1986 - 1994
The history behind our International meetings
Introduction
In april of 1986, Brothers from Lloyd-Loge (Bremen, Germany) visited Lodge 123 S:t Knut (Malmö, Sweden). This meeting was partly inspired by br. Ralf E. Hart who had transferred to the Swedish Jurisdiction from the Lloyd-Loge. During this meeting, where more than 55 Brothers and guests (including Rebekah Sisters) attended, the plans started forming for further international cooperation.
This led to 123 S:t Knut and 11 Columbus (Copenhagen, Denmark) travelling to Bremen in november of 1987.
In march of 1990 the bond was strengthened further in Malmö when Past Noble Grand br. Herman Gubernatis of Lloyd-Loge and Noble Grand br. Lars Stridsberg of 123 S:t Knut signed the papers and the two Lodges became official friend Lodges.
Also present at this meeting were Lodges 1 Scania (Malmö, Sweden), 5 Concordia (Eslöv, Sweden), R1 Margareta (Malmö, Sweden) and R58 Sankta Dorothea (Eslöv, Sweden).
The meetings start reaching a wider audience
In april of 1992, Lloyd-Loge once again opened their doors in Bremen. 123 S:t Knut and 11 Columbus gladly heeded the call, and were joined also by Drie-Schakels-Loge Nr. 7 (Groningen, The Netherlands).
A renewed friend contract was signed, to ensure the survival of the international meetings, by:
• Noble Grand br. Preben Larsen, 11 Columbus
• Past District Grand Sire br. C. van Eden, Drie-Schakels-Loge Nr. 7
• Noble Grand br. Richard Nawroth, Lloyd-Loge
• Past Noble Grand br. Lars Stridsberg, 123 S:t Knut
After signing of this friend contract, br. Lars gave the following speech (in Swedish, here translated for you):
Brother Noble Grand, dear ladies, and all my Brothers from different Lodges
Odd Fellows goals are high. But they are not too high.
All of us Brothers have at one time promised to do our best to live up to these ideals.
One of our goals is that our chain of Brothers may span the entire world. This pursuit must not remain as simple and empty words.
Many of the trials facing us, both locally and world-wide, are rooted in the fact people do not know each other. And in some cases do not want to know each other either.
Important steps towards this Odd Fellow goal are taken through our work to learn more about each other.
This starts in our own Lodges, but can then be spread out to the rest of the world.
We are all Odd Fellow Brothers who:
• Have given the same vows
• Share the pursuit of our ideals
• Have a need to realize these goals in our lives
Before us we have 4 Lodges present representing The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
Hopefully we will meet Brothers from yet 4 more countries when we according to our plan will meet again in two years.
Let us hope that this circle of Brothers can continue to grow in the spirit of Odd Fellowship.
We need the ideals of Odd Fellow, just as the world around us needs these ideals. They have never been more relevant than they are today, in this ever changing world.
My Brothers, let us show that the grand ideals of Odd Fellow are not too grand, and that every one of us, each in their own way, strive towards them.
This leads us to 1994, when even more Lodges convened in Copenhagen, Denmark, with 11 Columbus hosting.
The eight Lodges present were:
• 11 Columbus
• Lloyd-loge
• 123 S:t Knut
• 1 Norvegia (Oslo, Norway)
• 109 Nidaros (Trondheim, Norway)
• 95 Fredrik d VIII (Fredriksberg, Denmark)
• 7 Drie-Schakels-Loge
• Tilman-Riemenscheider-Loge (Würzburg, Germany)
Plans were made for more meetings, with the next one planned for 1996, but despite great efforts, this did not come to pass. Instead, we would need to wait 20 years, when the international meetings in Europe would be resumed.
