Every lodge wants to grow—but how many lodges are actually able to incorporate new members successfully in such a way that the new members feel valued? Brother Matthew Thornton, NG of Houston Heights Lodge #225 in Texas, joins us to talk about how his lodge maintains a healthy lodge culture with a mix of everyone from oil workers to urban hippies. Spoiler alert: their secret is holding a lot of events that give people an opportunity to do something. Brother Matthew goes into more detail with us to talk about how that all comes together and how it turns out. The Shoutout goes to yet another new lodge, Vandalia Rebekah Lodge #9 in West Virginia. In their Odd Podge contributions, Toby gives an update on the wedding gifts he and his new bride received for the Vanderlinden-Sheppard Adult Visual Aid Fund, Ainslie shares an update on his hand tattoo, Mike announces the publication of his new book, and Matthew gives his thanks for a wonderful year and looks forward to the next one.

Based on the classic holiday film "It's A Wonderful Life," this year's Christmas episode is an Odd Fellows' retelling of the old favorite in which George Bailey is the harried Past Grand of Bedford Falls Lodge #310. Straining under the weight of his lodge's expectations, he finally breaks and wishes he had never been an Odd Fellow. The ghost of Thomas Wildey visits him to give him a glimpse into the world where he never joined the lodge. This episode features an all-star cast including Gil T. Rodello, Kyle Fuller, Mason Wolf, Matthew Thornton, Fran Carris, Kaitlyn Osman, Ian Love-Jones, Steven Cross, Michael Greenzeiger, Joseph Benton, Elizabeth Keena, and Toby Hanson.

Eating together is an integral part of Odd Fellowship and has a long tradition of inclusion within our Order, from formal banquets at Grand and Sovereign Grand Lodge meetings to sandwich platters during a Degree Rally, to tried-and-true fraternal staples like spaghetti feeds, pancake breakfasts, and pie auctions. Mike, Ainslie, and Toby discuss these various modes of eating and other ways that food helps bolster the fellowship of Odd Fellowship. The Shoutout goes to another new lodge in Florida, this time the re-chartered Suncoast #69. Word has it that another lodge institution will be taking place in Florida early next year. In their Odd Podge, Toby shares the story of a wedding guest who asked for an application to the lodge, Mike previews the chartering of a Rebekah Lodge in Charleston, and Ainslie tells the somewhat winding tale of two tattoo artists from New Orleans who went to Winston-Salem and discovered Odd Fellowship in the process.