what’s that other word? Brotherhood? Yeah!
But it’s not automatic, first we become family by ritual, then by FL&T !
Our next one is on March 31st, bring family and friends and a dish to share.
Odd Fellowship Potluck & Birthday Party
Girl Scout Troop #10204 will be helping with our St Patrick’s Day Pancake Breakfast this coming Saturday! We are going to have so much fun, please help us spread the word.
We will begin serving about 8:30 AM, and finish around noon. Pancakes (regular and gluten free) sausage, bacon .. hot cider, coffee, tea.. real maple syrup from Tom Givens and Berkeley Brown. All for a donation! Plus, it all goes to help local folks in need. Definitely a win win!
St Patrick’s Day Pancake Breakfast
For the Good Of The Order
We were informed of a family who needed 4 new beds due to mold issues in the house they just moved from. Brother Joe Cockerham had one full set and was taking that to them today, I believe. If anyone knows of anything else on the very affordable (cheap to free) price range, please let us know!
Don’t forget to mark April 14th on your calendar for our 4th District meeting. We will be hosting the other lodges in this district, this will be a closed meeting.
Hope to see y’all Saturday morning!
In FL&T, Nancy
Ancient Links 