On Sunday, February 27, Cub Scout Pack 1828 of Carrollton and Villa Rica celebrated Scout Sunday at Concord Methodist Church in Carrollton. The five Cub Scout dens participated in various parts of Sunday’s service with their akelas, their parental partners in scouting. The Scout Sunday service also served to kick off the Scouting for Food campaign.
The Cub Scouts marched into the church behind the American flag and led the congregation in the Pledge of Allegiance. Scouts and their akelas led the congregation in an invocation, a scripture reading, and a worship song. Other scouts collected the offering and distributed food collection bags for the Scouting for Food drive. Rev. Gary Lawrence’s sermon discussed the story of how a young Cub Scout from Bethlehem Pack 1 provided Jesus with his lunch. Jesus then used the boy’s lunch to feed five thousand hungry people. A reception followed the service and Angel Hardon, one of the pack’s adult leaders, was awarded her Wood Badge.
The Boy Scouts of America, which celebrated its one hundredth anniversary last year, has a long tradition of helping to teach boys to become men. Scouting teaches boys to become self-confident and self-reliant, while also teaching the skills necessary for teamwork. Additionally, scouts learn other things, such as honesty, morality, faith, and charity, which will make them good citizens and future leaders. The Cub Scouts is a division of Boy Scouts of America for boys aged five to eleven and relies heavily on parental involvement and assistance.
The leadership skills that scouts learn ensure that former Boy Scouts are found throughout society in a variety of roles. Boy Scouts have grown up to become everything from astronauts to the founder of Microsoft. Five former scouts became President of the United States, including Gerald Ford, who was the only Eagle Scout to become president. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were both Cub Scouts. Barack Obama was in the Indonesian Scout Association, which equivalent to a Cub Scout. John F. Kennedy was the first scout to become president. Numerous other presidents have realized the value of scouting and supported scout programs.
Like many organizations that espouse traditional values, the Boy Scouts have attracted occasional problems for their politically incorrect positions on some issues. Although not a political group, the scouts have been forced to wage early skirmishes on issues that later became major battles in the culture war. In particular, the policies of not allowing homosexual men to be adult scout leaders or to allow atheists to change the scout oath and law have caused some consternation in liberal circles. These policies have been upheld in court, however.
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| The author gets a Tiger Cub akela pin from his son. |
As the Cub Scouts of Pack 1828 have fun in scouting, they are also learning skills that will help them to be successful in their adult lives. While schools and other organizations can give boys the academics they need, there is a growing shortage of places where they can learn ethics and morality. The current state of our country, from the mounting debt that we will one day pass on to these Cub Scouts to the current recession caused by government interference and reckless business practices, reflects an urgent need for such ethics training.
If you live in the West Georgia area and know a boy who is interested in scouting, you can contact Cubmaster Kerry Patuka at kerrydrive5@yahoo.com. Over the next few months, a Boy Scout Troop for older boys will be added in association with Pack 1828. To donate or participate in Scouting for Food, contact Sara Gilbreth at 3riversscoutingforfood@gmail.com.
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