P.R.A.Y. God and Country News BulletinSecond Quarter 2006Welcome to P.R.A.Y.’s God and Country News Bulletin. This Bulletin is written for pastors, counselors, mentors, and parents associated with Protestant and Independent Christian churches. It includes program helps, best practices, and special features to support a God and Country ministry. We hope you enjoy this bulletin and take the time to share it with others.PUZZLE PATCHESThere’s no doubt about it: P.R.A.Y.’s puzzle patches present an exciting way to promote the religious emblems programs for all faiths. But there are a lot of questions about them. Here’s the latest scoop:
· Four-year Cycle – The puzzle patches are on a four-year cycle always switching in the month of August.
· “Duty to God” puzzle patch for members of the Boy Scouts of America – The first segment with the kneeling Boy Scout is only available through July 31st. It switches over to the second segment on August 1st. The second segment features the mountain with the sunset.
· “To Serve God” puzzle patch for members of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. – The first segment with the kneeling Girl Scout is available NOW and will continue until August 1st of next year.
· “Love God” puzzle patch for members of the American Heritage Girls – The first segment will become available August 1st. Watch the web site for resources to promote this program.
· Rotation – The patches are on the following rotation: Segment 1: the kneeling Scout Segment 2: the mountain / sunset Segment 3: the fish Segment 4: the eagle
· Presentation Resources – Don’t forget to visit the P.R.A.Y. web site for scripts and other resources to help you make an interfaith presentation on the religious emblems programs.
NEW DUTY TO GOD
T-SHIRTS
P.R.A.Y. is offering a limited supply of Duty to God T-shirts at $15 apiece with no postage/handling charge. That’s right: this initial offer includes a special deal of ZERO postage/handling. Order your shirt while supplies last!
The navy blue T-shirt features the puzzle patch on the back and “Duty to God” on the front left chest. These are the same T-shirts that were worn by the Religious Emblems Course participants at Philmont Training Center the past two summers. The shirts were so well received that P.R.A.Y. decided to make a limited quantity available online. Plan to wear your shirt while making a Duty to God presentation to your units!
MEET OUR MODEL When
P.R.A.Y. decided to offer T-shirts online and needed someone to model
the shirt, it was an obvious choice: George Domian, Jr.
George has worked for P.R.A.Y. for the past 17 years. He graduated from St. Joseph's Vocational School and then went to work at W-A-C Industries, Inc. (a Work Activities Center). P.R.A.Y. rents office space at the Work Activities Center, and it wasn't long before P.R.A.Y. hired one of the W-A-C employees.
George is a very capable and dedicated worker and an integral member of the P.R.A.Y. team. He is responsible for assembling boxes, filling orders, packaging boxes, and affixing postage. During the busy season (when everybody is ordering their awards for Boy Scout Sunday and Girl Scout Sunday), George stays late and works additional hours to help with the extra work load. George is a hard worker who takes pride in what he does. The next time you receive an order from P.R.A.Y., you can bet that it was filled and packaged by George!
It is obvious from the picture that George is proud to work for P.R.A.Y. We would like the record to show that the reverse is also true: P.R.A.Y. is proud to have George on our team!
RETREAT SETTINGS
If there is one thing that can consistently be said about the God and Country program, it is that it has always been taught in a variety of ways and in many different settings, i.e. at home with the family, in a classroom setting at church, or one-on-one with the pastor or an adult mentor. God and Country can even be done at a weekend retreat.
While it is possible to design retreat experiences around the God and Country program, it takes careful planning and consideration to maintain the integrity of the program. Retreat settings are not always feasible. There are many issues to take into consideration, but a God and Country retreat starts with the following assumptions:
· Core requirements and guidelines will be upheld (not watered down) · Homework or pre-camp assignments will be required · Participants will be required to present their work to their pastors · Participants will receive a retreat patch. They will be responsible for ordering their own religious award after their pastors have approved their work.
