Scout Sunday programs

[troop1illinoiscouter]

I am Ryan, the Asst. Sr. Patrol Leader for my troop. I have been given the task of finding other troops that practice Scout Sunday the way my troop does. On Scout Sunday my troop runs the entire service. We do the music, pastoral prayer, proclamation, offering, everything. Are there any other troops that actually run the entire church service like we do?

[Trevorum]

Hello Ryan. And welcome to the forums. We're always glad to have youth join our campfire! Now that you've found us, I hope you'll continue to share your Scouting experiences with us.

 

Speaking for myself, our troop has 8 or 9 faiths among our members including Jewish, Hindu, Catholic, Wiccan, UU, LDS, and several flavors of Protestant so I don't think a single service would meet everyones needs. However, we sometimes have a Scouts Own service on campouts and that works well.

[troop1illinoiscouter]

Our troop has many faiths, too, but in honor of Scout Sunday our sponsoring church allows us to perform their church service. So, I guess what I am asking is if any other sponsoring churches allow their troop to run their service?

[ScoutNut]

Welcome Ryan! I am also located in IL.

 

A few questions -

 

Why are you looking for other Troops that celebrate Scout Sunday in the same exact manner your Troop does?

 

While it is wonderful that your church (CO) celebrates Scout Sunday, if you have multiple faiths in your Troop, what are THEIR religious organizations doing to celebrate it?

 

Is your Troop doing anything to encourage the other religious organizations of it's members to celebrate Scout Sunday?

 

Scout Sunday is a time for Scouts to celebrate their OWN duty to God, & for religious organizations to celebrate their Scouting youth. A time for the Scouts own religious community to recognize their youth members who have worked hard to learn about their faith & earn it's religious award.

 

Some youth do not feel comfortable attending a religious service for a faith other than their own. Some faiths do not approve of their members attending other services.

 

OK, I'm done with my observations! Now, on to what we do.

 

Scout Sundays (both Boy & Girl) are a rather big thing at our local Catholic church. There is one mass designated as "Scout Mass". While we do not "run" the service (that is our Pastor's job), Scouts (youth & adult leaders) are used for as many of the readers, altar servers, cantors, etc, roles as possible.

 

All of the Scouts line up at the back of the church, in full uniform, with their leaders. At the start of the service, the Scouts lead the procession down the central asile, carrying the flags, in front of the altar servers, Pastor, etc. The Scouts & leaders then fill up the pews in the front of the church. An older & a younger Scout are designated to bring up the offerings.

 

On Boy Scout Sunday, the Parveli Dei banners are used to decorate the altar & one of the ASM's sings "On My Honor". The Girl Scouts can not decorate in the church due to GS Sunday falling in the church's Lenten season.

 

At the end of the mass service, the religious awards that have been earned are brought onto the altar & blessed by the Pastor. A representative of each level earning a medal comes up, describes the medal & the work involved & then awards the medals to the youth. Pictures are taken of each group, & the attending Parish community applaudes them.

 

After the service is completed there is a celebration for the Scouts & their families in the school/parish hall. On Boy Scout Sunday there is a continental breakfast of sweets, juice, milk & coffee. The Webelos pick up their banners & more pictures are taken. On Girl Scout Sunday there is also a continental breakfast. Projects from the various religious awards are displayed & each GS Troop puts on a short performance of some kind for their families & fellow Scouts.

 

Our Pack & Troop are both chartered by the Holy Name Society of our local Catholic Church. The HNS also sponsors the Girl Scout Troops in the church's school. I would have to say that 99% of our members are of the Catholic faith. However, we do have some that are not, & we have invited them to our church's celebration if theirs is not holding one. We have also supported our non-Catholic members in earning the religious awards of their faith & attended the celebrations at their religious organizations when these awards were received.

 

Hope this all helps!

 

BTW - Our church has changed the date of their Boy Scout Sunday celebration so it would not interfere with the Super Bowl!

