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BEING PREPARED TO SUPPORT GUIDES AND SCOUTS

Members of the Territorial Guiding and Scouting Advisory Board tell Simon Hope about some exciting developments

THE Salvation Army has had strong links with the BadenPowell (B-P) organisations (Girlguiding and Scouts) for more than a century. In fact, in the early days, Robert Baden-Powell (the founder of Scouts) corresponded with William Booth about the potential of a partnership, with the idea that working hand in hand would greatly benefit each other. Today there are around 130 guiding and 20 scouting units sponsored by Salvation Army corps up and down the territory.

The aims of the B-P sections have always complemented those of the Army. They include the development of the physical, emotional and spiritual characteristics of young people, with the aim of helping them become valuable members of society. The Salvation Army works alongside the groups to reach out to young people everywhere, even going as far as to appoint territorial guide and scout co-ordinators. These co-ordinators make up the Territorial Guiding and Scouting Advisory Board alongside members of the Youth and Children’s Ministries Unit.

The spiritual aspect of the wider guiding and scouting movement has waned over time, but Salvation Armysponsored groups take special interest in the faith lives of their members.

‘It’s not necessarily about coming along to church parades,’ explains Rob Christie, Group Scout Leader for 4th Medway (Salvation Army) Scout Group. ‘It’s more about the way leaders act and the way the programme is run completely in line with Army beliefs.’ To this end, a lot of Salvationist leaders will finish group meetings with prayer, which

is not common among non-Salvation Army units.

To emphasise this spiritual aspect the Army is continuing to build closer relationships between individual guide and scout groups and their corps.

‘It’s very much about acknowledging the group as part of the whole church,’ says Children’s Specialist for Leader Development Tracy Wood (THQ). ‘They’re not just a bolt-on. There are lots of things that you can do, but you’ve got to have the right leaders to acknowledge that each other exists.’

One thing that guiding and scouting is well known for is the opportunities it gives to achieve awards and badges. The Army has had its own badge – the General’s Award – for a long time, but only a handful of people have achieved it in the past ten years. This is probably because of its level of difficulty and inaccessibility. In an effort to make the award more attainable, and to deepen these links between B-P groups and their sponsoring corps, the board has created a series of three lesser badges to work as stepping-stones: the Corps Officer, Divisional Commander and Territorial Commander Awards. These are available only to Salvation Armysponsored groups.

Territorial Guide Co-ordinator Sue Matthews explains what the new awards entail: ‘The Corps Officer Award is for beavers and rainbows (five to eightyear-olds). They’ll have to be able to recognise the corps officer and YPSM, take part in an act of worship and know who William Booth was. They will also be introduced to the Army flag and will have to colour it in. It involves a lot of activity and meeting people, and it will be the first step in introducing the young people to the building that they’re in and some of the activities that go on there. ‘The awards then build up. The Divisional Commander Award is for the ‘‘ The aims of the B-P sections have always complemented those of the Army

’’ The 4th Medway (Salvation Army) Scout Group, based at Chatham Corps, is the first to receive the Corps Officer Award

RECOGNISING A LIFETIME OF SCOUTING

TERRITORIAL Scout Co-ordinator Neil Bolland has served scouting for more than 50 years. Salvationist caught up with him to learn about some of his experiences…

Neil, what drew you to scouting all those years ago? In 1967 as I travelled home from work I would pass the Army hall in Batley. On Tuesday evenings I would see ten or twelve cubs waiting for their leader to arrive. After a few weeks the number of boys waiting got smaller and smaller and was down to five or six.

I approached our officer about my concerns and he suggested that I ‘fill the void’ for a month or so. Our officers changed about a month later and our new officers suggested I should carry on the job – and so I did!

What has been your biggest highlight? My biggest and most satisfying scouting highlight has been our friendship with a group from southern Sweden.

It was our first international experience and we decided that we would visit southern Sweden, choosing to camp at Hörr’s Nygård campsite in Skåne. During the first few days a small group of scouts arrived from Vellinge Scout Group. We got on extremely well together and talked about meeting again.

Over the next 25 years our troops camped together every 2 years, alternating between our countries. We had our own flag and our camp group was called VellBat, a combination of Vellinge and Batley. While the connections between troops slipped away with changes in leadership, many friendships are still as strong as they originally were.

Neil Bolland (left)

What could you say to encourage more people to get involved in scouting? It doesn’t matter whether you are a child or an adult, if you truly involve yourself in scouting there are so many positive life-changing opportunities lying in wait.

You belong to a group of friends who immediately embrace you into the scouting friendship. B-P sections provide countless opportunities to learn new and useful skills.

What was your favourite scouting experience? There have been lots and lots of happy and useful experiences over the years. Seeing young people achieve their scouting dreams and overcome personal difficulties, and listening to scouts who recall how scouting helped them in their adult working life are high on my list.

next age group and introduces the brownies and cub scouts to more people in the corps and more of the things that go on during the week. By the time they get to the General’s Award (for age 14 years or more) they should be challenging their faith a little bit and running meetings and worship sessions. ‘We just felt that there was something needed before that top level because, in the old system, they suddenly started it at 14 years old and were expected to have a lot of knowledge and understanding about the Army, and they might not even be Salvationists. The new awards will help members learn exactly what it means to be a member of a sponsored unit.’

Another new resource designed to bring the Christian influence back into guiding and scouting is the Army’s new B-P prayer manual. Your Prayer Manual For Outdoor Adventures is designed to help guides, scouts and leaders better connect with God through daily Bible readings, activities, applications and prayers.

‘Other countries have used prayer books for guides and scouts for a long time,’ says Rob. ‘We would go to international jamborees with our pieces of paper that were nothing special and everyone else would be pulling out wonderful waterproof things that they’d obviously developed over years.’ The advisory board launched the booklet during last year’s territorial camp, using it to guide the entire week’s programme and tie everything together. It was a great success.

For the upcoming Scoutmob 2019 – The Salvation Army’s World Jamboree – guides and scouts from up and down the territory will be travelling to France to celebrate the centenary year of French Salvation Army scouting. This year members from the UK and the Republic of Ireland have relinquished their scrappy bits of paper and will instead be prepared with their brand new prayer manuals.

O Your Prayer Manual For Outdoor Activities is available for free by contacting the Youth and Children’s Ministries Unit at THQ at youthchildren@salvationarmy.org.uk

O For more information about the Army’s guiding and scouting programme, including the location of your nearest group, contact Sue Matthews at sue. matthews@salvationarmy.org.uk, Neil Bolland at neil.bolland@talktalk.net or the Youth and Children’s Ministries Unit by emailing youthchildren @salvationarmy.org.uk