Adult Religious Emblems

[johndaigler]

Those of you who have connections to Religious Scouting Committees and others connected to the Religious Awards, please consider and pass along an idea...

 

Most of the Awards for Adults are by nomination. I think that if the various religious organizations developed an earnable Religious Emblem for adults it would be a great thing.

 

If Scouters had such Emblems to work toward, I think more Scouts would work toward them, as well. Right now, I think the number of Scouts who earn religious medals is around 5%. If the REs become a bigger topic of focus for adults, they can't help but trickle down as a more important topic for the boys. The end result -- more of our boys learning and growing within their personal faiths.

 

jd

[SemperParatus]

jd,

 

Isn't the adult religious mentor award (square knot) already earnable (not nominatable) by serving as a religious emblems mentor?

[packsaddle]

Is that the same as the adult religious award knot? The one worn by an adult that earned the award while he was a scout? Or is that a different knot?

[SemperParatus]

No - here it is:

 

http://www.mninter.net/~blkeagle/service.htm

 

 

 

[Proud Eagle]

This seems like a good idea to me. I know the Catholic Church offers two different adult awards. (Only one qualifies for the knot, the other doesn't) I think that one of them is more "earn-able" though not entirely so. The other, the one that is recognized for the knot, is very rare even among Catholic Scouters serving in Catholic chartered units. It is done through some sort of nomination and selection process.

 

Perhaps two types of religious emblems would be appropriate. One could be more or less "earn-able" while the other could be given to selected individuals as an honor. Perhaps the one given as a special honor could even be classified as a community organization award. This would allow a knot to be issued for each.

 

I am not suggesting that more knots or awards for adults is a good thing in and of itself. Rather, a program that encourages people to participate in the religious emblem program would be of value.

 

My final suggestion is that more needs to be done to help Scouts and Scouters in units not affiliated with their own faith to receive information about the religious emblem program and gain access to Scouting materials and information relating to their faith. The use of more on line content would seem to be an easy first step in that.

 

I know years ago I asked a priest at my church to look into the Catholic religious emblem program, but it never really happened. Since I was at a troop chartered to a Methodist church, there really weren't many opportunities for this. Also, the council held annual Catholic Scouting retreats, but I never knew anything about these until I became an adult. After all, why would a Methodist troop need to publicize a Catholic retreat? I don't have any sort of ill will over this, it is just one of those things that can easily happen, particularly when the religious programs are not being promoted.

[blade1158]

Proud Eagle is correct, there are two emblems available from the Catholic Church, the Bronze Pelican and the St. George. The Bronze Pelican is analagous to the District Award of Merit and the St. George analagous to the Silver Beaver. However, neither are "earnable", both are awarded on merit, similar to the aforementioned BSA recognitions.

 

I am in agreement with Proud Eagle that more needs to be done to encourage youth to earn the emblem of their faith. I am a Catholic in a unit sponsored by a Catholic church and have taken religious emblem councelor training. At the training it was stressed that we were to encourage all youths in our units, Catholic and non-Catholic, to earn these emblems and help them to find the proper literature and resources. The vast majority of youth that I meet with religious emblems are Catholic, I'd love to see many more Scouts of other churches deepen their faith by earning the emblem of their faith.

 

In my council there is a local Catholic Committee on Scouting, but I haven't seen any evidence of any of the Protestant churches with similar organizations, with the exceptions of the Methodist church, who has held a Methodist retreat the past few years. I think this is most unfortunate(not the retreat, the lack of organization). Scouts and scouters who aren't Catholic, at least around here, are sort of on their own.

 

I must disagree, however, with the idea of an "earnable" adult religious emblem. With the exception of the training awards, the adult recognitions are for service and merit. If we as adults have a whole group of awards we can earn, I believe it would get in the way of the service we are supposed to be giving. I'm sure we all know Scouters who are a bit too enamoured of awards the way it is, I'd hate to see it get worse.

 

We give example by how we live our faith. Also, those who earned religious emblems as youth can show youth what they can also earn.

[FatherJim]

As a life member of the NLAS, (National Lutheran Assoc of Scouters)and past Vice-President, we take great interest in the Adult and Scout Religious Award program.

When I lived in the States we had several District wide Lutheran retreats (MidAmerica) to work on the religious award. One of our Lutheran SM even got the Roman Catholic Adult Award for getting his troops RC youth to earn their awards!

I also wicker the youth award into my Parish Confirmation and Sunday School programs.

Of course the Scout award is granted by the Lutheran Church Cmte., via the NLAS, not the BSA.

The adult awards (we have 2, Service to Youth and Lamb) are given on a nomination basis. But since the individual faith groups manage their own awards each faith group could do what it feels proper as far as giving the awards by earning or by nomination. Maybe one should consider having an earned adult award (not to replace the nominated one though). It's worth talking about.

I didn't know you could get the religious award knot by being a mentor? Is that correct?

[SemperParatus]

I am no longer so sure about the 'earnability' of the adult award for mentoring. From the PRAY website -

 

"What are the Adult Awards? Can adults earn religious recognitions just like the children?

The Adult Recognition Awards are by nomination only (they are not work/study programs like the youth awards). These are honors given to worthy adults for their outstanding service to youth both through their church and one of the national youth agencies. Recipients of these awards are unaware that they are being nominated: an outside party must nominate them to receive an award by submitting the required application, letters of recommendation and resume. For information on specific eligibility requirements, the Adult Award Brochures (with nomination forms) are listed in the "Resources" tab."

