Catholic Scouts boost their faith

New guild supports developing parish-based Scout groups

Peter Preston

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

A group aimed at supporting Catholic Scouts and their leaders has just been launched in Edmonton.

The purpose of the Northern Lights Catholic Scout Guild is to "help Catholic Scouts be better Catholics and better Scouts," said Peter Preston, the guild's president.

The group's main goals are to assist in the spiritual development of Catholic Scouts and Scout leaders and to encourage parishes to sponsor Scout groups.

Support leaders

"One of the things we believe as individuals who have been involved in Scouting for some time is that we have to assist our Catholic Scout leaders with their responsibility of ensuring that our youth get a good grounding in the Catholic faith," said guild secretary Jim Wiesner.

The guild will offer faith formation programs to Scouts and Scout leaders in the archdioceses of Edmonton and Grouard McLennan and the dioceses of St. Paul, Mackenzie-Fort Smith, the Ukrainian Eparchy of Edmonton and the parishes of the military ordinariate in northern Alberta.

Preston is not new at this. The 83-year-old retired teacher and father of seven joined the Scouts in Great Britain in 1932 as a wolf cub and continued his involvement in the organization after he came to Canada in 1950.

He moved from Edmonton to Calgary in 1980 and in 1992, he helped form the Calgary Catholic Scouts Guild. He started working on the Northern Lights Guild as soon as he moved back to Edmonton in 2003.

New beginnings

"Nowadays there is only one Scout group in the Edmonton area sponsored by a parish," Preston said referring to St. Theresa Parish in Millwoods.

"Years ago when I first came here there were quite a number. In fact, in the first half of the 20th century, nearly every parish had a Scout group."

Wiesner knows that. He was a scout leader for about 30 years and for a number of those years he led a group at St. Brendan School that was sponsored by Assumption Parish.

The guild leaders plan to encourage parishes and church organizations such as the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Women' League to sponsor Scout groups.

"We have to encourage our youth to grow with our faith and one of the ways we can do that is through the Scouting movement," Wiesner said.

"The Scouting movement has good programs that speak of duty to God, good living and brotherly love."

The guild is part of Scouts' Canada and has the backing of Archbishop Thomas Collins, who in July 2004 sent a letter to Preston granting his approval.

In early May the group elected a six-member executive council and is now ready to begin to fulfill its mission.

About 20 Scout leaders from areas such as Edmonton, Cold Lake, Sherwood Park, Morinville, St. Albert and the military base in Namao have so far joined the guild.

"The mission of the guild has been set and now we are in the process of recruiting new members - primarily people who are Scout leaders," noted Wiesner.

"Our first aim is to reach the leaders partly because it is they who deal with the youth," explained Preston. "The way we will reach the youth is through the leaders."

In late October, the guild will offer a program called Adult Religion-in-Life to Scout and Girl Guide leaders who are interested in furthering their spiritual growth.

Call for leaders

The goal of the Oct. 20-21 course at St. Joseph's Basilica Parish Hall is to provide adult Catholic leaders in the Scouting movement an opportunity to affirm their baptismal calling and to develop their faith awareness in ministering to youth.

Program presenters will include Preston, Father Jim Corrigan, liturgist Rose Marie Fowler, theologian Julien Hammond and Andrew Papenbrock, director of the archdiocesan youth/young adult ministry.

Eventually the Northern Lights Guild plans to offer the Religion-in-Life program to Scouts and Guides as well, Preston said.

The goal of this program, as designed by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, "is to provide Catholic Scouts or Guides with an opportunity to explore their faith, to make it a basic part of their personal life and to share it with others."

On Feb. 22 the guild will host its first annual Scout Mass for all Scouts and Guides in the archdiocese.

A place for the Mass has not yet been set.

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