Girl Scouts explore faith for nearly a century
Published Mar 1, 2007
ROMEOVILLE—Green, blue and brown uniforms are set to pop up in many pews March 11, Girl Scout Sunday. It’s a day that Daisy, Brownie, Cadette, Senior and adult Girl Scouts are encouraged to wear their uniforms to their places of worship. Many Catholic parishes around the Diocese of Joliet have invited Girl Scouts to take on the role of lectors, gift bearers, altar servers and eucharistic ministers while sporting their uniform. Girl Scout Sunday kicks off a weeklong celebration of the 95th anniversary of Girl Scouting in the United States.
“The Girls Scouts consider themselves a spiritual organization and as such, pays attention to the spiritual nature of the girls,” stated Mariam Baker, director of membership services for Girl Scouts of Trailways Council. The council serves over 16,800 girls and adults in all of Grundy, Kankakee and Will counties as well as parts of LaSalle and Cook counties.
In fact, a phrase of the Girl Scout Promise, which 3.8 million Girl Scouts in America recite, refers to one’s faith. The promise states: “On my honor, I will try: to serve God and my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law.” Girls have the option to replace the word “God” with whatever word their spiritual belief dictates.
Another way in which the Girl Scouts openly express their faith is through the religious recognition award medals and patches on their uniforms. Catholic girls in the Joliet Diocese are able to earn four different recognitions—Family of God medal and patch for ages 7-9, I Live My Faith medal and patch for ages 9-11, Marian medal and patch for ages 12-15 and Spirit Alive medal and patch for high school students. Adults that exhibit outstanding service to youth ministry or display outstanding services to youth in their spiritual development are also recognized with the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Medal.
In 2006, over 400 Girl Scouts earned the honors in the Joliet Diocese. Deacon Scott Brechtel, chaplain for the scouting programs in the Joliet Diocese, coordinates the distribution of the religious medals in the seven-county area. The pastoral associate at St. Isaac Jogues Parish in Hinsdale explained that members of Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts from throughout the diocese gather each year for a special ceremony honoring those who have earned the religious recognition awards.
The awards are designed to compliment the lessons scouts learned in their religious education classes, explained Deacon Brechtel. The medals for the younger girls invite the girls to discover the presence of God in their daily lives in the family and parish settings. Awards for the older girls call them to greater participation in the church’s ministry by gaining a deeper understanding of Scripture, the Catholic Church, prayer and their own lives.
The awards, which take approximately three months to earn, signify more than just another patch sewn onto the uniform, noted Deacon Brechtel. He said it demonstrates a scout’s desire to enhance her own faith through using the tools provided in another organization that promotes character, courage and confidence.
“Scouting is another way of promoting youth ministry,” added Deacon Brechtel. He pointed out that the same values stressed in scouting—service to God, country and others—are emphasized in youth ministry. Programs like the religious recognition awards encourage youngsters to become more active members of their faith communities and provide a more holistic approach to helping young children mature into good stewards of their faith.
One Brownie, 8 Juniors and one Senior in the service unit covering Peotone, Wilton Center and Green Garden are currently working toward earning the religious recognition honors, according to Paula Prium, public relations manager for Service Unit 14 and a leader of Junior Troop No. 908. The girls are parishioners of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Peotone and St. Boniface Parish in Monee.
While most of the work for the medals and patches is done at home with the family, Prium has assisted the girls with accomplishing some of the activities such as touring the historic church of St. Patrick in Joliet, attending a Bethlehem walk in Manteno and watching Deacon James Dennison demonstrate a baptismal ceremony at St. Paul the Apostle Parish.
More information about religious recognition awards for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts in the Joliet Diocese is available by contacting Deacon Brechtel at 630-655-6671.