One of the first challenges is to build a retreat that offers first and foremost the opportunity for spiritual growth. Yes, the retreat is based on the God and Country curriculum, but the goal of the retreat is not to earn an award but to grow closer to Christ. A retreat is to build faith and make new friends. The retreat planning committee must look at the overall weekend experience and the worship atmosphere besides planning the nitty gritty details of fulfilling the award requirements. Providing free time to balance the heavy emphasis on lesson work is essential. Children will be expected to work hard in their small group sessions, but they will also be expected to play hard too. Retreats must build time for fun and fellowship in less structured activities. Different camps may present different opportunities for outdoor activities as well. It is the responsibility of the retreat planning committee to oversee these options.
It is assumed that the retreat planning committee will provide opportunity for community service. In some instances, campers have participated in ecology or camp improvement projects for the camp or nearby community. In other instances, campers have learned about a community-helping agency and then brought donations for it (i.e. stuffed animals, Bibles, canned goods, etc.).
It must also be noted that the individual lessons in the God and Country curriculum incorporate a “hands on” component. Therefore each lesson includes its own craft project. Additional crafts may be used as options during free time.
The following discussion focuses on specific program level. Only three options will be explored: God and Me, God and Family, and God and Church. Please note that all material presented here should not be used “as is” but adapted to fit your particular needs. Any questions? Please contact Deb Hazlewood at debh@praypub.org.
God and Me Sample Retreat, Grades 1-3
A God and Me retreat can be a one-day event with required parental attendance. To keep things simple, participants can be asked to bring their own sack lunches as well as a pencil case with scissors, glue, and markers or crayons.
When choosing a site, keep in mind that it would be helpful if the church had stained glass windows. One of the options in Lesson 2 suggests looking at stained-glass windows and then designing your own. This translates into a nice craft for the retreat.
The God and Me curriculum has four sections. Each section has two Bible lessons, a game that the children make and play, and a family project. The lessons will run 1 hour and 15 minutes. Even though the fourth lesson includes a summary game of the whole program, a “round robin” format works well with this program. Click here to see a sample schedule and pre-camp assignments.
God and Family Sample Retreat, Grades 4 & 5
God and Family requires six teaching sessions and needs a full weekend format. Each teaching session should last an hour and a half (these sessions will be jam-packed with two Bible lessons and a craft to make a layer of the pizza).
Lessons 1 through 4 may be presented in a “round robin” format. These four lessons build the actual pizza. It’s best if the pizza is completely assembled before doing lesson 5 “Bake.” You may want to consider a special joint session for lesson 5.
Each of the six sessions in the God and Family program has an activity to be done “At Home This Week.” Some of these activities will be done with the family BEFORE coming to camp. Others have been adapted for camp to be done with their new family groupings.
Click here to see a sample schedule and pre-camp assignments.
God and Church Sample Retreat, grades 6-8
A successful retreat format for the God and Church program would actually involve two different events: a weekend retreat to kick off the program, and a one-day workshop (three or four months later) to wrap things up. There is no way that the God and Church award can be earned in one weekend. There is no way that the God and Church award can be earned without the input from the participant’s own clergy and congregation. Therefore, having two different events spaced three or four months apart, allows participants to work with their pastors on specific assignments. The weekend retreat will help participants to complete about half of the requirements and film the video. The one-day workshop gives everybody a target deadline for all assignments to be completed and allows participants to share their work with each other.
Click here to see a sample schedule and pre-camp assignments.
GOD AND FAMILY “PIZZA” PICTURES ON LINE
When people hear that the God and Family program is built around pizza, often their reaction is “Pizza? That’s crazy!” And it is crazy, until you see how it is done. Photos showing each layer of the pizza are now on the P.R.A.Y. website. Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation.
