SpiralScouts offer inclusive programs.

[Trevorum 24]

Taking a page from Fred''s playbook, I thought I''d share this article.

 

http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/45487.shtml

 

Navigators and SpiralScouts offer inclusive programs.

By Donald E. Skinner

9.21.07

 

Two Sunday afternoons a month the Mojave Desert SpiralScouts Circle No. 147 takes over the building of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Las Vegas. Kids cluster together, working on camping badges and chattering about their latest field trip.

 

On the other side of the country, in a New York City elementary school, young Navigators meet after school to practice wilderness skills and plan community service projects and outdoor adventures. Their leader is a Unitarian Universalist who formerly led a Boy Scout troop.

 

SpiralScouts and Navigators USA are two alternatives that have arisen in the wake of decisions by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in 1999 to exclude boys and leaders who were gay or did not believe in a supreme being.

 

The Unitarian Universalist Association parted ways with the BSA over those two issues after the BSA withdrew approval in May 1999 for a religious emblem the UUA awarded to Scouts who had earned it through a program of study in their congregations. Since that time some UUs have wanted a more inclusive youth program. SpiralScouts and Navigators are two such groups.

 

Neither group is officially affiliated with the UUA, although UUs may lead them and participate in them. Some groups meet in UU buildings or are sponsored by individual UU congregations. Other UUs continue to participate in Boy Scout programs.

 

SpiralScouts, begun in 2001, was organized as a youth program of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church, a Wiccan group in the state of Washington. It is now run independently of the church. SpiralScouts is directed primarily at children and youth whose families identify as Wiccan or Pagan and with Earth-centered spirituality, but it is open to anyone, says Janet Callahan, SpiralScouts International program director.

 

Wicca is an Earth-centered religion based on pre-Christian traditions from Northern Europe. It contains references to Celtic deities, symbols, and seasonal days of celebration that reverence the Earth.

 

Callahan says there are currently more than 80 chartered SpiralScouts circles or hearths in 20 states. A hearth is an individual family that does not have a circle nearby. She said a half-dozen circles are either affiliated with Unitarian Universalist congregations or have a UU as leader.

 

SpiralScouts is for boys and girls ages 3 to 18. Circles are required to have both a male and female leader.

 

The Las Vegas SpiralScouts Circle is sponsored jointly by the UU Congregation of Las Vegas and the Agave Spirit Grove, a chapter of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans. Two of the leaders of the circle are members of both the Pagan group and the congregation.

 

Krista Cielo-Cooney, a leader of the Las Vegas circle, said the program, which was formed there in August 2006, has 20 scouts. Most of the families are Pagan or of mixed faith. SpiralScouts is a better fit for them than either the Boy or Girl Scouts. Some of our families have been waiting forever for this to get going.

 

Jess Baribault, a member of the UU Congregation in Milford, N.H., began looking for family-friendly Pagan activities five years ago when her son was a toddler. She found the SpiralScouts website and she started Silverling Circle No. 58 at Antrim, where she lives. Eight other families have joined.

 

The group sometimes meets at her home, but most often it gathers for field trips, she said. Weve been to see a maple sugaring demonstration and we used that as an opportunity to talk about the gifts that trees give us and we connected it to the Spring Equinox and Ostara. Ostara is a Pagan holiday from which the term Easter is derived.

 

The circle goes camping and members work on badges throughout the year. On October 27, 2007, the circle will hold a harvest festival along with food and clothing collections at the Peterborough UU Church in New Hampshire.

 

I like the fact SpiralScouts is inclusive and accepting and respectful of all paths, said Baribault. Its very much in line with UU principles. And it includes girls as well as boys.

 

Paint Branch Circle No. 164 of SpiralScouts was chartered in November 2006 in Maryland. It meets at, but is not sponsored by, Paint Branch UU Church at Adelphi.

 

We had always liked the idea of a group for both boys and girls, said Paul Richards, a friend of the church. Unitarian Universalists dont seem to have a lot of kid-oriented organizations beyond OWL [the Our Whole Lives lifespan sexuality education curricula] and the religious education programs. As far as fun and camping, and outdoor activities, this seems like a wonderful opportunity for kids to get out and do things without the constraints of either the Boy or Girl Scouts.

 

Richards said he was a Boy Scout for many years. That program has value, but I think that non-Christians as well as those who are gay are not as welcome. It just seems like they are excluding a lot of people.

