Re: reorganizing troop/religious observances
Thomas H. Harbold (tharbold@NS1.WMDC.EDU)
Sat, 30 Jan 1999 10:42:33 -0500
At 9:49 AM -0500 1/30/99, Cheryl Singhal wrote:
>[snip]
>
>> Scouts (and Scouters, for that matter) ought to simply accept missing
>> church as part of the price of going on a campout. One of the Methods of
>> Scouting -- camping and related activities -- shouldn't, imho, conflict
>> with "duty to God" and "reverence."
>
>A gentle reminder that Hindu, Moslem, and Buddhist Scouts do not belong
>to religions where group worship is required. Any of these Scouts can
>fulfill his DAILY obligations to God privately in less than 5 minutes
>(times 5 for the Moslems).
Yes, true, but in that case the issue would not arise, would it? We're
talking about a specifically Christian situation, here, a fact which I
would have thought obvious from the context. Sorry if that sounds snippy,
but it seems to me we ought to be able to hold a conversation without
having to insert *too* many caveats, "but of course's," and "excepting,
naturally's" into the middle of it.
If you want to talk daily obligations, I can oblige: citing, again, my own
Episcopal Church, we have inherited from the Anglican tradition and,
further back, Christian tradition in general, the concept of "Daily
Offices" -- in the Anglican tradition, Morning and Evening Prayer,
incorporating Psalms, Scripture readings, Canticles, and prayers -- which
appear in the Book of Common Prayer, and the daily recitation of which are
expected of those fully living out the Anglican/Episcopal approach to
Christianity.
Obviously, all of that might be a little much to attempt on a daily basis
while on a campout, but every edition of the BCP since 1928 has included
abbreviated forms for personal or family devotion, which don't take much,
if any, more than the 5 minutes you cited for persons of other faiths. The
idea of "Sunday Christians," or a religious obligation limited to Sundays,
is a relatively recent development in the history of Christianity. It's
interesting to me that earlier editions of the Scout Handbook, right up
through the last one, included some variation on "Bible or Prayer Book" in
the optional personal items section of camping equipment. This one doesn't.
I think that omission is a shame.
The point of all of this, in any case, is not to defend one particular
religious expression against another, or to beat the drum of my own
particular tradition, but to reassert what I stated in the paragraph quoted
above: that Scouting Methods or activities should not conflict with "duty
to God" or "reverence." And if it's unavoidable that they do, as inevitably
sometimes occurs, adult leaders should endeavor to ensure that the
disruption is as minimal as possible.
Yours Reverently (*grin*),
Tom
"On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; and
to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally
straight." -- the Scout Oath (Promise), B.S.A.
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Thomas H. Harbold, ASM Troop 321 BAC P.O. Box 1537
tharbold@ns1.wmdc.edu Westminster, MD 21158
www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/5129 ICQ # 26466587
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