NEW ACTIVITIES FOR CATHOLIC SCOUTS BSA AND CUBS

With the restrictions from the pandemic being lifted, new summer activities for our local Catholic Scouts and Cubs have been announced by the Allentown Diocese Catholic Committee on Scouting.   They will host both a Catholic Scout Event and, for the first time ever in the diocese, a Catholic Cub Day.    Having a Cub Day has been a goal of the Committee for some time.  This year its inaugural launch has been delayed twice but is finally going to happen.  Both events are for members of the Hawk Mountain and Minsi Trails Scout Councils, which roughly coincide with the area of the Allentown Diocese.  At both events COVID safety precautions will be in place: outdoors, masks, social distancing.

Catholic Scout Event –

• This one-day event will be Saturday, August 7, 2021 at the outdoor pavilion of St. Joseph Parish in Limeport, PA. 
• The event is for all Scouting BSA Scouts, Venturers, and Explorers.  
• This is a replacement for the Catholic Scout Activity Weekend, usually held in April, that had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. 
• In addition to individual registrations, Catholic-sponsored troops or crews are especially invited to come as a group.  Troops may bring their incoming Webelos as well.  
• The Scouts (both male and female) will enjoy a fun day of outdoor activities. 
• They will be divided into patrols and move between five stations. 
• Each station will have a connection to this year's theme: Why Catholic Today? 
• This theme is very appropriate considering Bishop Schlert's announcement that this is the Year of the Real Presence in our diocese.  For example, one station will be about that very topic, another will be about the sacrament of Reconciliation, and at a third the Scouts will be able to craft a beautiful Rosary.  One station will be an activity using a Scout skill that connects to the theme. 
• In addition they will have a chance to chat with a person who has converted to Catholicism as well as with our Scout Chaplain, Rev. Eric Tolentino, who is an Eagle Scout.  Scouts who have been working on the Ad Altare Dei or Pope Pius XII awards will be able to have a Board of Review at the event.  It will conclude with Mass at St. Joseph Church. 

For additional details, please reach out to Fred Flemming, Chairman Allentown Diocese Catholic Committee on Scouting,  fcflemming@gmail.com