Use these links to RSVP:
- Burger Fry @6PM – the ticket form is at the bottom of the page. You can either pre-pay, or reserve a “door” ticket to pay when you arrive (cash or credit)
- Movie Night @7PM – doors open at 7, mayor will introduce at 7:15, and the film will start at 7:30, followed by Q&A with the director. Please let us know how many people you’ll be bringing.
On Wednesday, March 27th, the True Fellowship #52 monthly hamburger fry returns for 2024. This is a tradition that the Odd Fellows in San Jose have done for decades. On the last Wednesday of each month, from March through October, they serve delicious grilled hamburgers and cheeseburgers, with mouth-watering sides and desserts, all for about the cost of ingredients ($10 for complete meal including drink, side, and dessert). Vegetarian patties are always available if preferred. And they’ll also be hosting a free Kona ice truck
If there is one thing the Odd Fellows at True Fellowship #52 are known for, it’s the burger fry. Often times, folks will come for the dinner and then stick around to chat or play games. But this time, they’re asking people to stick around for something extra special. They’ll be showing the documentary, “Join or Die”. And on top of the usual crowd of local Odd Fellows, they’re also welcoming the mayor of San Jose, plus folks from all around the city and beyond.
After the movie, they’re inviting folks to stick around again for a Q&A discussion with one of the directors of the film, Rebecca Davis, who has graciously agreed to join via zoom.
As for why the mayor would be interested in attending, a little background is in order. The movie is a documentary based on the research of Dr Robert Putnam. He’s probably most famous for his book, “Bowling Alone”, in which he chronicled the decline of inter-connected relationships between members of American society. People were getting together less often for almost everything, from serving on the PTA, playing sports, attending church, participating in local volunteer organizations, forming unions at work, and even hosting dinner parties. Across a whole host of dimensions, people were just living more isolated lives from each other. And Dr Putnam knew from previous research that this could lead to some very bad outcomes for the society as a whole.
Unfortunately, many of Dr Putnam’s predictions about what could happen as a result of these trends toward isolation, which were largely panned at the time he first made them in the mid-1990’s, have now come to pass. Our society is now dealing with hyper-partisanship and polarization that’s led to dysfunction at each level of government, a general distrust of the members of our community, and an epidemic of loneliness which has had real and serious consequences for our collective physical health and mental well-being. But the movie isn’t just about how things are falling apart. It’s also about how we can turn things around, and proves that we’ve done it before!
Back to the mayor, before Matt Mahan went into politics, he was a student of Dr Putnam’s at Harvard University, and credits him with helping to shape his own worldview about how communities function. After becoming mayor, Matt launched the TogetherSJ initiative, which currently operates as a pilot program in 20 neighborhoods within the city, providing support and resources to those communities in ways that help them to become more connected, and it’s based on Dr Putnam’s own research.
When the Odd Fellows reached out to Mayor Mahan, inviting him to attend, he agreed, and also agreed to provide an introduction to the film. He then surprised them by asking to partner with the Odd Fellows. He’s invited his staff, leaders from all of the TogetherSJ neighborhoods, and folks from around San Jose to come watch the movie together.
Meanwhile, the members of True Fellowship have knocked on doors and passed out flyers around their community center, mailed invitations to every other lodge within 100 miles, and sent an email invitation to every single lodge in the state of California. They’ve never done this before. Between the efforts of the city of San Jose and the Odd Fellows themselves, they’ve reached out to more people to invite them to their community center than they ever have before, and they really don’t know how many people are going to attend.
But we’re all pretty excited to find out!