fgoodwin

And a Happy New Year to all Scouts and Scouters -- I hope you were with friends and family today. And a prayer for the safe return of all our men & women in uniform who are away from friends and family today.

I don't know what your budget allows, but Jellystone Park (Hagerstown, MD) has some very nice cabins, and Hagerstown isn't far from Gettysburg: http://www.jellystonemaryland.com/cabins.aspx

Its worth noting that BSA won the court battle, yet voluntarily agreed to admit female Scoutmasters (the article doesn't mention den mothers, which had been a fixture in Cub Scouts for some time).

Woman who opened doors to women in Boy Scout leadership dies http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/12/14/woman_who_opened_doors_to_women_in_boy_scout_leadership_dies/ http://tinyurl.com/v39uf December 14, 2006 MILFORD, Conn. -- A woman whose 14-year legal battle helped open the doors for women to become scoutmasters and other leaders within the Boy Scouts of America has died. Catharine Pollard died Wednesday at the age of 88. Pollard's battle with the organization began after her application for a leadership position was denied by the Boy Scouts in 1974 and 1976. She was rejected by the scouts even though she had run a Milford troop from 1973 to 1975 when no men volunteered. The Boy Scouts contended that a woman was not a good role model for young boys enrolled in scouting. Pollard successfully challenged the action before the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, but that ruling was later reversed in state courts. The state Supreme Court in July 1987 upheld a lower-court ruling that boys need the guidance of men "in the difficult process of maturing to adulthood." But in February 1988 the national Boy Scouts of America did away with all gender restrictions on volunteer positions, abandoning its 78-year-old policy that banned women from six leadership roles. At the time of the 1988 change, Pollard had praise for the Boy Scouts leadership. "I think that it is a great thing that happened and I think it's about time, after trying hard for 14 years, to get this stupid situation straightened out," Pollard said. "I do think that this is marvelous because there have been women all over the United States, in fact all over the world, that have been doing these things for the Boy Scouts because they could not get a male leader but we could not get recognition for the things we've done," she said. Pollard, who was 69 at the time, officially became Milford's first female Scoutmaster in 1988.

Not sure what happened, but I went to our weekly Troop Meeting Monday nite, and the SPL was still in charge and running things. I hope this means last week's decision to remove the SPL has been reconsidered.

Given the bad press that can be caused by one bad apple, I can understand a unit not jumping on an offer to volunteer from someone who doesn't have kids in the unit. In addition to the Commissioner Corps, there are scores of district jobs you could fill: lead a Cub weekend or district camporee, lead a district Pinewood Derby, become a trainer, staff the health lodge at camp if you are certified, counsel one or more merit badges, sit on an Eagle BOR, join the district FOS team, etc. Next fall, maybe you could help with in-school recruiting for Cub Scouts. Find out where your district holds its monthly RT and go. Meet your fellow Scouters. Also attend the monthly district committee and district commissioners meetings. Go to training. Offer your services. Maybe your local religious relationships committee could use some help (if you have one, I guarantee you they will take you up on your offer!). Use some creativity, think outside the unit box. The needs are definitely there.

kraut60, I thank you and all members of the military (current and retired) for their service. But BSA isn't the military. Its a noble goal to want your boys to look good, and I would hope they have enough pride and self-respect to want to look good themselves. My beef is when ASMs and units start *requiring* adherence to military, non-BSA uniform policies (like the examples I gave above). I hope it never happens, but if a Scout ever failed a rank advancement because he didn't observe the gig line or didn't get brass-on-brass with his web belt, I could certainly understand the parents of said boy taking a grievance to National -- and that troop or ASM would find itself with a lot of explaining to do.

I know of a troop (that will remain unidentified to protect the innocent) that includes a requirement in its parent handbook that Scout belts be worn with "brass-on-brass". I've heard an ASM counsel one of his charges that the boy wasn't wearing his uniform properly because the boy hadn't observed the "gig line" correctly. I'm waiting for the next requirements that boots be polished, laces be tucked in, heads be covered outdoors at all times and no hands allowed in the pants pockets! BTW: in case you're wondering, none of these requirements is per the Scout HB or uniform inspection sheet.

Without getting into the merits of any specific situation, what process does your troop follow to remove an SPL? In my troop, the SM (with the backing of the troop committee) decided to remove the SPL after he had served three of his six months. I was told the SPL, even though elected by the troop, serves at the pleasure of the SM, and that the SM has the sole authority to remove the SPL. Other ASMs were asked to offer their opinion, but ultimately the decision was left to the SM. I have a really bad feeling about this . . .

