Thursday, January 8, 2015

OA - Frequently Asked Questions

The Order of the Arrow is Scouting honor society.  It is a youth run society that promotes camping and scouting's values of cheerful and service.  To join the OA a youth must be a registered Boy Scout or Varsity Scout and must have at least earned the rank of First Class and have had at least 15 days and nights of camping in the last 2 years including a week long camp.  Then he needs to be elected by members of his troop by majority vote.  Ideal candidates are scouts who are examples of the Scout Oath and Law and who are cheerful even when given difficult tasks or in difficult circumstances.  Once elected the candidate must attend an overnight campout called an Ordeal.  There will be 3 Ordeals this spring: March, April, and May.  We would like to come to your unit starting in February to do elections so that your youth can participate in the OA.  As you plan your activities for 2015, plan a time for the OA to come to your activity night.  It takes about half an hour to do an election.  

Some Frequently Asked Questions...

Will it take my scout away from my troop/team/crew?  A scouts first duty is to his Troop or Team or Crew.  If there is a conflict between an OA activity and a troop activity, the Arrowman should attend the troop activity.

If one of my scout joins the OA how much time will it take?  Depends how much you want to get out of it.  The chapter meets once a  month-the second Thursday of the month.  The lodge also meets once a month on the 4th Thursday.  In addition there are several camps throughout the year you can attend.  A youth can just attend the chapter activities or both chapter and lodge activities.  If an Arrowman wants to be more involved he can be part of the leadership that runs the chapter or lodge activities.

How much will it cost?  Dues are $10 per year.  The Ordeal costs $35, of which $15 pays for the sash, $10 is for the first years dues and the rest covers the cost of the camp(food and other expenses).  However don't let a youth miss out on being a member of the OA because of the cost.  If this is a burden for a young man there are opportunities to work to earn the money and there is some donated funds available to help cover the cost. 

More information at www.elkutalodge.com.
Contact me at m-skirkham@msn.com

Yours in Brotherhood,
Mark Kirkham   

Late Summer of 1985

It was the late summer of 1985, just a year after the Varsity Scouting program was officially adopted by the BSA and 12 years after the first "On Target" signal that later became one of the principle annual activities of the Varsity Scouts.  A ragtag gang of only semi-disciplined boys laboriously climbed the mountain that cast an eastern shadow down upon their small neighborhood far below.  At precisely 10:00 am the following morning they were to stand atop the peak and assemble the mirrors they were packing to help relay the signal - a beam of sunlight - in their first ever On Target event.  In the groggy pre-dawn of the signal morning an argument ensued about who would carry the mirrors the final 1/2 mile to the top.  Unfortunately the argument escalated in a scuffled series of events that resulted in the mirrors being broken.  With spirits as shattered as the mirrors, the boys nonetheless followed their leaders to the top of the peak.  They wondered if their inability to relay the signal would break the communication line.  At 10:00 am they saw the mirror flash from another Varsity Team from a neighboring peak 20 miles to the North.  Then they looked to the South...to the peak they were supposed to signal.  After several tense minutes they saw a flash there.  The sunlight signal had been successfully relayed and the communication had not been interrupted.  The boys' wise Varsity Coaches sat them down and taught them a poignant lesson: The boys' careless behavior had not stopped or hindered the On Target signaling event itself, for the signal had been passed along. What the boys' actions had done was to rob them of the opportunity to fully participate in it.

With today's modern technical advances we have unprecedented tools for communicating the "good news" of the Scouting Program and it's inherent values.  Social media is a powerful way to invite others to participate in Scouting and to positively touch other's lives.  Each of the challenges for the Venture Scouts will feature an invitation to more fully participate in Scouting by sharing Venture activities through social media to encourage involvement to others. If you haven't already, we encourage you to leverage Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media tools in a wise and thoughtful manner to teach and invite others...and to pass the signal along.

Nothing More Than Nothing

The story is told of a sparrow and a dove perched on a branch in the winter. “Tell me the weight of a snowflake,” the sparrow asked the dove.
“Nothing more than nothing,” the dove answered.
“In that case I must tell you a marvelous story,” the sparrow said.

“I sat on a fir branch close to the trunk when it began to snow. Not heavily, not in a raging blizzard. No, just like in a dream, without any violence at all.

“Since I didn’t have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,471,952. When the next snowflake dropped onto the branch — nothing more than nothing, as you say — the branch broke off.”
Having said that, the sparrow flew away.

The dove, since Noah’s time an authority on peace, thought about the story for a while. Finally, she said to herself, “Perhaps there is only one person’s voice lacking for peace to come to the world.”

Like snowflakes accumulating on that branch, your life does not change, your greatness is not unleashed by monumental actions, but by small, daily habits.

