Friendship, Love and Truth.
One of the oldest fraternal orders in America. Lodges in towns across Missouri looking after their neighbors and each other.
The Three Link Fraternity
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is one of the largest and oldest fraternal orders in the United States. Odd Fellowship was founded in England, where it grew up during the 18th century. The Patriotic Order in England was followed by the Union of United Orders and the Loyal Order. In 1813, various lodges of the Union Order organized the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows. American Odd Fellowship was founded as Washington Lodge No. 1 in Baltimore in 1819, and the following year affiliated with the Manchester Unity. The three links of Odd Fellowship's symbol represent Friendship, Love and Truth.
- Friendship gives a new family in your lodge and Brothers and Sisters worldwide.
- Love means an active role in making your community a better place.
- Truth is the lessons of our degrees, to elevate and improve the character of mankind.
The historic command of the Odd Fellow is "to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan." Local lodges help their communities in any way they choose and are unified together in larger projects.
To visit the sick, relieve the distressed and educate the orphan
That is the historic command of the Odd Fellow. Local lodges help their communities in any way they choose and come together for larger projects.
See everything we do
No. 01Visit the Sick
Members visit those who can no longer make it to meetings, to let them know they are still thought of.
No. 02Relieve the Distressed
Lodges take an active role in making their communities and the world a better place.
No. 03Educate the Orphan
The IOOF Educational Foundation offers loans and scholarships to students.
From a Baltimore tavern to the first lodge west of the Mississippi
Washington Lodge No. 1
Thomas Wildey and four members of the Order from England institute Washington Lodge No. 1 in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 26, 1819.
Traveler's Rest Lodge No. 1, St. Louis
Chartered in 1834 and instituted on June 3, 1835 with six members. It was the first lodge of our Order west of the Mississippi.
The Grand Lodge of Missouri
Wildey Lodge No. 2 is instituted on June 12, 1838. The next day the Past Grands of both lodges are organized into a Grand Lodge under a charter issued by Thomas Wildey.
The Rebekah Degree
Odd Fellowship becomes the first national fraternity to include both men and women.
Lodges statewide
The Grand Lodge office moved from St. Louis to Columbia in 1980 and to Fulton in 1988. Lodges meet from St. Joseph to Poplar Bluff.
The History of Rebekahs
On September 20, 1851, IOOF became the first national fraternity to accept both men and women when it formed the Daughters of Rebekah, known today as simply, Rebekahs. Schuyler Colfax (Vice President of the United States, 1869 to 1873, under President Ulysses S. Grant) was the force behind the movement. Though the term sorority was not yet coined in this year, it may be considered that the Rebekah is the first and oldest sorority in the world.
What Does It Mean To Be A Rebekah?
In the Rebekah degree the stories of prominent women of the Bible are used to express universal traits that exemplify honorable living of courageous women; that teach exemplary living grounded in Friendship, Love and Truth, the cornerstone for both Odd Fellows and Rebekahs. Rebekah, one of the first and great Matriarchs of God's chosen people, who exemplified beauty, grace, patience, hospitality and a humble spirit of service to others, is the worthy name of this degree.
Among other notable women of the Bible are the mother of Samson, worthy of angelic discourse, who willingly gives her firstborn to God's service in an indisputable act of sacrifice and piety; Deborah, a prophetess who courageously led her people into battle to defeat their oppressors; and Esther, who exemplifies courage and patriotism to her country and her people, warning her King of a plot against his life and then foiling a plan (at the risk of her own life) for the genocide of her people. Ruth is exemplary for her unfaltering commitment, choosing God above all others. Sarah, the great biblical Matriarch, struggles in the face of difficult trials of faith, ultimately yielding to faithfully follow God. Miriam, the sister of Moses, exemplifies faith and hope as she delivers Moses to the river, where he is saved by the Pharaoh's daughter. Ultimately her tenacious faith and hope are realized in the deliverance of her people.
Rebekahs throughout the world claim as their own the honorable traits of women as exemplified through these great and distinguished women of the Bible and others in history. Among these noble traits are beauty, grace, patience, hospitality, humility, sacrifice, patriotism, faith, hope, charity, commitment, courage and universal justice for all.
I am an Odd Fellow
I believe in the Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of man. I believe in Friendship, Love and Truth as basic guides to the ultimate destiny of all mankind. I believe my home, my church or temple, my lodge, and my community deserve my best work, my modest pride, my earnest faith, and my deepest loyalty, as I perform my duty "to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan" and as I work with others to build a better world, because, in spirit and in truth, I am and must always be, grateful to my Creator, faithful to my country and fraternal to my fellow man.
Recent gatherings of the Grand Lodge
Installations, banquets, memorial services and pizza nights. Every meeting of a lodge is an activity worth showing up for.
ioofmograndlodge@gmail.com
12152 Lake Constance Dr
St. Louis, MO 63146
Grand Lodge events and meetings
There is a seat for you at the lodge.
Tell us where you live and what interests you. We will connect you with a lodge near you.