Nick: I checked an old roster of the National Religious Relationships Committee (Jan '05), and it did not have a Sikh representative on it. I know I have a more recent copy (10-06), and while I can't put my hands on it, I don't recall seeing a Sikh representative on it, either.

Evan Hunsberger's Eagle project was mentioned in the Sep 2002 issue of Scouting Magazine: A SCOUT'S DEVOTION http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0209/d-news.html#sbard By Keith Monroe The idea was modest when 13-year-old Evan Hunsberger visualized an Eagle Scout service project as a Good Turn for two military bases near his home in Orange, Calif. Evan's inspiration was a frayed book, Strength for Service to God and Country. The pocket-size devotional had been used by his grandfather, Eugene Hunsberger, during service as a Navy corpsman (medic) in World War II, a pharmacist's mate in Korea, and for more than 60 years as a Scoutmaster. Originally issued by Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, a United Methodist Church publisher, the book contained a page for every day of the year, with a Bible verse, a short prayer, and an inspirational message or story by a leading Protestant clergyman or other leader of the era. Eugene Hunsberger had read pages to lonely or wounded servicemen in hospitals and later to Boy Scouts during campfires. Hundreds of chaplains had used the book, but it went out of print after the war in Korea ended in 1953. Evan learned that most chaplains lacked a similar source for providing spiritual comfort to the men and women in today's armed forces. As a service to the military, and a tribute to his grandfather (who gave his blessing to the project but died before it was completed), he decided to print a new edition of the book for distribution at the nearby Los Alamitos and Camp Pendleton military bases. Evan wrote letters, made telephone calls, and sent e-mails in an effort to obtain the needed permissions to reprint the original text and obtain additional material. His fellow Boy Scouts from Troop 241, classmates from Servite High School, and his parents, brother, and sisters all helped him update the original text and add new material so all faiths could use the book's new version. Evan sought new prayers from theologians, priests, rabbis, and Muslim clerics, and he received more than 40, including ones from Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, Duke Divinity School professor Karen Westerfield Tucker, United Methodist Bishop Ernest Lyght, Dr. Robert H. Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral, and Calvary Chapel's senior pastor Chuck Smith. New prayers were added for Jewish holy days, like Yom Kippur, and Islamic holy months, such as Ramadan. Progress was slow at first, but interestand the project's scopegrew as more people became aware of the effort. The General Commission on United Methodist Men agreed from the start to Evan's request to sponsor the project and promote wider distribution of the new edition, which would be published by Providence House Publishers of Franklin, Tenn. A computer company in Orange scanned the original pages to computer disks for free. Each weekend for three months, four Scouts from Evan's troop and 12 to 30 others, including adult leaders, college students, and classmates, corrected hundreds of typographical errors on the more than 400 scanned pages. Then there were four more months of editing from school, home, and office, and five months of formatting. Following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the Department of Defense agreed to order up to a million copies, for distribution to military personnel around the world. The National Council of Churches and other interfaith groups and chaplains' organizations offered to help distribute the book to police and fire departments and other outlets. The General Commission on United Methodist Men began a nationwide effort to raise $3 million to fund the publishing of the books for the military. For his efforts, Evan, who is Catholic, was honored by the United Methodist Church with its Good Samaritan Award. The award honors youth who demonstrate the attributes of a minister to others through outreach or humanitarian assistance. On Memorial Day, three years after Evan began his project, the first 10,000 copies of the new book were scheduled to be sent to military bases. And in June, Evanwho had postponed completing his Eagle requirements to concentrate on his projectfinally received Scouting's highest rank. Keith Monroe lives in Santa Monica, Calif. For information on purchasing the new edition of Strength for Service to God and Country or contributing to the fund for its publication, contact the General Commission on United Methodist Men, P.O. Box 340006, Nashville, TN 37203-0006.

