God & Me and God & Family

There are only two awards Cub Scouts can earn that they can take with them into Boy Scouts and wear on their uniforms forever -- one is their Arrow of Light award, the other is their religious emblem.

You see, a Scout is reverent. He is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties and respects the convictions of others in matters of custom and religion.

To encourage members to grow stronger in their faith, religious groups have developed several religious emblems programs. The Boy Scouts of America has approved of these programs and allows the emblems to be worn on the official uniform. We are blessed and grateful to have longtime Scouter and church member, Sheri Tull, facilitate the God & Me and the God & Family programs this year for our Cub Scouts enabling them to earn their religious knots.

They're called "knots" because they ARE a rectangular patch depicting a silver square knot on a field of purple. "Knots" are awards earned by leadership (and youth) for achieving benchmarks in training and/or leadership.

The program we will be utilizing was created through Programs of Religious Activities with Youth (P.R.A.Y.) The program helps young people to develop a deeper relationship with God and to understand how God is active in their lives and in the world around them. It is a Christian Education resource that uses Bible lessons paired with service projects to help young people not only to grow in Christian faith but to also express their faith by reaching out in love and in service to others. P.R.A.Y. encourages families, youth agencies, and Protestant congregations to use the P.R.A.Y. series to foster spiritual growth in children, youth and families.

This program is easier not only to do as a group, but also with a versed facilitator. We are so blessed to have her! Plus, the Scouts like listening to people other than us all the time! Like all things in Scouting this shouldn't be a "one and done" process because faith and your commitment to your faith should be an ever-evolving continual dialogue which is why we have a Duty to God for every rank in Scouts.

We have our Classes set up for select Wednesday nights for both the God and Me and God and Family (for Webelos and AOL scouts). The requirements get increasingly more difficult the older the scouts are -- as they should. These events have been added to Scoutbook. If you do not see them, please let me know. All classes are scheduled for 6:30 pm at the Scout House with the exception of the FIRST God and Family one which will be at 7:30 the first class date and should be only 45 minutes.

Grades 1-3: God and Me (9/19, 9/26, 10/3, 10/17, 11/7, 12/5, 1/16 and a pizza party on 1/30)
Grades 4-6: God and Family (9/26, 10/10, 10/24, 11/14, 11/28, 12/12, 1/9, 1/23, and the pizza party on 1/30)
Grades 6-8: God and Church
Grades 9-12: God and Life

I've reviewed the course content and have tried to put realistic breaks in the program so that there are more meetings than required, but that's in order to keep the classes SHORT. Spacing it out keeps it interesting... something to look forward to and not become a laborious chore, but more a new adventure. Again, this is OPTIONAL and this program will never be held in place of a den meeting. The religious component of Scouts is deeply personal and we are all not of the same faith. Therefore, Duty to God means something different for everyone. If you are not aligned with the Protestant belief doctrine, please feel no pressure to complete this course as it is NOT a requirement to complete the Duty to God requirement for each rank, it's simply to earn the knot. The knot is optional but shows your Scout has gone above and beyond the requirements to deepen his faith.

Since this is entirely optional, the costs of this program (supplies, workbooks and $ for pizza at the end) are up to the families participating. The Pack, however, will provide the purple knot upon completion.

Cost is $6 per participant.

ACTION REQUIRED OF YOU: RSVP on Scoutbook for your Scout by 12 noon on September 19 (today - date of publication) so we can order your workbook for you. If there is a sibling that would like to participate as well... include their name in the comments. Payment of $6 per participant is due to April Driggers immediately (if not sooner).

The church offers a Wednesday night meal every week that would be an inexpensive dinner option for you: http://www.kellerumc.com/connect/wednesday-night-meal/