Bill Brodniak
Minsi Trails Council
Wood Badge
NE-IV-207
E | brodniak@oncallphoto.com
My Wood Badge Menu
Click on the Wood Badge page you would like to visit, or click on a link in the menu above to return to the Catholic committee website.
- Return to my Wood Badge Home Page
- Promote the Religious Emblems Program
- Write an Article for my Council Newsletter on the Religious Emblems Program
- Create a Mission Statement for the Catholic Committee on Scouting
- Train Adults to Become Religious Emblems Counselors
- Create a Web-Based Resource to Serve as a Reflection for Adults
- Create a Web-Based Resource of Religious Retreat Ideas
- Create a Web-Based Resource of Religious Ceremony Ideas
Religious Award Ceremonies
The Scout who receives a religious emblem is doubly rewarded - or at least should be. First, you must realize that the religious award itself is not a Scouting award - it is an award bestowed upon the Scout by the religious organization that he belongs to. Thus, the religious institution that the Scout belongs to is the one that is supposed to present the award to the Scout in a fitting manner, whether it is during a religious service or a special celebration by the institution. The second award that the Scout receives is his Religious Emblems Knot. This is a knot developed by the Boy Scouts of America to recognize those Scouts that are truly living their faiths and offers a way for them to show it on their uniform. The BSA knot is awarded at the unit level, be it either a pack meeting or Blue & Gold, a troop Court of Honor, or a Crew meeting or Court of Honor.
SCOUTERS PLEASE NOTE:
You will notice that these ceremonies do not mention what the Scout's religion is or the name of the church, temple, synagogue, mosque or other religious organization where the medal was presented and only referred to the universal religious emblem square knot. There are three very good reasons for using a non-denominational ceremony:
1) This method avoids creating a situation where another Scout may believe he has to belong to a particular religion (and may even think he should join another faith) just to participate in Scouting;
2) This method encourages other Scouts to consider earning the religious emblem of their own faith, so they can get the same award (the knot) as “Jimmy”; and
3) This method allows a Scout leader to give the same level of praise to each Scout earning an emblem using the same ceremonial props. The leader doesn't have to know a lot about each religion, doesn't have to create new props, and doesn't have to worry that any Scout might think a certain religion is favored. The awarding ceremony should be used as an opportunity for the unit to present and promote the religious emblems program which covers over 38 specific religions. More of that program can be found on the PrayPub.org website which you can reach by clicking HERE.
SIMPLE RELIGIOUS EMBLEMS AWARD CEREMONIES
Cub Scout Ceremony
Click the format to Download the ceremony in Word - DOC or Adobe PDF
Boy Scout Ceremony
Click the format to Download the ceremony in Word - DOC or Adobe PDF
Venture Crew Ceremony
Click the format to Download the ceremony in Word - DOC or Adobe PDF