Publishing House to republish book for U.S. troops http://www.wfn.org/2006/11/msg00165.html Nov. 14, 2006 NOTE: A photograph is available at http://umns.umc.org. By J. Richard Peck* NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The United Methodist Publishing House will resume its role as the publisher of a 64-year-old book of daily devotions for U.S. military troops. In the days after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, staff members of the Methodist Publishing House discussed ways in which they could serve the thousands of men and women enlisting in the armed services. The Publishing House staff decided to ask church and academic leaders from many denominations to write one-page devotions for each day of the year. Each message would be written for combat troops. The staff titled the book Strength for Service to God and Country. The massive publishing project was completed in 1942; by 1944 the book had been given to 800,000 troops, the largest publishing effort by the Nashville-based agency to that date. The original book was a hard-back pocket book purchased by local churches and individuals to give to troops as they were deployed for Europe and Asia. The book was republished during the Korean conflict, and it was then forgotten by nearly everyone except World War II or Korean War veterans who kept copies of the book as a reminder of their days in the service. Boy Scout leads republishing effort One of the veterans who kept a copy of the pocketbook was Eugene Hunsberger, a former Navy officer living in Orange County, Calif. His grandson, Evan, noted how important the book was to his grandfather and Evan asked him if it would be a good idea to republish the book for his Eagle Scout project. "That's not a good idea," said Eugene, "that's a great idea." Eugene Hunsberger did not live to see his grandson's Eagle project completed, but five years later, with help from the churchwide Commission on United Methodist Men, the addition of devotions by contemporary religious leaders and contributions from across the nation, more than 250,000 copies of an updated version of the historic book have been sent to members of the armed forces. Unlike the first effort in which local churches purchased the book and gave it to service men and women, the men's agency has solicited funds to send the books to chaplains who distribute the books to their troops. The goal of the agency is to give copies of the book to 1 million troops. Shift in publishers In November, after publishing 250,000 copies with the Franklin, Tenn.-based Providence House Publishing Company, the Commission on United Methodist Men returned the publishing role to the original developer and copyright holder, the United Methodist Publishing House. "We were pleased with our five-year relationship with Providence House," said the Rev. David Adams, top staff executive of the agency for men's ministry, "but we think there may be people who want to purchase the book for local police, fire fighters or emergency workers, and we felt we could reach new markets through the United Methodist Publishing House with more than 70 Cokesbury stores and outlets." "We all stand in the need of prayer," said Neil Alexander, president and publisher of the United Methodist Publishing House. "We all hunger for an encounter with God's word and God's grace. Surely this is even more so in times of great crisis and moral challenge, and in places where we are far from loved ones and surrounded by threats of conflict and violence." He said the Nashville-based Publishing House "is privileged to join with United Methodist Men from all corners of the world to offer holy words of guidance, solace, forgiveness and challenge through this new version of a historic publication." Appreciation from Iraq Captain Pete Keough, an Army chaplain stationed in Iraq, recently wrote the commission to thank it for sending Strength for Service to God and Country books. "I have been carrying copies with me as I go 'outside the wire' to visit soldiers at the places of duty within the Baghdad region. I have worked it out to where at least one book goes with every squad. The feedback from the soldiers is unanimous: 'It is the perfect devotional for the warrior/soldier on the go.' I keep mine in my left leg pocket, a perfect fit. Your ministry is a huge blessing. May God richly bless you all!" The 400-page books are also given to men following their basic training before they are deployed. "Strength for Service speaks right to the heart of a warrior and hits on the topics that are at the forefront of our thoughts," said Marine Lt. Jason Rochester, a chaplain at the Paris Island, S.C., training center. "The size is ideal for carrying in a cargo pocket or in the pouch of a pack." "I read a passage every night at lights out and it always strengthens me and gives me motivation," said Pvt. Schmidtberger, a recruit at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Copies were also sent to staff members of the Pentagon, who also suffered an attack on 9/11. Pentagon Chaplain Jim Driscoll said the books have "been much appreciated and used by civilian and military personnel throughout the Pentagon." The men's commission hopes to provide all U.S. service men and women with a copy of this historic book. The commission is accepting donations by mail to GCUMM, P.O. Box 340006, Nashville, TN 37203-0006. For additional information, contact Larry Coppock at (615) 620-7262 or by e-mail at lcoppock@gcumm.org. Additional information is available at the commission's Web site, www.strengthforservice.org. *Peck is a retired clergy member of New York Annual Conference and communications coordinator for the General Commission on United Methodist Men. News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org

I found two links to a document that relates to the "Religion in Life" program for Sikhs in Scouts Canada / Girl Guides of Canada: http://www.girlguides.ca/media/pdfs/14-3/14.3.6.27.pdf http://www.scouts.ca/media/documents/94-389.pdf This isn't a BSA program, but perhaps US Sikhs can start a program based on this Canadian model.

dcastro, just one clarification: there is only one youth religious knot (silver knot on purple background). It is awarded after a youth earns the religious emblem of his faith (i.e., the "medal"). On the other hand, the medals of the various faiths can be different, and requirements to earn them are different. But there is only one knot. The requirements for the medals of the various faiths are determined by the faiths themselves (or their Scouter Associations). I am not aware of a Scouter association for Sikhs, and I am not aware of a religious medal for Sikhs. Here is a link that to which you can direct your Sikh family; perhaps they can help identify if such a medal exists: http://www.worldsikhcouncil.org/ If it turns out that such a medal does not yet exist, please remind your Sikh family that it is the responsibility of their faith to come up with a medal -- BSA does not do that. Good luck, Fred Goodwin

dan: do you recall if it was Ford or Chevy?

