DenLeaderDad

Didn't get your private message Laurie. It surprises me that I can't find the info I'm looking for online. Thanks for your help.

All the kids in my Den, (with the exception of 1, mine) can't use their pockets because they have been sewn shut. I guess that was easier than trying to get the fingers into those small Cub pockets.

Laurie

I don't have any portion of the Adult Leader Application at all. Should I? My son and I signed up earlier in the summer and avoided the "Roundup rush", as I call it. That was a crazy night. Is it always that crazy at Roundups? Kids everywhere, Leaders trying to convince parents to volunteer, etc. I've been told that our Pack has an excellent resource in that one gentleman (who has been involved in Scouting in our particular area for a long time) does most of the Adult recruiting. I've even heard some of the Leaders that he has recruited compare his method as if they were standing at a three card monty table up against the slickest dealer around. (Laughing to myself). I guess he's really good at getting people to volunteer.

Anyhow, if you have the Declaration of Religious Principle, I'd love to read it. (Should have paid better attention the first time).

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda...I guess

I didn't mean to start a Holy War!

I'd like to thank all those who responded to my message for help in understanding what "Duty To God" is. In reading your responses it has made me realize that maybe I didn't quite express myself clearly. I DO belive that there is a "higher power" greater than myself (I know, sounds like an AA meeting). Do I call that "higher power" God. ??? That is the queston that I've struggled with for the last 15 years. Sometimes I feel like the child that wakes up one morning only to realize that their "belief" in Chris Cringle or the Tooth Fairy is not real, the sudden conclusion that those figures were concocted just to explain certain events or holidays. I guess over the years I found it easier to resond to people that ask if I belive in God by saying yes, rather than trying to explain myself as to why I don't feel the need to attend or belong to any church which is where my real problem lies. I suppose I just got tired of seeing people claiming their beliefs in God on Sunday and then Monday through Saturday it was every man for himself. In my own situatiion this attitude was not only with the church members but also the church staff.

To sum it all up. I suppose if the BSA allows flexibility in religious beliefs by allowing me to believe in my "God", whatever that way may be, without requiring me to actually belong or attend some weekly ritual, then I've got no problem. Right?

In Response,

Laurie - I spent most of last night searching any BSA websites for any references to my agreement in a "belief in God" as far as my signing a BSA application. I didn't find any. I did, however, find a repeated reference to "subscribes to the BSA statement of religious principle". What is that? I couldn't find any expanded definition of what the "BSA statement of religios principle" is. Does anyone a link to the definition?

acco40 - In reading your response I now realize that maybe I was reading too much into the actual achievement, mainly #3. My interpretation was that my son/family would actually need to belong to a church to satisfy this requirement.

dsteele - I commend you for being able to be very religious without the neccessity for regular church attendance. It seems to me that too many people equate one with the other so that if you don't attend church regularly then you can't be very religious. Hogwash!

Bob - Got your private message. Thank You.

HELP!

My Wolf Scout is begging me to help him complete Achievement 11, "Duty To God". My problem is that I just don't know what that means? As a child and a teen I always went to church with my family and had become quite involved with church activities. Then I met the Pastor's daughter, married her and eventually divorced. Throughout that whole process (the divorce part), there was so much ugliness at our church that my family ended up changing churches and I just ended up leaving church altogether. That's the past. Now the present. I did meet and eventually marry my current wife with which we have 2 sons. Hence the reason that I'm involved in Scouting. My problem, however, is that I still have a bad taste in my mouth for religion and "Duty to God".

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can help my son to complete this Achievement? I think that if we suddenly start going to church my son will realize that we are doing it solely for him to complete his Achievement and he'll get the wrong impression about what the Achievement is supposed to be about.

Any help would be helpful and very much appreciated.

I may be a little unclear on this, but isn't the Academic and Sports Belt Loops and Pin Program supposed to be an extra-curricular activity? I am new to Scouting (started in June with my Wolf Son) and I thought that the main emphasis was completing the Achievements in the Scout's handbook. I understand that as the Scout is working on the Achievements they can also be working on Belt Loops, Pins, Electives, etc. However, if the Scout has done all the Belt Loops and Pins that the parent says they have, have they done any of the Rank Achievements? In my own situation, my son is two thirds of the way through his Wolf book, has earned the Belt Loops for Computers, Soccer and Marbles (we did the Marble Belt Loop as a Den meeting), a Soccer Pin and has roughly 33 electives completed. AND IT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF DECEMBER! I just can't seem to get my son to slow down. I've tried telling him that this is not a race, but he keeps going. I have already had to tape some of the pages back into his Wolf book because they are falling out. Is this normal? I do like scoutmom24's idea of giving the Scout the requirements page for the Belt Loop and Pin that the Scout wishes to earn and have the parents check off the items that their child has completed. I also have the Scout "Present" their work to the Den to show the others what they did to complete the requirements.

Just my thoughts on Den Flag ideas. We took a gold piece of cloth (same size as official den flag) and using fabric paint had the boys put their handprints on it. Underneath their hand print they wrote their name with a fabric pen. We had the whole cloth covered with the Cubs handprints. Next, I took the gold cloth and sewed it to the back side of the official den flag. After I was finished sewing it all together and was showing it to my wife and she responded with, "What happens if a boy leaves the den or a new boy joins?" I guess I didn't think that one through enough. However, our flag looks really cool!