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Two weeks later...
This is the article that I think best sums up what we need to do next (make sure to watch the video at the bottom of the page - and read comments at your own risk):
Boy Scouts should be better prepared for change
This is the presentation from the last day of the conference in Texas:
Rex Tillerson speaks out
In the last clip Mr. Tillerson says "We have a very clear mission statement: serve more youth." It's pretty clear the only way to achieve this is with tolerance and inclusiveness. If our goal is to serve more youth then we will have to throw open the doors and invite everyone in.
Excluding gay leaders will not help us serve more youth. Excluding atheists will not help us serve more youth. Any kind of exclusion will not help us serve more youth.
So as I look around I see both a train and a roller coaster waiting at the station. The train would be easier to ride, but I fear there will be many who will want to delay the train, to make it's route convoluted and round about.
I think some of us are going to have to get back on the roller coaster to help the train find its way. But for now the train and the roller coaster are starting out in the same direction. The tracks look smooth and straight and our direction is clear.
Who have you recruited to join scouts?
It's now clear that scouting can and will change. Change will come from inside the organization. We need to enroll as many people as we can to join us. If you know of a unit who has lost their sponsor let me know, Scouts for Equality has many contacts with churches and other potential chartering organizations.
If you are in a position to help a new unit get started now is the time.
And if you already in a unit it's time to start recruiting. Encourage your scout's friends to join now so they can go to summer camp. Start planning for September. If you're a troop find a pack and offer to help them recruit.
Need ideas? Have ideas? Send them to me and I'll pass them along.
In Moraga we have a Joint Recruiting BBQ every September. It's on a Monday night so it doesn't conflict with other troop and pack activities. All four troops in town participate even though two of them aren't really recruiting. (One already has a waiting list for next year, and the L.D.S. troop usually recruits from their own church.) But they help the other two troops recruit anyway. This is what scouting should be like. Maybe you can encourage the troops in your area to work together.
Moraga Joint Recruiting BBQ
I'm still collecting resources to help Scout Leaders deal with any issues that might come up because of the new policy. If you have any suggestions please pass them along.
Yours in Scouting,
Wendell Baker
Scoutmaster
Moraga Troop 234
(SFE-Golden Gate) | 