I was watching the Dallas-Arizona game yesterday (Nov 12) and while not paying much attention during a commercial, I saw an image of a Boy Scout flash by. I think it was a painting of a Boy Scout, similar to a Rockwell, but I don't think it was a Rockwell painting. I believe it was a Chevy or Ford commercial, and although I waited for the rest of the game to see it again, it wasn't run again. Did anyone else see the commercial I'm talking about? It would be great if it was available on YouTube or someplace.

I second Hunt's recommendation re: the National Zoo. Its huge, and best of all, its free! http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ Note: there are two Metro Redline stops, one on either side of the Zoo. When going TO the Zoo, I recommend the northern stop (Cleveland Park), because the walk is slightly downhill. On the RETURN trip, walk slightly downhill to the southern stop (Woodley Park / National Zoo / Adams Morgan).

I concur with others' opinions re: the Spy Museum. It is cool, but can be very crowded at times, and it is kinda small for a big group. In addition to the other suggestions, consider the Newseum, a museum of the newspaper industry. I think it relocated since I left DC in 2002. The National Academy of Sciences is near the western end of the Mall; it has a statue of Einstein on the lawn that is unique and different. Not sure why Hunt thinks the Boy Scout memorial is weird. I thought it was very interesting; it is near the White House ellipse.

SN, we're talking past each other, which, given the limitations of the written word, is easy to do. I'm not arguing for or against the policy of either BSA or GSUSA. My focus is on the critics of BSA. They criticize BSA for its policy of excluding younger girls, but they don't criticize GSUSA, which agrees with BSA's policy.

SN writes:While GSUSA might feel their membership would suffer if BSA went completely co-ed, there is not ANYTHING that GSUSA can do to stop them.Understood -- but that wasn't my point. BSA has been publicly criticized for its position of not admitting younger girls -- but those same critics don't say anything about GSUSA's opposition to BSA admitting younger girls. I just wonder why GSUSA is let off the hook by those who complain about BSA?

I thought it was interesting that this article points out that GSP opposes the introduction of girls into BSP. I suspect that GSUSA also opposes girls in BSA. Yet when people bash BSA for holding that view, they never mention that GSUSA also opposes the introduction of girls into BSA.

Feud deepens between RP Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts http://globalnation.inq7.net/news/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=29789 http://tinyurl.com/ygjfq3 By Jhunnex Napallacan Inquirer Last updated 05:47pm (Mla time) 10/31/2006 CEBU CITY -- The Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) maintained its opposition to a move by the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) to accept girls on its roster, saying the move necessitates changes in the charters of the two organizations, an official of the GSP has said. Dr. Cristina Yuson, the national treasurer of the GSP and the Asia Pacific regional chairperson of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, said even if the BSP changed its charter to allow girls in, the GSP would continue to oppose the plan. While there is a pending bill aimed at changing the BSP's charter, there is also another bill that opposes it, Yuson pointed out. Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, the national president of BSP, said the BSP planned to meet with GSP officials to arrive at an acceptable solution to the problem. Binay said the gender issue should not become a hindrance to an integrated scouting movement, which has been adopted in international jamborees. But Yuson pointed out that there were members of the BSP, among them sons of congressmen, who were resisting the idea of accepting girls into the BSP and changing the BSPs name to Scout Philippines. Yuson also urged the BSP to refrain from using the GSP as a prerequisite to joining the BSP, which she said was contained in the implementing guidelines of national memorandum number 47. The BSP in its resolution last August 26 decided to accept girls aged 13 to 17. Last September 7, the BSP released its national memorandum number 47 detailing the implementing guidelines on how to accept girls into their senior scout section of the BSP. The GSP said this would confuse the local BSP and GSP councils. Yuson said that the GSP would not compromise on its opposition to memorandum no. 47. Yuson said besides the GSP had Muslim members who were not allowed to be with boys and that there were parents who wanted their 13 to 17-year-old daughters to be in the girl's group. "Equal opportunities means to say you are more empowered; you are educated and we feel that the girls scout movement is still vibrant and strong to be able to do that," she said. Yuson also disagreed with the allegations that the GSP program was "too girly." Aside from having the basic activities, Yuson said the GSP also had other activities such as rappelling. "We do as many challenges now as the boy scouts and we are part of an international organization, which is the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. We have relevant programs like in Africa about HIV-AIDS, and here in the country, we are also doing programs even in reproductive health, awareness of what a girl is. A girl is different from a boy in the first place, why are they saying too girly?" she said.

ping

The original thread is staill available here: http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=144015

Its still available here: http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=144015