 

The circle is supported by a Washington, D.C.-area Pagan community, said Richards. Its something fun and educational for the children, it teaches them outdoor skills, mythology and lore, and about alternative religions, and its a way they can congregate and have fun.

 

 

[fgoodwin 23]

Nick:

 

I''ve been trying to post this article for several days, but the server has been down -- thanx for getting it on the Forums.

 

As in the AHG example, I like the idea of people forming alternative groups, rather than suing BSA to make them change their membership policies.

 

I think this is a much more contructive approach, provides alternatives and choice, and let''s face it, it provides some competition.

 

In my mind, those are all Good Things.

[Merlyn_LeRoy 72]

I''ve always thought following the law was also a "good thing," and lawsuits are used to establish that. And competition is healthy only on a level playing field, not where one organization gets special rights.

[eisely 13]

Color me naive, but the idea that "lawsuits are used to to establish that (the law)" means that judges write the laws. I thought that was what the legislature was supposed to do. I certainly do not expect to always agree with everything the legislature does, but at least I have a voice through my elected representatives at the local, state, and federal level. Unfortunately many judges have arrogated to themselves the power to create social policy. It is the highly undemocratic nature of this process that infuriates a lot of people.

[Trevorum 24]

I''m not a lawyer < ... shudder... > but my understanding is that while laws are indeed "made" by legislators, it is lawsuits that serve to clarify the gray areas. I disagree that lawyers (including judges) create social policy. However, I do think that they clarify how the policies are implemented in the real world.

[Trevorum 24]

Fred, you''re welcom3 I did not know if your engine had access to uuworld, so I thought I''d try and scoop ya''

[scottteng 11]

Competition is a very good and very American thing. Competition tends to keep all parties on their toes. The big guys learn how to survive in the open marketplace (see AT&T) and the little guys can do well if they have a workable idea. The USA is one of the only countries in the world that has one dominant Boy Scout and one dominant Girl Scout organization. Most other places have several scout associations based on perceived divisions. A lot of them are COED. The more the merrier and the ones who are in favor of the BSA changing certain policies are free to start their own organization if it takes off then I am sure the PTB at BSA will take more note of that then of some annoying sour grapes lawsuit.

[DanKroh 11]

"Color me naive, but the idea that "lawsuits are used to to establish that (the law)" means that judges write the laws"

 

Actually, I believe the antecendent that "that" was refering to was "following the law", not "making the law". At least, that''s the way I interpreted Merlyn''s statement, that lawsuits are used to enforce laws, not make them.

[Eagledad 2781]

I am excited to see this. Free market is a better solution then forced intervention. Besides the obvious differences, there also might some new ideas everyone can gain the opportunity.

 

I wish them God speed.

 

Barry

[eisely 13]

I interpreted Merlyn''s comment differently. Perhaps he can clarify what he meant.

[Gonzo1 10]

Trevorum, Eisley,

 

I agree, laws are made in the legislative branch, enforced in the executive branch and interpreted in the judicial branch. However, there is the matter of "case law" where someone gets their nose out of joint and sues someone because they didn''t get their way. There are far too many cases to point out, but look at First Ammendment case law. THERE IS NO "SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE". In other threads, we''ve been over this before. Freedom of religion does not guarantee anyone freedom from it. Our "free exercise thereof" doesn''t really sem to matter to the so-called "separationists".

 

 

Trevorum, what''s the difference between a dead skunk in the road and a dead attorney in the road?

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There are skid marks in front of the skunk.

 

 

[insanescouter 10]

Kind of a side thought of interest ... I heard this once out of a audio book I was listening I believe.. anyway that something like 75% of all law suites occur in the USA and like 85% of all lawyers are in the USA ... maybe some one with more time them me and knows a few good places can try and find the real numbers... if not no big deal its just kind of a curiosity stat.

 

My Wacky 2 cents

 

Scott Robertson

http://insanescouter.org

[evmori 11]

I interpreted it the same as eisely! And totally disagree with the statement!

 

Competition is competition regardless of the playing field.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[GernBlansten 10]

Gonzo,

Saw a bumpersticker the other day that got me to thinking.

"There is no freedom of religion without first having freedom from religion."

[TheScout 10]

So.

 

It is still not in the Constitution. It was made up.