Happy New Year! This month, we are celebrating National Gourmet Coffee Month, getting together for an eye-opening documentary “Sicko” about the healthcare system, and going to SF for a free lunch! Plus, the new Special Outings Calendar, with something fun to do every month is attached.See more below and attached.
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Peace & Pizza Fri. 1/13 Zoom 7 pm: Michael Moore movie “Sicko”
Peace & Pizza meets monthly on Zoom, always on the second Friday of the month. They usually feature a discussion, guest speaker or documentary, organized by Sycamore Member Stephania Widger at oceankayak@aol.com . This month, the word is that we will be watching the movie, “Sicko”, where “(f)ilmmaker Michael Moore examines America’s health-care crisis and why millions of citizens are without coverage. Moore spotlights the cases of several ordinary citizens whose lives have been shattered by bureaucratic red tape, refusal of payment, and other health-care catastrophes.” It’s a real eye-opener. For more info, contact member Stephania Widger at oceankayak@aol.com
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Wed. 1/18 at 1pm: Let’s have Coffee! January Outing
For this month’s “Sycamore Special Outing“, we are going to celebrate National Gourmet Coffee Day by meeting for coffee! – or tea, espresso, Italian soda, hot chocolate, bagels, pastries, or munchies – on Wednesday January 18 at 1 pm, at Sabino’s Coffee shop, 1273 MacArthur Blvd, in San Leandro. There’s a nice outdoor patio in back, with indoor and outdoor tables available. Also, there is plenty of nearby street parking, and if memory serves, it is free. Your coffee or goodies are no host – that is, everyone pays for their own. We think it’s a fun idea to take a break in the week to say hi, celebrate being together in the new year, and taking some time to Be Odd! See image below or flyer attached. For questions or more info, contact member Julie Machado at juliemac@pacbell.net
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Sat. 1/21: Free SF Odd Fellows Educational Seminar! w/free lunch!
Sycamore #129 members are invited to learn about all things Odd Fellows AND get a free lunch AND souvenir on Saturday Jan. 21, 2023 at the San Francisco Odd Fellows lodge. We encourage all members with even the tiniest interest to go! At least 4 other Sycamore members will be there (Gus, Laura, Jon, and Marion). Get to know your “brothers and sisters” and find out lots of things that you didn’t know. For example, under the members benefits category, did you know that there is an Odd Fellows scholarship fund that your child or grandchild might qualify for? To attend, simply contact Peter Sellars, Chair, PGM, at 707-656-8294 or ioofsf@earthlink.net and let him know you are coming.
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2023 Sycamore Special Outings!
Join us for some fun events this year! Add these to your calendar. Come be Odd with us!
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Next Social & Business Meeting Mon. Feb. 13 at 6:30/7:30
Our monthly Lodge Social and Business meetingis always on the second Monday of the month – the Social starts at 6:30 and the meeting at 7:30. Alas, we are experimenting with hybrid meetings – a combination of in-person and Zoom. Come visit and say hi for a bit, or stay and find out what is going on at the business meeting. Let Noble Grand Ted Seitz tedviolafire@yahoo.com or Secretary Laura Brady laurabeanbrady@gmail.com know if you have an item that you wish the lodge to discuss. I will send out the agenda and all the additional items to members via a separate email on Monday.
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2023 Lodge Open House?
Is there interest in having a lodge Open House in 2023? It could be a simple or more complicated event, but either way it would require the participation of a number of people to plan and attend the event as lodge members/hosts. If you are willing to help with this, please reply to this newsletter or contact Julie at juliemac@pacbell.net If there is enough interest, we will schedule one.
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2023 Clean Up Day?
Is there interest in having a lodge clean up day? Much of the lodge has not been used for the last 2 years, and there is some dusting and spiffing up to do. If you are willing to help with this, please reply to this newsletter or contact Julie at juliemac@pacbell.net . If there is enough interest, we will schedule one.
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Sycamore Featured in 2 Magazine Articles
Sycamore #129 was featured in two articles in the recent Odd Fellows and Rebekah magazine. Make sure you check it out! Thank you to Laura Brady and Stephania Widger for writing and submitting the articles.
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Looking for Volunteers to support your Lodge
We are still looking for a few volunteers. We have a few spots where we could use some help in running the lodge, if you are interested in stepping up with a few hours a month.
We have an elected Trustee position that is open: the five Trustees meet usually once a month for an hour and are mainly in charge of deciding on and recommending to the lodge on issues regarding our beautiful lodge building. This would be a 2-3 year position.
Also, we will need people to fill appointed positions such as Inside Guardian, Outside Guardian, Warden, Chaplain, Right Supporter, and Left Supporter, which sometimes involve reading lines at the monthly lodge meeting (and sitting in the big chairs, when we meet in person!); these are yearly positions.
Also, we re-elect our Noble Grand, Vice Grand, Secretary and Treasurer every year in December.
If you are interested or willing to do any of these positions, or want to know more, please contact our Noble Grand Ted Seitz at tedviolafire@yahoo.com
As always, Friendship, Love & Truth, and may 2023 be gentle on us all,
Julie Machado
Sycamore #129
Communications Committee, Chair