Unit Religious Emblems Coordinator Position Officially Approved

[click23]

http://scout-wire.org/2012/09/27/unit-religious-emblems-coordinator-position-officially-approved/

 

I think this is a great, but the part that I am scratching my head over is "Of course there is a new patch being developed to accompany the position." Other than the Committee Chair and ScoutParent Unit Cooridantor no one else gets position specific patch, same thing that goes with the District and Council Religious Emblems Coordinator, they both have a patch.

 

I never understood why the ScoutParent Unit Cooridantor got a patch other than someone dump a chunk of change into the study behind it and they wanted a patch to go along with it. This might be the case behind the Religious Emblems Coordinators too.

 

 

http://www.scoutstuff.org/emb-dist-religious-coordr.html

http://www.scoutstuff.org/emb-cncl-religious-coordr.html

[mdlscouting]

As a COR, I don't see this being a frequently filled position.

 

We are far more involved than most churches, and we are lucky enough to have an active COR (Ok, COR/CC/Tiger Cub DL), and a Chaplain, and 5 parents from the church who are active as Den Leaders or Committee Members at the pack level.

 

I have never seen any church out there that has spare people that are involved with the Unit that would have someone to put in this role, unless it's a second hat they wear.

 

For that matter, I really would be surprised to see it filled at the district or council levels.

[BSA24]

This is a pointless position. In a pack, an assistant cubmaster is supposed to do this. In a troop, an ASM is supposed to do it. It doesn't need a position patch or a position.

 

Thanks, BSA, for wasting our time on this when there are other things that need attention.

[NJCubScouter]

"Of course", where is my Advancement Coordinator patch? Not that I want or need one, but by the logic of that article, there should be one. The "Troop Committee" patch is enough.

[5yearscouter]

Our troop chaplain pretty much spearheads this job in our troop.

 

[BDPT00]

It's clear that the knee-jerk reaction to this is the typical 'if national recommends it, it must be bad' mentality. This job won't require a great deal from whomever takes it on. Not all troops have a Chaplain, but all units could have a resource person to direct a Scout to a counselor. Pretty tough job.

Cubs have no idea where to turn to get started. Now they will. Simple.

BSA24, where in your wildest dreams would you come up with the notion that "an ASM is supposed to do it?"

I see nothing but positive things coming from this. Why the negativity??

BDPT00

[BSA24]

BSA24, where in your wildest dreams would you come up with the notion that "an ASM is supposed to do it?"

 

Because that's who is supposed to do these things. The SM is responsible for the scouting program in the unit. His job is to ensure that the program happens. He can divide up various responsibilities for portions of the program up amongst his ASM's. These days, in a big troop, the SM is bogged down with conferences with boys. He isn't going to have time and energy to do this. His best bet is to delegate it to an ASM - or the troop chaplain.

 

This is program work, fellas. This is not committee work. It is not administrative. It is program. Introducing the youth to a badge should be done by the SM or the ASM's, not the guys who are supposed to be doing the troop's paperwork and administrative secretarial functions.

 

[ghermanno]

So, I tried the link for the position requirements... Doesn't work.

 

Left a response based on my intepretation of the job.

 

So, here's the question: Which one of you can point a child/youth to the person that can answer thier questions on Paganism? Jewish beliefs? Islam? or any of the other non-mainstream religions? Who will study for it? You don't want to push YOUR religion now do you? That is why we have non-denominational "Scouts Own" services.

 

Some units probably require members to be of a certain religion to join but that is not BSA.

 

My $0.02

 

Rick

[BDPT00]

$0.02 might be as little overstated.

[BDPT00]

Sorry for the quick reply. Had to hit the road in a hurry.

I'm not sure what the point of the questions were, but if a religious emblems coordinator gets a question about any religion (including their own), their responsibility to the Scout is to be a resource to guide them in the right direction. They should have a network of other coordinators (one they helped to build and maintain), and should be able to know where to find further information.

Regarding religious requirements for members of a unit. That's totally up to the chartered organization, and that IS BSA.

BDPT00

[Crew21_Adv]

Fellow Scouters,

 

While I do like the idea of a District and Council Religious Emblems Coordinator, and encouraging youth to participate in learning more about their family's choice of religion.

 

BSA has had a Chaplain's position for years. Wouldn't a Unit Religious Emblems Coordinator be a Chaplain? And couldn't the Troop or Pack Chaplain refer the youth and family to the District Coordinator?

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv

[BDPT00]

Absolutely. What percentage of troops have a Chaplain? Have you ever seen a pack Chaplain? How about a crew?

BDPT00

[ScoutNut]

The only Religious Emblem Coordinator position mentioned in any of the BSA Membership Resources sections are the District/Council level positions.

 

Perhaps this is an idea still in the works for the unit level.

 

Personally, I feel this position can be easily fulfilled at the Cub level by an Asst Cubmaster, or the Advancement Chair. There is really no need for a specific Committee position. Although, if a Pack has a volunteer willing to take this on, more power to them. Since most of the Cub level programs are done at home with the family, their main job would be informing Pack families of the existance of the programs, directing them to their religious organizations, and assisting in the purchasing of materials/awards.

 

Most religious programs for the Troop/Crew level require a trained mentor to work with the Scouts. This is where a Unit Religious Emblem Coordinator might be practical. Although, if they would need to be trained by multiple religious organizations, their best bet would still be to direct Scouts back to the Scout's own religious organization.

 

Also, at the Troop/Crew level I feel that the position of Chaplain covers this well enough. One of the responsibilities of a Chaplain is to - "Encourage Scouts to participate in the religious emblems program of their respective faith".

 

[BadenP]

 

 

To kind of answer ghermannos question, whoever is going to do this job in your troop a great resource would be the Trust Award Venturing handbook which gives a good synopsis of most of the major religions of the world, what does it mean to be religious, why study other religions, and respecting the religious beliefs of others, and provides resources and websites for more in depth study. I gave my copy to a newly appointed troop chaplain and she uses it as the foundation of her discussions with the scouts.

[SeattlePioneer]

As I think about it further, a Religious Emblem Co-ordinator might be recruited from among the parish members, someone not otherwise involved in Scouting who would like to inform parish members in the pack about the religious emblem program and to encourage and assist them in completing the award.

 

It could be a way of expanding the pack leadership and building closer tied with the Chartered Organization, a Catholic parish in my case.