SCOUTING

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:
The Diocese of Columbus considers scouting part of the Youth Ministry programs offered by parishes. “Scouting programs are an ideal expression of God’s call to all people to follow his own example of holiness…Part of that call to be holy is a call to be of service. To serve others and their needs is to serve Christ himself, and this example of service has always been a very large part of the Scouting program.”—Bishop Frederick Campbell at annual Scout Day with the Bishop program 2008. Catholic Times February 1, 2008, by Tim Puet, p. 10

Approximately 85 million boys have been in Scouts in the United States since it immigrated to the United States in 1910 about three years after being founded in England by Lord Robert Baden-Powell.

“After a little more than 100 years, the Boer War might be an all-but-forgotten footnote in history but for one thing—out of it came the greatest youth movement in history, a program which today has 35 million members worldwide and has affected millions of other boys and girls… Baden-Power…became the greatest hero of the war and a major general at age 43. He wrote a book titled ‘Aids to Scouting” explaining his ideas and found, to his surprise, that many boys were reading it and using it as a manual of their own for outdoor adventures. He began to think about how he could convert the lessons of army scouting to a program for boys and tested his idea in 1907 on a group of 22 boys from varied backgrounds at a camp on Bowmans Island in the English region of Dorset. He combined his army experiences with what he learned at the camp, and in 1908, wrote a book called “Scouting for Boys.” Young men began reading the book and forming Scout groups…and the Boy Scout movement was born. Baden-Powell retired from the military in 1910 on the advice of King Edward VII, who said he could be more valuable to the British Empire by encouraging Scouting than by anything he could do in the military. He spent the rest of his life guiding the movement and died in 1941.

Scouting came to the United States… through the good deed of an unknown boy. The boy came to the aid of William Boyce, the publisher of two national weekly newspapers based in Chicago, when Boyce became lost on a foggy street in London in 1909 en route to an African safari. Boyce wanted to give the boy a tip after being escorted to his hotel by the youth, but the boy said he was a Scout and was just doing the kind of good deed for others that Scouting encouraged. This intrigued Boyce who asked for directions to Scouting headquarters. He met Baden-Powell and soon began promoting Scouting through his (American) newspapers.” Catholic Times Feb 3, 2008 by Tim Puet p. 10&13

Venturing
Venturing is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women who are 14 and have completed the eighth grade through 20 years of age. Venturing’s purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults.

Venturing is a new “old” program of the Boy Scouts of America. Originally part of the Exploring Division, it finally came into its own in 1998…Venturing provides the skills needed for young adults to make ethical choices, experience a fun program full of adventure and challenges, acquire leadership skills, and to take advantage of opportunities to advance their skills and knowledge in the areas of high adventure, sports, arts, hobbies, religious life, and Sea Scouting… http://www.scouting.org/Venturing/

WHO WE ARE/ WHAT WE DO:
Our Lady of Peace Parish Scouting:

Click here to download a brochure to read about troop 169 and the activities they do.

ACTIVITIES:
Our Scouts provide service to the parish annually by cleanup of the parish grounds, working the festival, planting flowers around the church in the spring and assisting the St. Vincent de Paul Society with a fall clothing drive, and collecting food for the food pantry at Columbus St. Ladislas Church. Also, they assist with the Red Cross Blood Drives, place flags on Veterans’ tombstones at Union Cemetery for Memorial Day, and serve coffee and doughnuts on Scouting Sunday. Numerous young men have completed service to the church through their Eagle projects. These include: the fence around the convent, new equipment for the baseball field, painting the basement of the church, the Brides room renovation and the Peace Pond winter cover.

The Venture Crew attends the Walk for Life in Washington D.C. annually. They have attended the Northern Tier in Minnesota canoeing, and backpacked at Philmont Boy Scout Reservation in New Mexico. Boy Scout Troop 169 has backpacked in New Mexico, hiked the Appalachian Trail, and been canoeing in Canada. We camp nearly every month or have some type of outing.

AWARDS:
Eagle Scout: Historically approximately 2% of all American Scouts attain the highest rank of Eagle Scout.
Our Lady of Peace Scouts who have attained the rank of Eagle Scout include: Thomas Hrach, Timothy Holsinger, Brian Dusseau, Phil Simmers, Seth Miller, Christopher Jones, Sean Butt, Timothy Kelley, Garrett Miller, and Sean Zielke.

January 2011 OLP's Troop 169 was one of five troops in the diocese to be be awarded the Pope Paul VI National Unit Recognition Award. "This program promotes Catholic membership, recognizes the Catholic parish, and strengthens the Scout unit and its adult leadership. It ensures that every youth is receiving a top-quality, balanced program, which encompasses the religious, vocational, and educational aspects of Scouting." (p.12 February 6, 2011 Catholic Times  reported by Tim Puet)

February 2008 OLP’s Boy Scout Troop 169 was chosen as the Bishop’s Troop, one of three groups selected by the diocese Scouting Committee which have spent considerable time serving the Church and the community in a variety of ways. Troop 169 brought Scouting back to Our Lady of Peace parish about eight years ago after it had been without a troop of its own for a time. It now has 18 members. Catholic Times February 1, 2008

OLP has also earned the Gold Medallion national award in 2007, and annually receives the Pope Paul VI Quality Unit Award. Both recognize outstanding achievements in the promotion of service, vocations, and quality programming.

MEETINGS:
Boy Scouts: Meetings are held every Monday evening during the school year in the Our Lady of Peace School cafeteria starting at 7:00 p.m. Visit our website for calendar updates http://tinyurl.com/Troop169OLP

Cub Scouts: Information TBA—To be announced---coming soon

Venture Crew: Meetings are held every Tuesday evening year-round at the St. Peter and Paul Retreat Center in Newark. Anyone interested from OLP should contact  Kevin and Becky Miller about transportation.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
The Troop welcomes individuals with a desire to serve our youth as merit badge counselors and leaders. Scout training for leaders is strongly encouraged. Protecting God’s Children, BSA Youth Protection and a background check are required.

For more information on Catholic Scouting visit    http://www.cdeducation.org/oym/scouts

CONTACTS:

Brownies and Girl Scouts:
Our Lady of Peace Parish currently does not sponsor Brownie or Girl Scout Troops. However, there have been Brownie and Girl Scout meetings held on school property in the past. Call the school at 614-267-4535 for more information, or go to www.girlscouts.org/ or call 614-487-8101 or 800-621-7042.