The Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting [EOCS] has designated February 5, 2012 as Scout Sunday for both Boy and Girl Scouts.
This year marks the centennial of the Girl Scouts USA and the EOCS encourages Orthodox Parishes to acknowledge and celebrate this milestone on Scout Sunday.
The observance of Scout Sunday began years ago in an effort to help build awareness amongst Orthodox Christian faithful of the benefits of Orthodox Scouting and the various programs and awards offered by the EOCS.
The EOCS Executive Board encourages all Eastern Orthodox Churches to recognize and celebrate this event, even if their parish does not sponsor a scout unit.
Among recommendations for celebrating Scout Sunday, the EOCS suggests the following:
- Whether your parish sponsors a scout unit or its scouts participate elsewhere, invite your scouts to attend the Liturgy in full uniform.
- Invite the uniformed scouts to assume various duties that Sunday. They can oversee the candle desk, usher, help pass the collection basket, serve and clean up during and after coffee hour, read the Hours or Epistle, hold the Communion cloths, or fulfill any other duties at the direction of the pastor.
- If there are any scouts who recently have completed projects leading to scouting awards, make appropriate presentations after the Liturgy. Scouts might also prepare a display on scouting that would be of interest to other boys and girls.
For further information on the EOCS in general and /or the observance of Scout Sunday in particular, contact EOCS Chairman George Boulukos at 516 868 4050 or geobou03@aol.com or www.eocs.org
The EOCS was established as a facet of the youth ministry in the 1960s and was the first agency endorsed by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, [SCOBA] newly reorganized as the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America.
