Boy Scouts

[Arlene]

A couple years ago my brother celebrated his 50 year anniversary with the Boy Scouts. He started as a child and has been a Scout Master for many years. He was a Marine for 20 years, and every time he was stationed somewhere he would seek out the local troop to help, or start a troop if there wasn’t any.

His most recent troop folded due to not being able to get enough parents to help. Boys missed meetings, camping trips, etc because it fell on the opposite parent visitation schedule, and it became harder and harder to keep the troop active.

Apparently there was a new mandate, (local or national, I don’t know) about always being a second adult in the presence of the kids, for everyone’s protection. So either another parent would have to go on the camping trip, or he was in direct violation by taking the boys alone. When no parents would volunteer, the trip had to be canceled.

As long as I can remember he has always taken groups of boys on cross country trips with him in his motorhome. For some of those boys it was the trip of a lifetime. It really took the spark out of him when he had to constantly watch what he was doing in fear of being in a situation where he could be accused of something. I think it finally became not fun anymore.

I know that Scouting was his life.

Don’t know exactly what kind of info you are looking for.

Arlene

 

[JWalker]

I’ve just got to echo what everyone else here has said about the wonderful program that is Boy Scouts of America. I have been involved with Boy Scouts for 12 years now, first as a Cub, then a Boy Scout, and now as an Eagle Scout and Assistant Scoutmaster.

The Boy Scouts of America really does pride itself the its timeless values, and man, it’s not just a bunch of marketing! If this tells you anything, I am the newest seminarian for the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, and I must say that my formation as a Boy Scout played a LARGE part in my descision to pursue serious discernment, and continues to be a part of who I am.

There’s a little spiel that’s often read at Eagle Courts of Honor entitled One Hundred Scouts, which is pretty much just a statistical analysis of the outcomes of the scouting program. A small snipit follows:

Twelve of the one hundred will be from families that belong to no church. Through Scouting, these twelve and many of their families will be brought into contact with a church and will continue to be active all their lives. Six of the one hundred will become pastors.

I’ll also concur with the comments about religious services at Philmont, the “flagship” camp of BSA High Adventure. Mass is actually held there TWICE every day, which, I hate to say, is 2 times more than Mass is celebrated as some of the parishes in my area. To boot, the Philmont staff would go out of their way to bring the Catholic Priest to wherever you where on the trail (and if you’ve ever been in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains, you know that this is no easy feat) on a Sunday to celebrate Mass, if there is interest in your group.

The Scout Law is definitely not complete without the finale: Reverence. The oath is also incomplete without “Duty to God”. I cannot reccommend the Scouting program enough! Definitely the best choice my parents made for me as a child.

~Jeff

P.S. Don’t let all the problems and tribulations with the Girl Scouts of America scare you. To be frank, that program is pretty much a mess, on the national level (lack of organization, supporting planned parenthood, etc.). The two organizations are completely separate.