Scouting continues in diocese despite pandemic

Courtesy photo/Nancy Reading

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Utah Scouts participate in a Nov. 28 "turkey shoot" at the Lee Kay Center. Twenty-five teams from 10 Scout troops participated.

SALT LAKE CITY – Navigating what might seem to be the perfect storm of the bankruptcy of the Boy Scouts of America, the withdrawal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from participation in the BSA and the pandemic has been challenging to say the least, said Nancy Reading, chairwoman Catholic Council on Scouting, Diocese of Salt Lake City. Still, the Catholic Church-sponsored scouting units are surviving and adapting, she said.

Due to the major reorganization of funds and resources here in Utah, the three BSA councils have consolidated into one new council, Crossroads of the West, headquartered in Ogden.  

“We went from being the second-largest council in the country to one of the smallest,” Reading said.

Several leaders in the 20 Utah Church-sponsored units have stepped into council and district positions. The change has meant greater representation for Catholic and community-based Scouting in Utah, Reading said.

The pandemic has also led to significant changes in programming. A diocesan scouting open house in March was canceled when a state shutdown was enforced. During the pandemic, most scouting programs were canceled. However, all troops are moving forward with advancements and badge work, using Zoom and other online applications to reach scouts, Reading said. This summer, scouts were able to enjoy several outdoor activities, including socially distanced campouts, she said. Eagle Scouts projects also moved forward; for example, Troop 1966 of Blessed Sacrament Parish completed several Eagle projects with the Carmelite nuns to refurbish the monastery’s landscaping.

The Girl Scouts of Utah has also found ways to adapt during the pandemic. GSU has made Zoom accounts available to all of its units for a nominal price. Girl Scouts of Utah has been acknowledged nationally as a front runner in electronic media and touching bases with the girls, Reading  said.

 On June 20, GSU cosponsored a Zoom religious emblem workshop, working with Reading and other leaders from the diocese. The event was inadvertently posted on the National GSA website, which led to 10 girls from Utah and across the country joining the workshop to complete their religious emblems.

Moving forward, in late January the Catholic Committee on Scouting for the Diocese of Salt Lake City will provide an online curriculum for completing the Ad Alteri Dei religious emblem requirements. The program will include four Zoom sessions on the sacraments, followed by a virtual board of review.  

Also next year, Reading hopes to be able to provide a virtual Pope Pius XII curricula focused on how an individual can discern his/her calling in the Church.

Local leaders are tentatively planning camps and other events for next summer. They encourage Scouts to stay in contact with their units and to sign up as soon as plans are finalized. With a significantly reduced Utah Scout population, funds have been reallocated and some camps previously available to Scouts will no longer be offered. This will mean that open slots will fill up fast.

While the coming months will be challenging for Scouting in Utah, there is still a great need for Scouting despite the pandemic and the changes BSA has undergone in Utah, Reading said.

“This is a service-based organization that teaches self-sufficiency, it teaches a duty to God and country and leadership,” she said. “You can’t find it anywhere else. … My message to everyone is ‘Don’t give up.’ We need those supports and outlets now more than ever. You just have to be more creative in how you do this and eventually we’ll get the program back to where it was.

“This is the time to start, to get going. It’s not the time to give up; we desperately need more units,” she added. “This is a community-based organization; it’s not ecumenical. The Catholic scouting piece is available to anybody who chooses to embrace it. We welcome you all and if you want to start a unit, please contact me.”

For information on Catholic Scouting in Utah or on establishing a new Church-sponsored unit or to donate to the program, contact Reading at nlr@xmission.com.