Shows
The Three Links Odd CastEvangelicals And Odd FellowshipNot everyone understands fraternalism or takes the groups at face value. The suspicion of Freemasonry by the Roman Catholic Church is well known. Lesser known is the skepticism of so-called "secret societies" by Evangelical Christians. In response to a listener question, we asked Paul Michaels (not his real name), an Evangelical pastor, to come on the podcast and shed some light on why some Evangelical Christians are highly suspicious of Odd Fellowship and other fraternal groups. By keeping him anonymous we were able to get candid and honest answers about why Evangelicals distrust Odd Fellowship as an institution. Some of th...2025-04-291h 34The Three Links Odd CastNew Perspectives On Odd FellowshipBrothers Aiden Brink and Will Sparks both joined their respective lodges in the past couple of years. Each have become very active and spurred growth in their areas. They were both kind enough to join us to discuss their perspective on Odd Fellowship: what we get right, what we get wrong, and what we can do to build a solid future for our Order. Some of the answers may be surprising, especially to long-time members, but they are incredibly insightful and provide a very appealing pathway to future growth. Hint: newer members see a lot of value in our hist...2025-04-151h 40The Three Links Odd CastRitual And Regalia ChangesAlthough it's tempting to think that Odd Fellowship has been handed down from the past completely unchanged from some visionaries at an ancient building site, that's not the case. Odd Fellowship has adapted and changed through its history to meet the needs of members and the Order as those needs have changed. In this episode, Kris Gratz of Virginia shares his research into the developments in Odd Fellows' regalia through the ages and how that has coincided with changes in our ritual and also various cultural cross-currents. For example, gold fringe on a collar used to indicate that a mem...2025-03-251h 52The Three Links Odd CastMystery And BenevolenceIn 2016, an exhibit opened at the American Folk Art Museum showcasing various artifacts from American fraternal orders, most notably the Odd Fellows and Freemasons. The collection shared the best of fraternal folk art with the wider world. One of the curators of that exhibition, Dr. Aimee Newell, joined us to talk about the collection and give us some background and history on where the items came from, their significance, and their influence into culture at large. Once again, the Shoutout goes to a new Encampment, this time the re-chartered Santa Paula #118 of California. In the Odd Podge, Toby announces the...2025-03-111h 41The Three Links Odd CastHow Global Are We?Most of us know about our local lodge and may be familiar with a couple other lodges in our area. However, Odd Fellowship is global in scope and scale—or is it? Brother Chuck Hillberry of the State Of The Order Committee of Sovereign Grand Lodge joins us to discuss exactly how much global reach Odd Fellowship has and how various overseas groups are connected to the Sovereign Grand Lodge. The truth is a lot more complicated than most members realize and Brother Chuck shares the necessary background with us to have the right understanding of the situation. The Shouto...2025-02-251h 39
The Three Links Odd CastDigging Up Our RootsWe think we all know the story of how Odd Fellowship began in North America: five brave souls, led by Thomas Wildey, held the first meeting in Baltimore in 1819 and, from there, Odd Fellowship exploded across the continent spreading friendship, love, and truth from sea to shining sea. The reality, though, has a lot more detail and challenges than what we know. Mike, Ainslie, and Toby delve into the history of the founding of our Order a couple centuries ago. They reveal some of the challenges of the young lodge and structure and highlight the members who helped build and...2025-02-092h 03The Three Links Odd CastMixing Old And New MembersEvery lodge wants to grow—but how many lodges are actually able to incorporate new members successfully in such a way that the new members feel valued? Brother Matthew Thornton, NG of Houston Heights Lodge #225 in Texas, joins us to talk about how his lodge maintains a healthy lodge culture with a mix of everyone from oil workers to urban hippies. Spoiler alert: their secret is holding a lot of events that give people an opportunity to do something. Brother Matthew goes into more detail with us to talk about how that all comes together and how it turns out. ...2025-01-051h 12The Three Links Odd CastEating OddlyEating together is an integral part of Odd Fellowship and has a long tradition of inclusion within our Order, from formal banquets at Grand and Sovereign Grand Lodge meetings to sandwich platters during a Degree Rally, to tried-and-true fraternal staples like spaghetti feeds, pancake breakfasts, and pie auctions. Mike, Ainslie, and Toby discuss these various modes of eating and other ways that food helps bolster the fellowship of Odd Fellowship. The Shoutout goes to another new lodge in Florida, this time the re-chartered Suncoast #69. Word has it that another lodge institution will be taking place in Florida early next yea...2024-12-081h 22The Three Links Odd CastGrowing ProsperityIn high school, Dustin used to wander past the dusty old Odd Fellows Hall in Wenatchee, Washington. Intrigued by the music blaring out on to the sidewalk one evening, he went in to find an all-ages punk rock concert. Joel was the producer of those concerts and made sure the teens and young adults of Wenatchee had a safe, fun place on Friday nights. Now, nearly thirty years later, they are both members of the lodge where those concerts were held and they are putting on the concerts themselves. Prosperity Lodge #301 nearly died in 2018 and was saved, only to die...2024-11-241h 26The Three Links Odd CastSovereign Grand Master WorkmanOur Sovereign Grand Master, the Honorable Gerald V. Workman of West Virginia, sat down with us for a wide-ranging discussion about his path in Odd Fellowship and how it led him to the top job in the Order. He tells about his early days joining the Junior Lodge, his many years working in his local lodge, his eventual path through the chairs of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia, and his journey into the Sovereign Grand Lodge. Along the way, he has been guided by his strong belief in the principles of Odd Fellowship and his religious faith, both of...2024-11-101h 29The Three Links Odd CastOdd Fellows' Rest RevisitedAs has become tradition at the Three Links Odd Cast, we like to take a turn to the spooky for Halloween and talk cemeteries. We're joined by Brother Michael Duplantier to discuss the progress on restoring New Orleans' famous Odd Fellows' Rest Cemetery. Brother Duplantier does a wonderful job of giving us the history and background on the cemetery and how it fell into disrepair along with the recent efforts to restore it and make it an attractive place to honor our deceased brothers and sisters. The interview covers a surprising amount of history and culture of New Orleans and...2024-10-281h 34The Three Links Odd CastSovereign Grand Lodge: ReactionsMike, Toby, and Ainslie are all safely home from their trip to Pittsburgh and back to their usual lodge activities. The brothers got together to discuss their experiences at Sovereign Grand Lodge and how they felt the Order was progressing as a result. They all had wonderful experiences at the event and enjoyed the fellowship and are energized with all kinds of great ideas for the future. They discuss all those ideas in this episode and give some thoughts about how they may be implemented as soon as next year's session. The Shoutout goes to another new lodge, this time...2024-09-121h 26The Three Links Odd CastLive From Sovereign Grand Lodge!The 2024 Annual Communication of the Sovereign Grand Lodge was noteworthy for many reasons, not least of which was our live recording of the first episode of Season Five of the Three Links Odd Cast. We had a packed meeting room full of members from jurisdictions all across the US and Canada on hand for this lively discussion of the state of Odd Fellowship today. Mike, Ainslie, and Toby had a great time directing the discussion and responding to the audience members' questions and comments. We heard about new lodges in Nova Scotia and South Dakota, the hot air balloon in...2024-08-261h 31