Proud of our ceremonies team

[JosephMD]

I haven't heard anything about it.  Our chapter just got our budget amendment approved to spend $750 on ceremonies gear and patches.  It would be a shame if that was money wasted.

[sst3rd]

Folks,

 

    As the former chapter ceremony committee advisor, our lodge has decommisioned all 9 of our chapter ceremony teams. Since I was never in the clique, I never saw documentation from the national oa concerning this edict. Our lodge informed the LEC that this was to be executed immediately. And so it was done, and I resigned. I enjoyed teaching the chapter ceremony team. That's over and I wish not to do anything else. All of our ceremony stuff no longer exists. Our lodge's ceremony committee is desperately trying to force the chapters to send our former ceremony team members their way. None wish to go. The lodge ceremony team has a reputation for being a bunch of bullies. That's why they have so few members. Oh well, you get what you pay for.

 

    My BSA responsibility now is to support a new SM with a local troop that's trying to reorganize. She's taken all of her training, and I'm assisting her with applying her training in the real world. She'll do great and I'll be done by the end of the year.

 

I will always have my memories,

 

sst3rd

[JosephMD]

@@sst3rd I think that would literally break our lodge.  We are very large and the only way it works is for chapters to handle ceremonies in their districts.  We do our own chapter ordeals, call outs, brotherhoods, Arrow of Lights, Eagle ceremonies, and so on.  Our lodge is so large we also have areas (groups of adjacent districts) complete with their own chiefs and advisers.  The areas usutally run their own fall Ordeals and a leadership development conference.  

 

Your lodge's ceremony committee won't get very far if they are trying to force members to do anything.  They will need a compelling reason to join the committee and participate.  There is nothing wrong with a lodge running the show, the lodge is the basic entity of the OA, many don't even have separate chapters.  That being said, I think they will have to wait a while for some new youth who haven't experienced the turmoil of this change for them to begin to recruit from chapters that had active teams disbanded.

 

Maybe the next election for lodge chief will go to the arrowman who promises to return the chapter's ceremonies teams!  

[sst3rd]

The latest I've gotten from my chapter advisor and lodge advisor is, that all chapter ceremony committees will cease using regalia now. My chapter advisor attended an LEC meeting last Sunday where it was reaffirmed, HOWEVER, it was on hold waiting for clearer instructions from national OA. In the mean time, we can perform no call-outs, but can perform Arrow of Light and Pack graduation ceremonies in scout uniforms only, NO REGALIA.

 

Again, has any other chapter ceremony team advisor received this instructions from their LEC?

 

Just asking. Take care,

 

sst3rd

[an_old_DC]

@sst3rd, No I have not heard anything like this. My chapter’s Ceremonies Team continues to use regalia, and to the best of my knowledge, the other chapters do as well.

[HashTagScouts]

From what I have heard from various sources, it was shared amongst the Lodges this fall that a decision was being prepared to cease the use of regalia in answer to "many requests" for the BSA to be more culturally sensitive to Native Americans.  I was told that this would impact AOL crossover ceremonies callout ceremonies, as well as Eagle COH ceremonies (basically, any activity that has non-OA members present).  My understanding is that the desire was to start immediately, but an official announcement would come at NOAC.

[Eagle94-A1]

I've been out of the AIA loop for several years now due to Cub Scouts and trying to fix the troop. Last I heard was a new Brotherhood Ceremony back in 2015.

If ceremonies will no longer use Native American regalia, one option I've seen is the "Black Robes." One of the guys who started OA Trail Crew came from my lodge, and is a historian by training. He has done a lot of research on the OA's history, and the OATC ceremony team uses his research. Long story short, the wear black robes with the sash. When my chapter's ceremony team was active, they would wear eplica black robes fro Brotherhood.

 

 

[Stosh]

Early Scout literature, including the SBHB used knighthood chivalry as a means to teach the Scout Law.  Something could be done to adopt some form of historical knighthood ceremony instead.  Boys love swords and lances....  Knights of the Roundtable would not interfere with any ethnic issues.

A Scout is Courteous,  Kind, kinda thingy.  Each "lodge" or whatever they would call it could have it's own coat-of-arms instead of American Indian logos. 

Roman Empire is also a possibility.

Vikings might be to ethnic to consider as would the Mongol Hordes.

I think other possibilities on the table would not be the end of the world.

[Chisos]

@sst3rd, I'm a chapter adviser and have heard nothing along these lines. (Though, I'm in a small Lodge, and pretty much any ceremonies we do are at the lodge level).

[Eagle94-A1]

Re-institute the Knights of Dunamis?

[Stosh]

That works for me, great idea @Eagle94-A1

[Oldscout448]

So how about we ( the scouts formally known as the chapter ceremonies team ) offer to suit up and do AoL for the local cub packs ?

We won't wear our sashes of course. 

I advised ceremonies with a full blood Lakota a few years ago.  He was more amused than offended by our outfits.  Seems they were much fancier than any thing even the chief wore back at Pine Ridge.

[Col. Flagg]

So what if a unit wanted to use regalia to hold their own tap outs or do AOL crossovers? Who exactly is going to stop that from happening?

[sst3rd]

We've had troops in our chapter and lodge that long since had their own ceremony teams. They also performed AOL ceremonies for their associated pack. They wore their sashes of course, but did not coordinate with the lodge or chapter. There sole purpose was to serve their own troop and associated pack with their own call-out and aol ceremonies. "Who" is going to STOP them, well, obviously no one. No one has stopped them before, and when the national oa makes the decision to not have chapter ceremony teams, I'm assuming that the national, lodge, and chapter oa folks will not do anything to shut these renegade ceremony teams done. Everyone wins. Legit chapter teams become history, and the renegade teams get to keep on performing. 

After several e-mails with our lodge advisor, he verified to me the decision has been made by national oa, but executing the change simply hasn't happened yet. He said if we wanted to keep going with a chapter team, feel free, but it will go away soon. Be ready. Call-outs will be done in uniforms even at summer camps, and aol ceremonies simply go away. Lodge oa ceremonies will remain the same at service weekends (used to be called Ordeal Weekends).

That's all folks,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

sst3rd

[Back Pack]

Well there goes the last bit of fun. We have a unit based ceremony team but everyone has been fully trained just like the lodge teams. We even have a Native American on the team. He’s got no problem with the regalia being worn by anyone because it’s all authentic. If we have to stop doing ceremonies your going to see a lot fewer guys at lodge meetings.