 

[troop1illinoiscouter]

My scoutmaster is very involved in Scout Sunday. We start practicing for it about a month before Scout Sunday. He thinks we are one of the only troops in the country that are given that much responsibility, so I was asked to try and find other troops that have that much responsibility.

 

I dont know about any other faiths but nobody's faith in my troop does not allow them to attend other services.

 

Our troop always holds Scout Sunday a week after the actual Scout Sunday, with the church's consent, of course.

 

 

[Trevorum]

Ryan,

It sounds like you fellows have a big responsibility! I don't know of any other troops who have such a Soup to Nuts involvement in Scout Sunday and I can't figure out how you would do it to be satisfying to the main non-Scout congregation and at the same time be inclusive and respectful of all the beliefs in your troop. It would work with single faith units such as LDS, but I can't see how the entire troop could be involved in a multi-faith unit. I know our Jewish and Hindu fellows would feel pretty awkward participating in a traditional Presbyterian service and I don't think our Baptist Scouts would even consider visiting a UU or (gasp) Wiccan service.

[SSScout]

Greetings, Ryan: Welcome to our electronic crackerbarrel and/or roundtable.

 

(Trev: I've told you, microprocessors just don't get along well with CAMPFIRES. They tend to melt!)

 

I've seen many Troops that conduct most if not all of the religious ceremony. When I earned my G&C way back when, my class arranged and led easily about 50 minutes of the whole UMC service. The CO pastor just sat back and smiled. We chose the hymns, the readings, we wrote the responsive reading(all about the Scout Law). I still have the program from it among my souvenirs.

 

The Troop I belonged to attended services of the faiths to which many of our boys belonged, both during "Scout Sunday" (or saturday) and other occasions . I remember attending Jewish synagogues, Catholic sevices, Baptist churches among others. Everybody eventually has to find their own "place in the choir". If the boys faith does not permit them to attend another faiths service (there's a religious word...service), for whatever reason, well, that's the way that is. He's still a Scout.

 

The Troop I presently am attached to is sponsored by a UMC, and I happen to be a Quaker (as is my son), but I would never think of limiting my sons choice of worship, should he ask to "try out" another faith. At Meeting, his First Day School (read sunday school) class does 'comparative religions' every so often, trading classes with other local churches and temples. And he brings home some interesting discussions, to be sure. The Troop and the CO UMC have no present plans to 'take over' the Scout Sunday worship, but that could change as the new pastor gets educated to the way of the Scout. (Scout Tao? Trev?)

 

Ryan : Listen to your folks and faith leaders. Learn their truths and as you discern your "duty to God", make the Scout Sunday service your own.

 

YiS and Christ.

[Lynda J]

Are these Scout Sunday Services done at a local church?

I personally think that any church would enjoy seeing Boy Scouts put on a Sunday Service.

[Trevorum]

SSS - Yes I know, but campfires are SO much more fun than Roundtables!

[troop1illinoiscouter]

Please dont use my forum to talk to each other.

 

I thank you all for the replies but only one person has really answered me.

[Trevorum]

Ryan,

With respect, this is not "your" forum (it actually belongs to our host, Scouter Terry). You may have started this particular thread, but netiquette does not preclude others from engaging in cross-chats or from posing obliquely related ideas. It is not a reflection on you or your thread, it's just what happens in all threads. Sometimes the most enjoyable and educational threads wind up being about something else completely!

