9muckraker7

acco40 wrote: "Yes, I was disappointed in the fact that many of the boys in our troop thought their Ordeal ceremony was more slave labor than anything else. I think part of the problem is most boys are way to lax on who gets elected as Ordeal candidates." I agree. There are scores of scouts who make their Ordeals and never return to the OA only because they just didn't take the ordeal seriously. This, I believe, is because they simply aren't "spiritually mature" enough to undergo the ordeal, and their fellow scouts wrongly elected them. The question now is...what can we possibly d

Thanks

There is a boy in my troop who is planning his eagle service project. It involves painting the outside of a building of a local community organization. The organization that is benefitting from his project has offered to provide the paint that will be needed. The scout who is planning the project was a bit hesitant to accept this offer, but he could not find anything in the eagle project workbook that states that the organization benfitting from his project cannot provide the materials for the project. So, this raised a question: Can the organization who benefits from the project p

I got a couple... EVERYTHING is waterproof until it gets wet. Overpacking is useless and unnecessary until you run out of clothes. "Put this pot of water on the fire" may have adverse implications especially when said to younger scouts.

ahh.. here there it is...page 20 of the guide to inductions... "The ceremonial principles should not reveal their names until they issue the series of challenges at the ordeal. Therefore, it is inappropriate to use the names ******[censored because this thread isnt safeguarded]********** in call-outs. If the characters are referred to by name, it would be more appropriate to call them chief, guide, etc."

I would think that the guide to officers and advisors or the guide to inductions produced by national would have a statement addressing this. I'll look around to see if i can find it; i remember reading it somewhere.

An OA lodge jambo patch would be a great fundraiser for your lodge, but please do not see the patch as being just that. Try to make the OA jambo flap SPECTACULAR, not only to generate more sales, but also to represent your lodge. OA flaps are popular to those who collect them; there are MANY people--scouts, scouters, and non-scouters alike--who collect OA memorabilia. There are probably about as many people who collect/trade CSP's (or JSP's?) as there are people who collect/trade lodge flaps, regardless of whether the event is a NOAC or a Jamboree.

The Admonition is definitely found on the jumpstart website. A lot of other cool things are found on that website that prove to be quite beneficial for newly inducted ordeal members.

My prayers are with you and your family.

I think that certain things need to be explained to teenagers of today's youth who do not think highly of scouting and consider it to be "uncool." The truth is that many go on to make these assumptions about the organization without knowing anything at all about it: they do not know about the outdoor program; the concept of youth-leadership; some do not even know what an eagle scout is. These misinformed people are sometimes influenced by stereotypical images of scouting used for comedic purposes (that notorious SNL skit "Canteen Boy;" some animated sitcoms; etc.) and because they do not know

There are also Power Point Presentations corresponding to training sessions at the past NOAC. They do not have specific information; they're just outlines for a training syllabus or something. I forgot where on the web to find them but they're out there somewhere. I downloaded "creating a super-troop program" and "Patch-collecting 101."

Very interesting story for the night.

I don't really think I completely answered the question in my last post. The OA's purpose is fourfold: "To recognize those campers -- Scouts and Scouters -- who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives, and by such recognition cause other campers to conduct themselves in such manner as to warrant recognition. To develop and maintain camping traditions and spirit. To promote Scout camping, which reaches its greatest effectiveness as a part of the unit's camping program, both year-round and in the summer camp, as directed by the camping committee of the coun

NOT A TON OF FUN??!!! NOT FUN?!!!! WHAAAA??!!! Calmsi1ence, I want you to get involved with your lodge and come back in exactly one year and try to say the OA is "not a ton of fun"! Go to a fellowship weekend your lodge is having! Go to your Section Conclave! Go to the next NOAC and TELL ME THE OA IS NOT FUN! THE OA IS GREAT!!!! See, the best thing about the OA is that while the majority of lodge functions are geared towards having fun, the service opportunities are also meant to be fun: through brotherhood and cheerfullness. This is what the OA teaches a scout to realize, and if yo

I do not have a link to the article, but I will provide the link from where I got that text and its citation. It should suffice. http://snopes.com/military/isabel.htm There are citations at the bottom of the webpage which read: Associated Press. "State and Regional News." Texarkana Gazette. 24 September 2003. Texarkana Gazette. "In Our View: Tomb of the Unknowns." 23 September 2003.

Maybe this isn't quite a Scoutmaster's minute, but it's worth posting. From the Texarkana Gazette, 2003: Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God. So reads the inscription etched into the white granite tomb that marks the resting place of America's official unknown soldiers. The Tomb of the Unknowns remains one of the United States' most revered sites, a permanent reminder of this country's commitment to honor those who died fighting for its freedom. Last week, that commitment was upheld in a way some people might not have even noticed or even thought ab

VAordeal wrote: " Although the new scouts usually know all of the kids in my troop because our pack & troop are chartered by the same school, they do not vote. They dont get a vote because they ususally vote for the nominees that they know personally. " Isn't there some rule against placing such voting restrictions on OA elections?

The scout parishoners of my church are encouraged to wear their uniforms to mass (Roman Catholic). The alter servers picked to serve mass are scouts and instead of wearing the white albs they wear their scout uniforms. Scouts are also the ones to do the readings at mass. There is really nothing coordinated by my troop; however, the troop whose charter is that church in my town usually coordinate the scout participation in that mass...volunteers do not need to be from that troop, just a member of that parish.

That was truly inspiring. It brought a tear to both my eyes (That's not just a figure of speech either!). This story really made my weekend.

Also, at NOAC this past summer there was a euchre tournament for a lot of patches. Each participant in the tournament (there were about 100 in all) needed to "buy in" with two lodge or council flaps. The winner(s) got all the patches.

Some scouts in my troop who are avid members of the OA play poker for OA patches. Because these guys are great friends and of a mature age, they seem to have a lot of fun doing this and there never really are any bitter feelings.

A SCOUT IS GOOD. So simple, yet so appropriate. But if you all want a more specific response: Persistent sounds good. A good word that comes to mind would be "active," but that seems to have too broad a range of applications. Yeah, persistent would probably be my choice (although hungry does have its uses...). Maybe careful could be of some value. I've seen many a scout get hurt or hurt someone else because he wasn't careful in what he was doing or saying. Is there a word which sums up an overall concept of striving for self-improvement? Not perfectionism, but s

AMEN!

Ahhh...the good old arguments of culture vs counterculture... There will be no resolution to these arguments, only that culture usually seems to triumph, and most people are happy.

See this is the great thing about having a God to whom I can pray...there is no need to try to understand things like this because I can pray that God will decide what is right and help us all to be just in our actions and policies, and I have faith that everything will work out for the better. From my experience, having good faith and being optimistic really helps one appreciate life and be an overall better person.