Folks,
Scout Sunday is this Sunday 2/2, and we are invited to participate in the service at First English. This is the one time of the year we interact with the congregation and thank them for supporting us, so please consider attending. Participation can include just sitting there quietly! Pastor Sandy will be modifying the service to include/recognize our Cub Scout Pack. The service starts at 10 AM, so please arrive by 9:45 AM and meet in the Fellowship Hall (where we always meet). We will actually have the kids say “thank you” to the congregation since they support us.
Scouts and leaders should wear their uniforms!
If you don’t feel comfortable attending the service, immediately after the service, probably at ~11:15 AM, there will be a Souper Bowl of Caring, which is essentially a food drive for GEDCO which is a local nonprofit:
https://gedco.org/what-we-do/community-services/cares/
The church does a free lunch (chili, cornbread, salad, dessert) as part of this activity while they stack/pile the canned goods. We are invited to contribute canned goods and eat lunch. Our Webelos will be asked to help by counting the items. If you attend, please bring canned vegetables and/or the “one meal” mac and cheese kits, which is what GEDCO typically requests. We really can’t go wrong with whatever we might bring because there are plenty of food pantries to donate to.
Please RSVP to me if you plan to attend the lunch so I can let the church know for “chili making” purposes. They will have vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and meat chili options. Gluten-free cornbread will be available. When you RSVP, please let me know about any food restrictions/allergies so I can help the cooks know how much to make.
If you don’t want to participate in Scout Sunday at First English, this is national activity (not always celebrated on the same day), so feel free have your Scouts wear their uniforms to your religious institution, if you are affiliated with one:
Scout Sunday – might be celebrated on February 10th at many churches – at First English, we align with their Super Bowl of Caring
Scout Sabbath – February 7th and 8th
Scout Jumuah – February 7th
This from Wikipedia:
The Boy Scouts of America have designated the Sunday preceding 8 February, or 8 February if it is a Sunday, as Scout Sunday, the following Friday as Scout Jumuah, and the following Saturday is designated as Scout Sabbath. The United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) celebrate Scout Sunday on the second Sunday of February as not to conflict with their Transfiguration Sunday.
The day is meant to mark the founding of the Scouts in the United States. Observation varies by unit and locale. Scouts go to their places of worship in uniform and help with the service.
In the United States, Scouting has been used by churches, temples, synagogues, and many other religious organizations as part of their youth ministries. Approximately 50 percent of all Scouting units are chartered to religious groups. These observances offer an opportunity for congregations to honor Scouts and Scouters, as well as to learn more themselves about the value of Scouting as a youth program.[1]
If you aren’t interested in doing any of this, that’s fine too!
YIS,
-Dave