---

For the first time in four or five years, a Catholic Scout group in the Diocese of Albany has won a prestigious national award.

Cub Scout Pack 88, based at Sacred Heart parish in Sidney, received the Gold Medallion Award last month, recognizing its promotion of the Catholic faith and of Scouting.

"It's quite an honor because they only give out one in each district, each year," said Deacon William Gaul Jr., chaplain of the diocesan Committee on Scouting. The last eligible group was Boy Scout Troop 26 of St. Clement's parish in Saratoga Springs.

Applicants are selected using 13 criteria, from participation in faith-based activities to service projects - and Sacred Heart's pack of 38 first- through fifth-graders was up to the challenge.

The pack's relationship with the parish was one factor in its favor: Scout meetings, the pack's annual Pine Wood Derby, the haunted house and pancake breakfast and dinner fundraisers are all held in the parish center.

Many of the boys attend Scout Sunday at the church, as well as weekly Mass and religious education classes. Many former Cub Scouts become altar servers. About a third are members of Sacred Heart.

Leaders always urge the boys to consider earning a religious emblem for their faith. Four boys are working on Light of Christ emblems, which encourage them to see Jesus as a real person and a friend. It supports parents as children's primary catechists and fosters early family religious involvement.

"One of the big parts of scouting is being reverent," said Thomas Hoskins, den leader.

Another winning factor for the Gold Medallion was the pack's community service projects. The Cub Scouts have decorated cookies to deliver to a senior center, cleaned up trash after floods in 2006, raked leaves for a library, raked topsoil at the Pee Wee baseball field and delivered donations to the local food pantry.

The adults need to be in good standing, too. Two adult leaders were past winners of the St. George emblem by contributing to the spiritual development of the Scouts. Winners might encourage Scouts to attend retreats or days of recollection, to bring the Catholic program to children who are not in Catholic-chartered packs or to arrange opportunities for Mass at camps.

Two other leaders earned the Bronze Pelican emblem, whose requirements are determined by individual dioceses.

Judges for the Gold Medallion Awards also need to know the Scout unit provides for growth. Pack 88 recruits new members with fliers at the local school, as well as lawn signs and radio ads.

The National Catholic Committee on Scouting seeks to strengthen the relationship between the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church. Committee members are concerned Catholic laypeople and clergy who feel Boy Scout programs are forms of youth ministry.

(04/08/10)[[In-content Ad]]

---