March 2015
PRAY UPDATE for members of BSA
Planning for summer camp? Take the new Bible patches with you!

Camp - a time to be in the great outdoors - is also a time when boys find themselves reflecting on God. The research done for the 2001 BSA Summer Camp Outcomes Study showed that 69% of Scouts think about their relationship with God while at camp. Plan now to take advantage of the camp setting and be intentional about building opportunities for religious reflection and growth.

 

The new Bible Basics RP3 series from P.R.A.Y. is a patch series that is well suited for camp. The curriculum is a free download. It focuses on discussion and reflection. As a patch series, participants are not required to record their answers in writing. As a patch series, it also avoids the strict registration and eligibility guidelines that govern the religious emblems so that you can purchase the patches in advance and take them with you to camp.  For more information, go to www.praypub.org/biblebasics.

Record Number of Boy Scouts Receive Four Star Status

P.R.A.Y. recognized 243 Boy Scouts who achieved Four Star status in 2014. A four star recipient is someone who started in the first, second, or third grade with God and Me, and continued earning the rest of the P.R.A.Y. awards ultimately earning the high school God and Life award. Pictured below are two brothers who earned God and Life and received their Four Star awards together.

 

Brothers Ryan and Connor

Four-Star Recipients

Charlottesville, VA

Olivet Presbyterian Church

 

Seth Lovell, Director of Youth Ministries:

"Recently I had the opportunity to work with Connor and Ryan as they worked through the God and Life program.  I was impressed with the curriculum, and felt like even as the mentor, I had a lot to gain from the material.  The curriculum helped facilitate wonderful conversations about faith, acknowledging the difficulties of discipleship, but also lifting up the importance of following Christ.  I believe all three of us were nourished by this time together, and learned a lot about the importance of faith."

 

The growing number of Four Star recipients is a tribute to the adult volunteers who promote Duty to God and the religious emblems programs. See article below on the Religious Emblems Coordinator positions.

Religious Emblems Coordinator ...Does your unit have one?

The Religious Emblems Coordinator position exists at the council, district, and unit levels. Does your unit have a "UNIT R.E.C."? Not sure what that is? Not sure WHY you need one? Here's a recording of a webinar by R. Chip Turner on "Unit Religious Emblems Coordinators - Where do we start; What do we do?" Watch this recording to learn the responsibilities of the UREC, how to involve more youth and parents in the religious emblems program, ways to use religious emblems as a tool for unit growth and retention, and how to relate to the District and Council Religious Emblems Coordinators.  Click the link below to view the recorded webinar:

 

2014 Honor Roll

Usage reports for the P.R.A.Y. Program are provided online for each Boy Scout Council. Find your council by clicking the alphabetical list. Interested in comparing your council to others? Click here to see where your council ranks. P.R.A.Y. also posts an honor roll of councils that have at least 50 recipients AND a 10% increase in usage. Congratulations to the following councils who not only made the honor roll with 50 recipients, but also showed a 50% or greater increase in usage!

 

Silicon Valley Monterey Bay - San Jose, CA

Northwest Texas - Wichita Falls, TX

Westark Area - Fort Smith, AR

Lewis and Clark Council - Belleville, IL

Coastal Empire - Savannah, GA

Mid-Iowa - Des Moines, IA

Tidewater - Virginia Beach, VA

Great Alaska - Anchorage, AK

Flint River - Griffin, GA

Hawkeye Area - Cedar Rapids, IA

WD Boyce - Peoria, IL

San Gabriel Valley - Pasadena, CA

Susquehanna - Williamsport, PA
Spotlight

St. Mark's United Methodist Church

Scout Sunday 2015

God and Me, God and Family

Midlothian, VA

 

St. Mark's United Methodist Church celebrated Scout Sunday and also recognized 14 Scouts for earning their P.R.A.Y. awards. Oliver Barner and Bill Chaffin taught God and Family to the following boys: Kyle, Gregory, Cole, Michael, Kilby, and Aiden. Ron Flournoy and Fred Klotz taught God and Me to the following boys: Grayson, Robert, Xavier, Tanner, William, Derek, Logan, and Tyson. Click here for more pictures. Thanks to Bill Chaffin for coordinating the P.R.A.Y. classes! 

Richard Cook

God and Service Adult Recognition

First Presbyterian Church

Youngstown, OH

 

Interim Pastor Rev. Carolyn Griffeth:

"Scout Sunday was fantastic. We had a huge crowd with all the members and families from Troop 55 present. Rev. Rusty Cowden (former P.R.A.Y. Board member) preached a wonderful sermon. Rich Cook, Troop 55 Scoutmaster, had absolutely no idea he was the recipient of the award. When Rusty surprised him with it and called his entire family down as he received it, there was not a dry eye in the place. It was a great day for the Scouts and for the church as we celebrated together!"

Robert C.

God and Life

Newport, MI

Baptist

 


 

Robert: 
"I remember the first section the best because it talked about how the apostle Paul overcame adversity from his old life and how God changed him to become a new Christian."

Religious Award 

Recognition Day

 

Protestant Religious Relations Committee of the Greater St. Louis Area Council, BSA

 

Beaumont Scout Reservation

 

February 14, 2015

 

The Protestant Committee of the Greater St. Louis Area Council hosted a special Recognition Day to honor Scouts who had earned their P.R.A.Y. award.  43 Scouts attended and were presented with a patch, certificate, and pocket New Testament. Congratulations to the Scouts on their achievements! Thank you to the Protestant Committee for their hard work and dedication!

Troop 1

12 God and Church recipients

18 God and Life recipients

Episcopal Church of the Advent

Spartanburg, SC

 

Our troop is a rather large one (about 85 members now) located at a downtown Episcopal Church.  The troop was the first in SC having been started in 1914.  We try to offer these programs to our scouts every 3 years so we catch them once in middle school and then again in high school.  The instructional time takes place during about 6-7 regular meetings from August-January.  We were very pleasantly surprised to get so much participation from our older scouts with God and Life as it is not an easy curriculum. The church youth director taught God and Church and the director of Christian Formation was counselor for God and Life.  

 


P.R.A.Y. is celebrating its 35th anniversary! 

 

We are thankful to God for the ministry and opportunity given to us for reaching children, youth, and families for Christ. 

 

We invite you to celebrate our 35th Anniversary by investing in the P.R.A.Y. ministry to reach children, youth, and families for Christ. Please consider a gift of $35 (or a multiple of $35!) in honor of this milestone.