GOD & CHURCH PROGRAM CONCLUDES WITH MEMORIAL DAY FIELD TRIP
Dr. Vic Morlan, Interim Pastor of First Baptist Church in Kellyville, Oklahoma, served as God and Church counselor to Craig Jackson, a Boy Scout in Troop 237. They started the program in January and met every Sunday and Wednesday until they concluded the program with an all-day field trip to Oklahoma City on Memorial Day. Here is the story of their “God and Church” journey:
On May 30 we had our last field trip project. The project included a visit to the Territorial Museum in Guthrie, OK to learn about the pioneer churches in Oklahoma. We then traveled to Oklahoma City where we visited the State Capital to have a Scout Memorial service at the Military Monuments southeast of the Capital. Craig laid flowers on a monument statue, left an American flag on the gravesite, did the flag salute and a prayer. We visited the Governor’s office, Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House Todd Hiett from Kellyville. Since this was legal Memorial Day we also had a scout-led service at Euchee Valley Military Cemetery in Drumright, OK. We visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial where 168 people were killed by bomb. We closed with a Bricktown Canal boat ride, a visit to the Bass Pro Shop, and spent the evening at the Bricktown Ball Park where the Oklahoma City Red Hawks played the Albuquerque Isotopes. We got home before midnight and had a Scout Day to remember! Click here to see more pictures of Craig’s journey.
"As an Eagle Scout and recipient of the God and Country award, I enjoyed the scout work and also the church work since I have been the interim pastor of First Baptist Church, Kellyville, OK since November. Seeing Craig baptized by the youth minister, Jeremy Annett, was a big thrill. We ordained Jeremy on Wednesday, May 3, and Jeremy baptized Craig into membership of FBC Kellyville OK Sunday May 7." - Dr. Vic Morlan
Craig Jackson received his God and Church award on July 2, 2006. When asked about the program, Craig responded, “Awesome! Life-changing! It brought me closer to the Lord and to my church.” His mother Tammy Jackson added that the program “helped Craig to see how daily devotions apply to life, and he learned about our country by the field trip to Oklahoma City.”
Congratulations, Craig, for earning your God and Church award. Thank you, Dr. Vic Morlan, for your dedication to youth through your Scouting ministry!
WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT THE GOD & COUNTRY PROGRAM
· The adult program helped me as a mentor learn more about my spiritual gifts and my role in serving. This program was more valuable to my growth than I imagined it could be.
· About God & Me…The web site was helpful with ideas from others. The kids really love their prayer rocks – we got that idea from the web site. Princeville, IL
· I have found how strong my son’s faith is. I am truly blessed! He is so excited about learning more about God. We have begun attending church again, which is awesome. Jackson, OH
· We had never sat down to read the Bible together. My son had Bible study at Sunday school and Children’s Church. I read the Bible in Sunday School, but we never read together. Through this program we read together. Leavenworth, KS
· My family takes more time out to pray together and thank God for our blessings. My husband has not accepted Jesus into his life yet, but I have faith in God that in God’s time he will … He has even started praying the meal prayer. Praise God!
· About God & Me…I was not aware that my son didn’t know the Lord’s Prayer. I was motivated to spend more time at home growing my family spiritually, not to rely on my church alone. League City, TX
· This program supplements our AWANA and home school materials beautifully, further deepening spiritual awareness in my boys. I appreciate the interview with the pastor as well; it’s important for my boys to be able to articulate what they’ve learned. I absolutely love this program. You are right on track in dealing with appropriate topics for this age in a motivating way. We are planning to share our work with our pack in a Duty to God presentation! Manassas, VA
· We are going through a difficult time right now, so this program which focused on the importance of family and being grounded with Christ was perfect timing – according to His plan! Utica, KY
· About God & Family…I had Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pizza Boxes. We had artwork for each lesson to construct the crust, sauce, cheese, toppings. Then we had a “Build Your Own Pizza” party at my house. Amazingly, even with all the same ingredients, every pizza was made and looked differently … just like each Cub Scout!!! Dallas, TX
UPDATES
· The Association of Baptists for Scouting has a new web address www.baptistscouters.org. The web site is in the early stages of construction and your input is welcome.
· The National Association of United Methodist Scouters web address is www.naums.org
· The National Lutheran Association on Scouting has made its worship booklet “Scouts Worship” available on line at http://www.nlas.org/Worship.htm
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