 

Here is the nominated adult award listing (excludes the awards through the National Catholic Committee on Scouting)

 

http://www.praypub.org/main_frameset.htm

 

Although, I seem to recall from a long time ago that there was an application in the back of the mentor packet for some of the protestant awards (e.g., God & Country) that you could send in. Maybe that has changed, or maybe I am just getting old and forgetful.

 

In either case, I defer to FatherJim.

 

 

 

(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

[FatherJim]

Good input Semper Paratus,

Mark Hazelwood at PRAY should be able to give the last word on the mentor deal. You're right there is an application form in the back of some award packets but I believe that only allows the adult mentor to purchase a small pin, not the religious award knot. Personally I am not real excited about an earned adult religious award, seems sort of like it would take away the prestigue of the award. But then each faith group can make that determination I guess.

[le Voyageur]

Overall, not a bad ideal. But I would like to toss out another ideal, also. That is, a religious award program for native Americans scouts and scouters who follow their traditional tribal faiths....

 

 

 

[NWScouter]

I am also an officer in NALS. The only award for a mentor is the pin that they may purchase after they go through the mentor booklet along with their youth earning his/her award in the PRAY published God and Country award program. That is not an award with a knot. They youth earning a religious emblem may wear the silver knot on a purple background on all his youth uniforms and also when he grows up on his adult uniform. The purple knot on the silver background is to be worn by adults who have received an adult religious award. All but a few (LDS for one) are nomination awards akin to Silver Beavers; some (Lutheran Servant of Youth for one) may be given to non-members for service to that faith youth. The basic underlying requirement for all the awards is service to and promotion of the religious life of the awards givers youth The mentor is just a helping of and a going through the God and Country program with a single youth and may take only six weeks as opposed to five or ten years service as required for many of the adult awards.

[SemperParatus]

Here's the answer to the Mentor pin (earnable) vs. the Adult awards (nominated). My apologies for getting them mixed up in my mind.

 

http://www.praypub.org/recognitions/viewmedal.asp?MedalID=MM1M3&FaithID=LUT

 

Adult Mentor Program

Parents have the option of enrolling in the Adult Mentor Program. In this program, the parent is an active learning participant alongside the child. The parent would have lessons and projects to complete in the Mentor Workbook just like the child, and then both parent and child would work on the student curriculum together. The mentor program is designed to provide the adult with additional opportunities to model his or her Christian faith and to help a young child talk about his or her belief in God.

What is the difference between a counselor and a mentor?

The counselor is the pastor (or other adult assigned by the pastor). The counselor serves as an instructor who gives assignments to the young people, and it is the young people who do all the work.

 

Mentors are parents who have chosen to work alongside their children on the God and Country curriculum. Mentors are active learning participants (students) with lessons to complete in their own workbooks just like their children. Both mentors and children work under the supervision of the pastor or counselor.

 

What is the difference between the mentor pin and an adult recognition award?

The mentor pin may be worn by parents who have successfully completed the Adult Mentor Program. This is a program for parents to work on while they lead their children through the God and Country Series. There is an adult workbook that must be completed.

 

The Adult Recognition Awards are by nomination only (they are not work/study programs like the youth awards). These are honors given to worthy adults for their outstanding service to youth both through their church and one of the national youth agencies. Recipients of these awards are unaware that they are being nominated: an outside party must nominate them to receive an award by submitting the required application, letters of recommendation and resume.

(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

[FatherJim]

In response to the question about a Native American religious award for youth/adult. All you have to do is get an organized religious group or Native Americans together and have them work up a criteria and submit it to PRAY (probably some other criteria also). I would imagine almost any religious group could make up their religious award program since it is a religious' groups program not a BSA program.

[NWScouter]

PRAY does not determine what religious program is approved by the BSA. PRAY is a publishing house that in conjunction with the religious committees develop material to administer the religious award program of that religious community. The BSA then approves or recognizes the program for their youth to be able to wear the award on their uniform. This is not automatic and can be withdrawn check the tread on Unitarian Universalist: http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=78760#id_79346

 

PRAYs God and Country series is for generally Protestant groups. It also handles some other groups' administration and some groups are self-administered and published.

 

[johndaigler]

It's been suggested that an additional (earnable) award would minimize the value of nominatable awards?? I'm not sure I see that as an obvious outcome.

 

Here's just an example, for conversation sake. The Catholic Church awards the St. George medal on a nomination basis for service to Catholic Scouts (I am not clear, nor do we need to be, about the nomination standards). Very few Scouters earn this award (a handful per Council per year?).

 

The Church develops an "earnable" award, let's say the "St. John" (sounds like a good choice to me!) that Scouters can earn by completing a very specific list of requirements.

 

Why would this interfere or negatively impact the St. George? In fact, I think it might make the St. George even more prestigious.

 

I don't think the Scouter's Key or Wood Badge beads minimize the Silver Beaver. In fact, the more adult Scouters we have who are trained and aware of the Silver Beaver, the more honored and prestigious it becomes. If there are tens or hundreds of Scouters in each council that have earned the St. John, but still just a few handfuls of St. George medal wearers, I think that raises the St. George's prestige.

 

Respectfully, ... other than the day the picture of the winners appears in the Council newsletters, how many times is the St. George thought of by all the Scouters in each council? Nominatable awards can get mentally shortshrifted because there's no sense worrying about them - either you're nominated or your not.

 

You just go about doing your thing. Which is fine, and yes, we should all lead through example. But if that's the case, perhaps, given the example we set with nominatable wards, then logically we could argue that the boys' awards should be nominatable as well. I don't want to start a conflict over that idea - which I think has little merit - but, the point is still there.

 

I don't think the existence of the St. George leads to more Scouts earning their REs. But, the St. John could be built to do just that - at least in part.

 

jd