Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1921-05-05
THE FOUNDATION STONE
OF ODD FELLOWSHIP
BY Hon. j. Blackburn Ware

events in human history, the
happening of which, has been OBJ
served and commemorated by
those whose lives have been di-
rectly influenced by such event.
Thus the Children of Israel kept
the Feast of the Passover, COM
memorating their deliverance
from Egyptian Bondage; we
commemorate the birth of Jesus
Christ, our Lord and Savior, as
the beginning of the era of love,
worship and service in the anci-
ent forms of worship by cere-
monies and sacrifices; we cele-
brate the anniversary of our De-
claration of Independence, as
the beginning of the era of Lib
erty and Government Of the peo-
pie by the people; and we OBJ
serve many other events and
build monuments to commemor-
ate the lives and achievements
of our great men who have been
a blessing to the world and have
written their names in letters
of gold upon the pages of history.
Aside from the birth, life,
death and resurrection of our
Lord and the founding of His
Church and Kingdom among
men, there is no other one event
more entitled to be commemor-
ated than the founding of Odd
Fellowship. We are here today
to observe the 102nd anniver-
sary of its founding in America.
With it's primary origin, | shall
not weary you. Suffice it to
say, that the Order was founded
upon principles of human justice
and has record of achievement
of which we may justly feel
proud.
For more than century,
Odd Fellowship has lived, loved,
worked and labored in the broad
sunlight of America. 1t has
been tested by practical people
and has come out of the testing
furnace as pure gold, and has
Become the handmaidep of an
intelligent race. Boldly pro-
claiming it's belief in the univer-
sal Fatherhood of God, in the
ethernal brotherhood of his
children, it has quietly, patient
ly, and presistently trod the path
of obligation and of duty with
love and fraternalism as the
guiding star.
1t has, during these years Of
trying and testing, been assail-
ed, but newer defeated, wound
ed but never destroyed. Its
animating principles are heaven
born and not to be effecaed
from the earth by human agen-
cies, even when those angencies
are directed by the fanatics
brain or aided by the bigot's zeal
Odd Fellowship has place
in the worlds history, working
out the divine purposes for
which man was created, and 1T
has come to stay.
1t has never claimed to be the
sole heir of past good, nor does
it pretend to be the only respos-
tory of human wisdom or char
ity. 1t has claimed, and does
now claim, to great moral pow
err, to be a practical weapon, in
the hands of a practical people,
with which to meet the enemies
Of man and of human and relig-
iuos progress and development.
There has always been suffic-
ent love and good in the world to
save the world, had there been
proper applications of these
forces. But they were morgan
lied and missapplied, resulting
in liberalization; and it was
out of this desolation and chaos
that the vision of broader and
more efficient usefulness came
to the founders of this order,
and from it's inception to the
present day it has stood, and
and now stands, for the univer-
sal brotherhood of man and a
fraternalism that means some
thing to the world. !.
This order brings nothing
new into the world. 1t brings
no new creed or doctrine, nor
does attempt to supplant the
church nor in any manner con-
flict with the church, but on the
contrary, is the handmaiden of,
auxiliary and attribute to the
church and all such forces that
are working for the betterment
of mankind. 1t was founded on
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