BSAChaplain

Oh how sad it is to have my illusions washed away. In the council that I earned my Eagle (many moons ago) The BOR was provided by the council and contained 3 men only one of which I had ever met before. As I recall at least two are Eagle Scouts themselves. In the current council I am in, all Eagle BOR have been chaired (until recently) by a well known local judge also and Eagle himself. He is known for holding a very high standard. This task has just been divided out to the district level, but the benchmark has been set. I guess I made the tragic error or assuming that every council held such high standard. And I will continue to believe, unless shown otherwise, that the majority of Scouting does. I suppose that's one of the reasons for being on a forum like this is to see how the program works across the country. As someone with vast youth experience but limited adult experience it is quite valuable. Thanks for the enlightenment.

Here's my 1/50th of a dollar's worth. The circumstances around these Eagle BOR's sound suspicious to me. Fortunately, if I understand the system right, any Eagle Packet must be sent to National and the records are reviewed there. I believe it travels through Council and possible Distirct on the way to National. Somewhere along the way, any inconsistencies such as an imporperly convened or staffed BOR SHOULD be noticed. (not a guarantee, but certainly a good check system.)

When I chose to use scripture in a large group, Scout setting it is never to teach about God. This is not the venue for my views on salvation etc. Rather it is to use a scriptural reference to illustrate a truth about life. "A Scout is reverent; he is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties and respects the convictions and beliefs of others in matters of custom and religion." Using a reference is meant to encourage reverence, to encourage a Scout to use His own scriptures to seek truth. You may (if this is true) start by saying This comes from the writings of my faith. You have to know your parents and work within your context. It may be necessary for you to say something as straightforward as, Now my purpose in using this verse is to show how a person of character grows up, not that it was Jesus. Do you have parents of the other faiths who are knowledgeable in their faith? Perhaps they could give you a supportive reference from their own sacred writings. Something that I did not mention when I wrote out the one up top, but did when I originally gave it was to mention that this comes a the conclusion of the only record of Jesus as an adolescent. This also makes the story more directed to a youth purpose.

I'd love to see one available as well. In fact I'd opt for Chapter Chief Patch as well. We are a large lodge in San Diego. Our chapter (1 of the 9) has almost 300 members. That's a position worthy of a patch. My 2001 Scouting Collectibles book tells me only of the one released 72-76. (They're worth a fortune too.) There are knock off's available online (Lodge and Chapter) for about $3.50 each. They are slightly different, and of course not approved by National. I suppose they could be worn as a "Temporary Patch" but that doesn't give credit where credit is due.

Okay, I'm a pastor and it shows. Here is one I used at a COH as an invocation it could be expanded for Scout's own or used as a Scoutmaster's minute Luke 2:42 "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." Thats how God made us to grow as well. Its what Scouting is all about growing up the right way, these very principles are woven into the Scout Oath: wisdom mentally awake, stature physically strong, and in favor with God and man morally straight. Then, as it was an invocation, I concluded with a prayer asking Gods blessing on the efforts of our young men to grow up right.

I have taken the majority of my patches from my youth; positions, camps, conclaves, pow-wows, etc. even my old CSP and Troop numbers and honor unit patches and sewn them on a jacket. I have not attached any rank patches or my lodge flaps. (It helps that I'm a big guy) It has been a great discussion point with boys..."what's 50 Miles afoot afloat" "How do you become a BSA Lifeguard" or even "that's cool." It has prompted several of our boys to actually do something with their patches. It's also been a great conversation starter with Scouters at camp. "I went there" "Did you know such and such he was on staff there in the 70's" To keep it fresh and not to appear as if I'm bragging, I only bring it out every now and then.

I'm a catalog junkie too. In fact I'm a uniform junkie. I have about 3 feet of closet space full of uniform pieces. Except for 2 of them, I have bought all of thm from the local Salvation Army and Amvets. Theses pieces ranged from 3-7 dollars each. My son's shorts-3 pairs @$3 each. I have alredy purchased enough uniform parts to see him all the way through the program (unless the uniform changes). His favorite uniform to wear...the one of pieces from the late 60's-early 70's with an overseas hat. Here's another source - http://www.euxnetwork.net/ This is a network of people who sell used uniform parts. But as for the insanity...it's nothing new. I have a catlog from my early Scout days, 1978. In it you will find Scout Canteen, Tents, Backpacks, t-shirts etc. None of which was cutting edge camping gear at the time. perhaps there wasn't as much stuff as now, but plenty all the same. Every activity has its people who go overboard whether it is Scouts, sports, choir, etc. It's our responsibility as Scouters to teach about being thrifty to the boys and their family. Explain what they need and what they don't. That's what my Scoutmaster did and it worked well.

I am looking for council red and white (or khaki) for San Diego and community strips for San Diego, Poway, Rancho Bernardo and Claremont. Almost any condition is okay. I am willing to trade of buy. Thanks

After a hiatus of just less than 2 decades I have returned to Scouting. (Is it just me or have somethings changed?) My son joined Scouts in February 2004 and loves it. As a youth pastor, I have taken the role of Troop Chaplain, which makes me a part of the Troop Commitee. My own Scouting history runs from my Bobcat in October of 1973 to my Eagle in '83 and continued to my OA Vigil in '85. Along with that I served in almost every position of leadership from Denner to OA Section Secretary. I am now SM/ASM and Troop Comitte trained and looking forward to Woodbadge 2006. I have already gleaned many things from this forum and look forward to learning more. Helping to build and shape youth of character. What a calling! It is great to be back.

Well Proud Eagle, I'm glad to know that you participated in religious ceremonies in uniform. That would be the only comsumption of alcohol I would be comfortable doing in uniform. As for the topic, I would hope that no Troop would discourage, or worse prohibit, any registered adult from wearing a uniform.