During the months of October, 2000 to May 2001, I led a small group of boys (3) in a program
designed to help them earn the Religion in Life emblem awarded by the Unitarian Universalist
Association. This is a controversial award which is no longer recognized by the Boy Scouts of
America given the UUA's stance on BSA's polices regarding gay scouts and leaders. The award
is not given by BSA, however, it is given by the UUA to scouts which meet the requirements of
the program.
In order to support other leaders which would like to lead a similar program, I have posted my Program Overview, Session Handouts, and Fun Stuff here.
No plan goes exactly as written and this one was no exception. The program got off to a good start in October, November, and December of 2000. Moving into 2001, however, we started to have a lot of conflict with troop activities (camping), family ski trips, and church activities (OWL). If the group had been larger, sessions would have been held regardless of conflicts, but with only three, it didn't make sense to have meetings with a single boy present.
Fortunately, there was not real rush to complete this process. I had the time to stretch it out and this worked well for the boys. Each of the boys brought their own creativity to the program, which resulted in a variety of views and approaches. Papers on historic UU figures included Joseph Priestly, Florence Nightingale, and Beatrix Potter. Presentations on World Religions included Bhuddism, Shintoism, and American Indian beliefs.
Instead of individual service projects, the boys elected to join forces and work together for a whole day at the church. They were guided by Richard Daugherty of First Parish in Bedford to label church property (chairs and tables), and prepare for the annual dinner by setting up tables, washing windows, and general cleanup.