On April 12th, Sycamore Lodge #129 hosted brothers and sisters of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows from all over the greater SF Bay Area. The occasion was to hear former California Grand Master Peter V. Sellars give a presentation on the, history, traditions, and organizational structure of the IOOF.
Thank you to the members of Sycamore Lodge, who showed real hospitality to all the attendees, with a nice assortment of snacks before the event, and a delicious lunch with sandwiches from Togo’s.
One of the best parts of the event for me, was meeting and sharing lunch tables with members of other Lodges. It was really inspiring to discover what the various groups were doing both to build their Lodges as places of fellowship, and to support the larger communities around them. From Bingo Games raising money for charity, Live Action Role Playing Games, Hawaiian Music groups, Classic Movie Nights, Toy Drives, Highway Clean-Ups, and Tabling at Farmers Markets, we are a busy bunch.
Many of us who attended are relatively new to Odd Fellowship and, in post meeting conversations, agreed that the information we received was very useful. Knowing the way in which decisions get made at the State level, and the way in which people rise through the ranks to become part of that decision making process was illuminating.
The path of Warden-Vice Grand-Noble Grand-Past Grand and its significance, both historically and for maintaining a pool of leadership, inspired several attendees to consider that path in the future. Several new members told me that knowing that included in the path is a history and tradition of mentorship and mentoring takes away some hesitancy in stepping up to these roles.
Personally, having more detail and background about how our traditions and rituals came to be, and the history of the establishment of Lodges in California, brought me a deeper appreciation of this wonderful institution I have joined. The story of the lost Lodge#1 in San Francisco was fascinating.
My thanks to Peter for his informative talk.
The School of Instruction was worth a Saturday. Hopefully many others will have the chance to benefit from this experience in the future.
— By Scott Spence
