About
Odd Fellowship
Odd Fellows is a
fraternal organization founded in England in the
1700s. There are several different reasons given for our
strange name.
One history of Odd Fellowship gives the explanation, “That
common laboring men should associate themselves together and
form a fraternity for social unity and fellowship and for mutual
help was such a marked violation of the trends of the times
(England in the 1700’s) that they became known as ‘peculiar’ or
‘odd,’ and hence they were derided as ‘Odd Fellows.’”
Another explanation is that the original Odd Fellows were men
who were engaged in various or odd trades that didn’t have the
numbers to form the security provided by a trade guild or union
like the Masons. These workers of “odd jobs” banded together and
initially met in the back rooms of pubs, paying a penny per week
in dues that would help members who fell ill or had passed away.
Eventually, the idea spread and formed a network of more
formalized Lodges and the Odd Fellows developed their own unique
rituals, philosophy, and purpose.
Whatever the source of the name, what is known is that Odd
Fellows have always pooled their money and resources together to
help people in need.
As an organization, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows aims to
provide a framework that promotes personal and social
development. Lodge degrees and activities aim to improve and
elevate every person to a higher, nobler plane; to extend
sympathy and aid to those in need, making their burdens lighter,
relieving the darkness of despair; to war against vice in every
form, and to be a great moral power and influence for the good
of humanity.
The IOOF charge is to "visit the sick, relieve the distressed,
bury the dead and educate the orphan." Specifically, Odd
Fellows and Rebekahs today are dedicated to the following
purposes:
● To improve and elevate the character of mankind by promoting
the principles of friendship, love, truth, faith, hope, charity,
and universal justice.
● To help make the world a better place to live by aiding each
other, the community, the less fortunate, the youth, the
elderly, the environment, and the community in every way
possible.
● To promote good will and harmony amongst peoples and nations
through the principle of universal fraternity, holding the
belief that all men and women regardless of race, nationality,
religion, social status, gender, rank, and station are brothers
and sisters.