-Trevorum

[Scouter&mom]

Ryan,

 

Our troop participates in Scout Sunday services at the UMC that is our CO. We do not do the entire service, but the Scouts in various troops/packs sponsored by the church do a significant amount of the service. Usually the choir and pastor have coordinated to have music and sermon relative to scouting. All the scouts regardless of their home church are invited to participate. This includes all the girls and boys of all levels of scouting. They do a variety of things from ushering, offering prayers, doing relevant readings. It varies slightly from year to year depending on what scout volunteers for what. We do start the service with the entrance of flags... US, Christian, State and all the troops' flags. Scouts lead the pledges to the US and Christian flags. Scouts that earned a religious award are recognized. Some years, we have had a scout leader who preached the lesson (sermon) in place of the pastor. This year, one young man who is a member of our sponsoring church, will receive his Arrow of Light during the service. He and his mom requested that it be done that morning, so all his friends at church would be there. We explain to all the scouts that this service is not required, but they and their families are completely welcome. We have often increased the attendance on that Sunday by 50 to 60%. It is a smaller church, and we don't have huge troops either.

 

For those who are concerned that we leave the scouts home church out, we do acknowledge that the "official" Scout Sunday is a week earlier than our church celebrates it. We suggest the kids wear thier uniforms to their home church if acceptable to their faith on the "official" Scout Sunday and will talk to their clergy or anyone at their place of worship about Scout Sunday and its meaning.

 

Yes, we have a combined Scout Sunday service between boys and girls. Yes, we change the date too. Our church is a fairly traditional UMC, and celebrates communion the first Sunday of each month during the morning service. So, we have moved to the second Sunday, to allow all those visiting from other faiths to feel more comfortable.

 

[oldsm]

Ryan,

 

Welcome to the forums. I'm glad to see that many units are actively involved in Scout Sunday. From my vantage point, the 12th point of the Law gets short shrift.

 

Perhaps my perspective is a bit different. First, I am a Preacher's Kid (my dad was a pastor) so I was in church every week from the day I was born (at least until I got to college and exercised for a couple of years my prerogative NOT to go!). I am also a church organist and choir director (for the past 26 years), so I am very involved with the services at the church I serve. And I am SM for a troop chartered by a different church. That said...

 

At the church I serve, I coordinate Scout Sunday with the approval of the pastor. The church charters a CS pack. Due to the geographical area, there are boys involved in 2 CS packs and 3 BS troops. Some of the dads in the church are active in those units. What we do on Scout Sunday is lead most parts of a standard worship service. The boys (and adult leaders) wear their full uniforms. The boys handle just about everything except the sermon, the pastoral prayer, the benediction, and Communion. That means leading all of the responsive readings, other prayers, reading scripture, greeting and ushering, collecting the offering, etc. We do NOT have a flag procession, and we do not alter the service to emphasize scouting. It is as "standard" a service as possible, the differences being the visibility and participation of the scouts. We use standard hymns, choral music, etc., and do not permit the service to become a Scouts Own or campfire. Both of these have their places, but not in the sanctuary. I agree with the pastor that the primary purpose of worship is to glorify God - not ourselves.

 

I do obtain all of the spoken texts several weeks before. The church uses a standard liturgy with prayers and lessons coming from lectionary. I always type them up in LARGE PRINT, DOUBLE SPACED, with WIDE MARGINS to make it easy for boys to read. I provide phonetic pronunciations for the "hard" words that most boys (and many adults) have trouble with. And we always get together in the sanctuary to practice reading and movement. Most boys have not done public speaking in large spaces. They need to learn to slow down their delivery, pause for punctuation, emphasize the appropriate words, speak to the back row, etc. They need to just "appear" in the right place at the right time to keep the service flowing smoothly without calling attention to themselves.

 

We encourage everyone in the various units to attend and participate regardless of faith; however, nothing is mandatory. We are inclusive of all faiths.

 

At the church that charters my troop (and a feeder pack), there has not been much involvement on Scout Sunday. I spoke with that pastor a couple of weeks ago and his is very anxious to have the scouts participate much as I described above. Obviously, someone else will have to coordinate things, but that's a minor detail. It is going to happen this year.

 

For what it's worth, both churches are Congregational (UCC).

 

We DO NOT change Scout Sunday to accommodate the Super Bowl. The game doesn't even begin until 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time, a full 7 hours after our service has ended. We see no point in bowing to football where there really is no conflict.