Here are four specific habits whose value will accumulate in your life like “nothing more than nothing” until, after years of steady discipline, will break your limitations and emerge as greatness:

1. Read Reading the best books immerses you in the thoughts of the best thinkers, saturates you with the courage of the greatest souls.
Whatever you put into your mind emerges as behavior. You can’t read C.S. Lewis without grasping for heaven. You can’t read Viktor Frankl and not exercise your power to choose more wisely. You can’t read Rabbi Daniel Lapin without changing how you think about and spend money.
Every great book read is a snowflake falling on the ceiling of your limitations. Read one per week for five years and watch that ceiling crack.

2. Meditate
You are not your body; you have a body. You are not your mind; you have a mind. You are the “I Am” that observes the thoughts in your mind.
Your mind is a fabulous servant but a horrible master. It tends toward negative thinking and is plagued by fear, doubt, and worry. It holds you captive to your emotions.
To access your greatness you must transcend the negative-thinking mind. Meditation is the single most powerful tool for doing so.
Sit still in a quiet solitude and meditate for just ten minutes a day and watch the snowflakes fall…

3. Change Your Morning Routine
Leadership expert John Maxwell said,
“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
The most important thing you can change in this regard is your morning routine.
Make it a habit to get up an hour or even a half hour earlier than usual. Start your day with a prayer of thanksgiving. Meditate. Read. Exercise.
Do that every day for three years and you’ll feel branches of limitations snapping in your life.

4. Follow Spiritual Promptings
Call them whatever you’d like. Hunches. Intuitions. Sparks of inspiration. Whispers of conscience.
You feel them. Do you follow them?
You once had the thought to write a book. Have you written it yet? Something told you to stop when you saw that car on the side of the road with its flashers on. Did you stop?
The more quickly, courageously, and zealously you follow those promptings, the more of them you receive. The more you receive and follow, the faster your acceleration to greatness. Conversely, the less you follow these, the less you receive, the more you stay stuck.

Like the weight of one snowflake, the impact of any action taken one time is “nothing more than nothing.” But the impact of wise, daily actions cultivated into habits and lived for years is enough to break your limitations and change everything.

Cub Corner - January 2015

For those who don’t know, there are changes coming to the Cub Scout program. Beginning in June 2015, all cubs will begin using a new program designed to bring out the adventures in scouting. This month, I want to begin highlighting some of the new and exciting things coming to the Cub Scout program. The first big change is that the Cub Promise and Law of the Pack will be retired. Cub Scouts will be using the Scout Oath and Scout Law that are currently used in Boy Scouts.

Now, why would National do that? Aren’t those harder to learn? BSA addressed these concerns, saying that in studies, the scout oath and law are actually easier than the Law of the Pack to remember because of the language. This will also provide unity for scouts of all ages as we will all use the same oath and law. Additionally, the earlier and longer a member is exposed to the values of the Scout Oath and Law, the better the opportunity is that they will be able to live those values in their lives.

So, here’s a summary of the change:

Being retired from Cub Scouting on June 1, 2015
  • Cub Scout Promise
    • I promise to do my best
      To do my duty to God and my country,
      To help other people, and
      To obey the Law of the Pack.
  • Law of the Pack
    • The Cub Scout follows Akela.
      The Cub Scout helps the pack go.
      The pack helps the Cub Scout grow.
      The Cub Scout gives goodwill.
Staying in Cub Scouting (not changing)
  • Cub Scout motto
    • Do Your Best
  • Cub Scout sign
    • Two separated fingers held up high (like a peace sign)
  • Cub Scout salute
    • Two fingers together held above the brow
  • Cub Scout handshake
    • Handshake with two fingers extended
New to Cub Scouting on June 1, 2015
  • Scout Oath
    On my honor I will do my best
    To do my duty to God and my country
    and to obey the Scout Law;
    To help other people at all times;
    To keep myself physically strong,
    mentally awake, and morally straight.
  • Scout Law
    A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. 
I plan to highlight parts of the changes each month in my Cub Corner. This is going to be a fun new adventure for all of us. Let’s get on board!

Upcoming Events
·       1/8/2015 – BLUE & GOLD Roundtable @ 13768 S 6400 W (Dinner Provided)
·       1/19/15 – Cub Winter Day Camp @Camp Tracy
·       1/20/15 – Council Cub Country Preview Meeting at Camp Tracy Lodge
·       1/24/15 – Cub Scout Basic Training @12242 S 2700 W
·       2/1/15 – Cub Camp registration opens
·       2/12/15 – Roundtable @13768 S 6400 W
·       2/16/15 – Cub Winter Day Camp @Camp Tracy
·       3/12/15 – Roundtable @13768 S 6400 W
·       3/14/15 – Utah Scout Expo ticket sales kickoff
·       Sign up for email reminders and information. http://eepurl.com/wCQUX Description: http://eepurl.com/wCQUX.qr.2