Programs of Religious Activities with Youth

P.R.A.Y. Girl Scout News Bulletin

First Quarter 2007
 

Welcome to the P.R.A.Y. Girl Scout News Bulletin.  This Bulletin is how we share information about the religious awards programs and ways to strengthen relationships with the religious community.

GIRL SCOUT SUNDAY/SABBATH IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER.
ORDER YOUR TO SERVE GOD PUZZLE PATCHES NOW!

Girl Scout week is celebrated March 11-17, 2007. This is a good time to make a presentation on the religious awards to your Troops and to encourage your Girl Scouts to earn their religious awards. The To Serve God puzzle patch may be presented to your Girl Scouts during a Scout Sunday/Sabbath service or during an award ceremony or special event. The puzzle patch may be presented to girls of all faiths, and it may be worn on the back of the vest or sash. The puzzle patch shows that a girl wants to live up to her promise “to serve God” and has made a commitment to earn her religious award.

Click here to order your patches online

Need resources to make a presentation? Click here.

March 12, 2007 marks the 95^th Birthday of Girl Scouts.The week that includes March 12^th is called Girl Scout Week and it begins with Girl Scout Sunday and ends with Girl Scout Sabbath. This year, Girl Scout Sunday falls on March 11^th, and Girl Scout Sabbath is March 17^th. Although congregations typically celebrate these days during the month of March, they may choose a date that is compatible with their worship schedule.

Girl Scouts are encouraged to wear their uniforms, and congregations are encouraged to include them in the service in appropriate ways, i.e. greeters, ushers, liturgist, etc.

CADETTE GIRL SCOUT HELPS TEACH RELIGIOUS AWARDS

Amanda, A Cadette Girl Scout, organized a four-week program for Jewish Girl Scouts to work on their religious awards.

Brownie Girl Scouts earned their Lehavah award, and Junior Girl Scouts earned their Bat Or award. Girls learned about Jewish culture, history, songs, the Torah, the synagogue and Israel. They also created a family tree and were challenged to find ways to help others. Amanda also included instruction on how to communicate Shabbat prayers using American Sign Language.

The program concluded with a special ceremony on December 17, 2006. Amanda presented the girls with their badges and pins as well as certificates of congratulations from local dignitaries including United States Representative Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, and Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray.

Amanda has earned three of the four awards offered to Jewish Girl Scouts and will begin working on the fourth award in 2007. Thank you, Amanda, for sharing your passion with younger Girl Scouts! For more information on the Jewish awards, please visit www.njgsc.org

2006 GOD AND COUNTRY USAGE FIGURES BY COUNCIL

The P.R.A.Y. web site has posted the 2006 God and Country usage figures for each Girl Scout Council. Click here to see how active your council was in 2006, and also to view a five-year history on God and Country usage.

Congratulations to the following councils that had the largest number of God and Country recipients in 2006:

Greater St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)

Nation’s Capital (Washington DC)

Tanasi (Knoxville, TN)

San Jacinto (Houston, TX)

Arizona Cactus-Pine (Phoenix, AZ)

Hornets Nest (Charlotte, NC)

Hemlock (Harrisburg, PA)

Buckeye Trails (Dayton, OH)

Northwest Georgia (Atlanta, GA)

Tarheel Triad (Colfax, NC)
 

Congratulations to the following councils with over 50 recipients in 2006 and a 25% increase over the previous year:
 

Arizona Cactus-Pine (Phoenix, AZ)

Buckeye Trails (Dayton, OH)

Virginia Skyline (Roanoke, VA)

Hemlock (Harrisburg, PA)

Pines of Carolina (Raleigh, NC)

Tierra del Oro (Rancho Cordova, CA)

Coastal Carolina (Goldsboro, NC)

Mile Hi (Denver, CO)

St. Croix Valley (St. Paul, MN)
 

Total God and Country Usage by members of GSUSA

Usage of the God and Country Protestant program by members of GSUSA declined 1% in 2006. Here is the breakdown by program level:
 

WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING

·        Girl Scout Council of Cannon Valley, Northfield, MN - Cannon Valley is developing a new committee charge for expanding the work of the religious committee to include other faiths and targeting specifically the non-denominational, Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic and Islamic groups.

·        Girl Scouts, Hudson Valley Council, Inc., Albany, New York – From Mary Cotton Richard, Field Executive / Outreach Specialist 11/3/06: Thank you for the Council Religious Awards Presentation Kit. Last night I held the first Religious Awards training using this kit and the response was overwhelmingly positive. I love the Power Point presentations and the sample patches. I had scheduled 1-½ hours for the training, but will bump it up to 2 hours next time. One leader wrote on her evaluation, “I’m a teen leader and have been a leader since Brownies and this is the first real information I’ve gotten about religious awards. I plan to share the information with my service unit at our next meeting.” I am planning to pull together a local contact sheet from the various faith based communities who would be willing to help leaders and parents with questions about specific faith awards and the next step of locating and working on the actual programs. Thank you so much for the kit…I would not have scheduled such a training at this time, but since you put it all together I was able to add it to the calendar – you made it easy!

·        Girl Scouts–Red Lands Council in Oklahoma City, OK  - The Red Lands Council received a grant last year that enabled them to increase their visibility in religious institutions and schools. Although the grant was over in November 2006, it supported a “Community Outreach Coordinator” whose task was to help the Red Lands Council connect with the faith community and reach out to religious organizations that share similar values with Girl Scouting. Debra Burris served as the Community Outreach Coordinator and approached congregations to explore different partnerships with them. The first step was explaining how Girl Scouting seeks to build “courage, confidence and character” in girls and how Girl Scouts are encouraged to earn their religious awards. Debra Burris found out that the religious awards were often the point that connected with clergy and provided an opportunity for collaboration between the two organizations.

COUNCIL STORES AND RELIGIOUS AWARDS

Girl Scout stores that provide information on religious recognitions, do more than just promote “awards”. Because religious awards can be used as tools for membership growth and program enhancement, stores that receive training on religious awards are able to impact membership growth and program (besides increasing sales). 

P.R.A.Y. offers a Trade Discount to Girl Scout Stores that stock the God and Country booklets for resale. P.R.A.Y. also encourages stores to stock the new “To Serve God puzzle patch”. Store Managers may request a copy of the Trade Discount and find out about special discounts for the puzzle patch by contacting Joan Walker at joanw@praypub.org or 1-800-933-7729.

FOURTH QUARTER FOUR-STAR RECIPIENTS

The following individuals were recognized in the fourth quarter of 2006 for completing all four levels of the God and Country series. Four-Star recipients receive a certificate and letter from CEO Mark Hazlewood congratulating them on their accomplishments.

Girl Scout Council of Greater Minneapolis – Ashlee Kephart

Girl Scouts of Kennebec Council – Ashley Chase

Girl Scouts of Mid-Continent Council, Inc. – Courtney Weerts

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