OA Question

[vgreenlee]

As a boy I was tapped out and made it through a cold/rainy Ordeal Weekend.

 

I am now registered as an Asst Scoutmaster in my son's Troop which happens to be in a different Council from when I was a a boy.

 

I paid the dues for the new Lodge in my Council and would like to consider going for Brotherhood and possibly onto Vigil. Is the process for adults to attain a higher rank in the OA different from the boys. I would expect things have dramatically changed in the last 25 years.

 

Vincent

[srisom]

The requirements for the Brotherhood Honor are the same for Youth and Adult.

As for Vigil, you have the wrong idea. You were chosen by others for the Ordeal Honor, but you had to then earn it. You can earn the Brotherhood Honor by completing the requirements.

You are nominated for and perhaps then chosen for the Vigil Honor after being a Brotherhood member for at least two years.

The Vigil Honor is not something that you can earn or seek. It seeks you. The more you try to find it, the harder it will hide.

[vgreenlee]

Thank you for the prompt reply.

 

The hard part is trying to decide if I want to wait to do this when/if my son gets the same honor as being tapped out as I have been.

[Frank17]

If it helps, I had the same problem about accepting my adult OA nomination as you do. I declined my OA adult nomination the first time as my son had just been elected, and I wanted it to be "his" honor, and not a joint honor in our family. The next year, I accepted and did my ordeal with my son helping out. He initially was upset with me that we had not gone through ordeal together but later admitted that it was pretty neat to be able to help with my ordeal ceremony (he was brotherhood by then). I do not think either choice was right or wrong, just different.

[gcnphkr]

I did my Brotherhood during the son's Ordeal. We just did our Vigils together. Both are fairly personal apart from the ceremony so I don't know if it matters much if you do them together or not. Although, there are parts of the Vigil where it was nice that the son was within earshot.

 

The Ordeal is a bit different, more group oriented. Our troop generally waits on nominating adults until they can do the Ordeal with their sons.

[wjturner]

I was on the other side as a youth. I did my Ordeal and Brotherhood with my dad. On the other hand, my younger brother did his the year before we did and helped with ours. I then was given the Vigil Honor the year before him, so I got to return the favor.

[acco40]

My timeline went something like this

 

1) Son #1 Ordeal

2) Dad Ordeal, son #1 Brotherhood

3) Dad Brotherhood, son #2 Ordeal

4) Son #2 Brotherhood

 

It was neat having my oldest ahead of me. It was neat being able to see my younger son's Ordeal and Brotherhood ceremonies. I would not recommend "doing" an ordeal together, even though our lodge keeps adult and youth clans quite separated during the ordeal weekend. I think for OA, it is something one should do without a family member.