Nosahogan Lodge No. 21

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.

For members, the degrees in Odd Fellowship emphasizes a leaving of the old life and the start of a better one, of welcoming travelers, and of helping those in need.

The command of the IOOF is to ”visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.”

Specifically, IOOF 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.

Ideally, an Odd Fellows lodge is a place for fellowship in all its forms, from hanging out and just having fun, to discussion, to networking, to collaboration on creative and constructive projects, all with an eye not only on our own satisfaction but on what we might offer to the community at large.

An ideal lodge is a great venue for a lot of positive energy and all members are encouraged to contribute their share.

In addition, lodges provide an international social network of brothers and sisters that extends to 30 countries worldwide.

If travelling is an interest, membership can provide a valuable network that will very much welcome an international visitor, and assist in their enterprises, and certainly their travels wherever possible.

FLT - Nosahogan Lodge No. 21

Greetings from the Rebekahs!

We hope you're all doing well. I have recently learned that when a foster child ages out, there are no programs/services available. They're simply on their own. Annie C Courtney Foundation has a solution for that. I hope you'll consider attending.

As always donations to Annie C would be greatly appreciated.

Winona Rebekah Lodge #8 invites you to a night of fellowship, food & conversation. We are holding an open meeting with a speaker from Annie C Courtney

Foundation Care Community on July 24,2024 3200 East Main St Waterbury Ct

Please RSVP by July 17,2024. There is no fee to attend. Donations are appreciated & will be given to this incredible organization

Annie C Courtney Foundation:

Founded in , the mission of the Annie C. Courtney Foundation, Inc. is to support and promote positive, empowering, loving and healthy communities for vulnerable children, youth and families with the goal of preventing the need for foster care and eliminating barriers that prevent young adults with child welfare histories from succeeding.

Annie C provides fostercare,
kinship care, adoption, and foster care alumni support for anyone in or from Connecticut. We find caring families for children in foster care.

As part of our continuum of services, AnnieC also provides a safe and supportive environment for young adults who have aged out of care where we help to identify individual services and support their basic needs.

lt is through this work that our agency has come to recognize the dire need for safe and affordable housing - with support - for young adults who find themselves "aging out" without the backing of the foster care system they were reliant on. ln addition, youth whose adoptions and guardianships fail, many times find themselves alone and vulnerable long before they are ready to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and without the maturity and natural supports most of us had when we launched into adulthood.

Housing is a basic need without which our young people cannot achieve their dreams.

Through the New Beginnings project,

Annie C Courtney Foundation will purchase multi-family homes in the Naugatuck River Valley. This year we will also be opening Annie's Books, a used bookstore, which will provide youth with foster care histories an immersive training opportunity and meaningful job experience where they will learn all aspects of a retail business from warehousing to inventory control to sales & administrative support where errors are considered a growth opportunity, not a fireable offense.

Rebekahs:

The Rebekahs have a very proud heritage and traditions dating back almost as long as the lndependent Order of Odd Fellows.

The qualifications for becoming a Rebekah are virtually identical to those of the Odd Fellows. A man or woman of good character, who is loyal to his or her country and believes in a Supreme Being, the creator and preserver of the Universe, is eligible for membership. Odd Fellowship strictly forbids any interference with one's religious beliefs or political opinions.

Most jurisdictions require candidates for the adult lodges to be 16 years old. The Rebekahs have a very rich history.
Schuyler Colfax, whom we revere as the author of the Rebekah Degree, was a lecturer, editor, Statesman, Vice President of the United States and rnost of all a true Odd Fellow. The Rebekah Degree was authorized on September 20, 1851 .

The degree was originally written for Odd Fellow brothers to confer on their wives and daughters and was considered an “Honorary Degree" the degree could only be confened at a special meeting and a brother would also receive the degree,
mueh the same as today.

Later, the Rebekah sisters were aliowed to confer the degree on other sisters, a ritual was adopted with the sisters taking the parts. Rebekah Lodges were instituted and have continued to flourish. This ritual has changed very little since

Should one choose to become a Rebekah, one would
1) Reap the benefits of a fratemity: group support, close ftiendships, and the good feeling that comes ftom cooperative work

2) To be part of a great organization

3) Because we need you & want you!!

Rebekah Winona Lodge #8 is an active Lodge. We hold a Mystery Dinner, Mothers Day Tea, Horse Races(not real horses, of course😊), Game night, Craft Day.
At the holidays we provide Holiday Dinners for 10 Vets living in a homeless shelter for Vets.
We work hard. We do good work.
We invite you to join us for an evening fellowship, food & conversation.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Looking forward to seeing you there.

FL&T,
Rebekah Winona Lodge #8

Interested in the Odd Fellows?

We meet every 1st & 3rd Tuesday of every month - visitors are both welcome and encouraged to join us at 6pm.

Looking for additional information? Contact us via [email protected]

Additionally you’re free to call us at 203-574-9171 for hall useage and our rental agreement.

May Friendship, Love, and Truth guide you! 👁️🤚🏻❤️