“There is no religious side to the movement. The whole of it is based on religion, that is, on the
realization and service of God.”
-Robert Baden-Powell, Scouting Founder

The scouts of Troop 282 gathered together Sunday morning after breakfast to hold church
during our October overnight.
They learned about obedience, and sang about God’s amazing grace. It was great to see the
whole group listening, singing along, and responding to the questions asked during the sermon.
Holding a church service is an important part of our overnights in Troop 282.
Scouts BSA does not promote any specific religious denomination, but has always
recognized that spiritual faith is important in the development of good citizens. This principle is
embedded in our “Declaration of Religious Principle,” which says each member should
recognize their obligation to God as part of becoming a good citizen.
We encourage Scouts to follow the religious teachings of their families and faith groups, and
to respect religious diversity. Scouts & scouters come from all walks of life, with various
backgrounds, beliefs, and faith experiences.
However, Scouts USA upholds a belief in God as a core value of the program.
Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, made it clear that Scouting is built on
religious principles. He believed that Scouting should help boys realize their duty to God by
encouraging service to others and making the best of the life God has given them.
Over half of all Scout troops are affiliated with religious organizations, reflecting the strong
connection between Scouting and faith communities. The organization’s focus on core values
like responsibility, integrity, and respect ensures that Scouts develop a strong moral character
while learning to appreciate the diversity of their fellow Scouts.
“Church” isn’t a building, it’s a collection of people moving toward our Heavenly Father. That
can happened in a big climate-controlled building, in the middle of the woods, on a street corner,
or even on the side of a bluff overlooking a lake.
Scouting emphasizes a duty to God, teaching these young leaders to live out their faith
through service, responsibility, and respect for others- making Scouting a platform for personal
and spiritual growth.
Those church gatherings out in the middle of God’s creation are especially meaningful, as
we get to see His handiwork in the colorful fall trees and the bright blue sky, a fresh blanket of
snow, or whatever scenery He sees fit to bless us with. It’s also a blessing to be able to see
these young men & women connecting with God and each other.

What a great weekend the troop had on the October overnight. It all started when we left the church parking lot at 8:00 AM. Once we reached the campsite we unloaded our patrol camping gear and set up our patrol camping site. Yes, in our troop each patrol has their own tents, dining fly, equipment boxes, kitchen, table and chairs. It’s great as we get to work as a patrol all weekend. We had to have our patrol sites set up before lunch.

After lunch we had some patrol competition on some scouting skills (using a bow saw, shaping an hand ax and building a fire).

Once done with the patrol competition the patrols had some free time for working on our patrol sites and collecting firewood for cooking dinner. We started our patrol fires around two hours ahead of dinner to allow us to have lots of coals for cooking with.

Then we started dinner. Each patrol was cooking their own meals. This is my favorite part of overnight cooking. 

Of course the part of the overnight no one likes is cleaning up after dinner. Yes we must wash our dishes.

Once we were done we started thinking about the Troop Campfire. Each patrol is to have a skit and song. Our patrol leader had us practice our patrol skit and song.

After the campfire our adult leaders prepared cobblers for the troop to eat. This is always a great treat.

When the patrol was done with their cobbler it was off to bed.

What a day. It went by so fast.

On Sunday morning we got up and got our patrol fire going so we could cook breakfast.

It’s nice to have a hot breakfast when it is cool out is great.

Once we were done with breakfast the patrols cleaned up their breakfast dishes and broke down their tents and loaded everything back on our troop’s trailer.

Before we left to go back to the church to meet our parents our troop has a church service.

Its time to make our Leave No Trace line to walk through our camp to make sure we leave the site better than we found it.

I am ready to go camping again.

What a fun time we had cleaning up the stream at Mildred Keeney Park in Claycomo, Missouri on September 28, 2024. The Troop met at 9:00 AM at the church and headed out to Claycomo. When we arrived at the park we met up with David Jet, an Alderman for the City of Claycomo and an Eagle Scout from our Scout Troop. Mr. Jett explained what the task was going to be for this morning. Then it was off to the stream. We split up into two groups to clean up both ends of the stream. This is where the fun began. We got to get wet and wade through the stream to pick up the trash. This went much faster than I thought it would take. We filled up several bags of trash. We found a steel wheel, a metal basket, a plastic pipe and lots of trash.

When we finished with the stream clean up they fed us hot dogs, chips, cookies and a drink. It was great. Then we got to play in the park.

Before we left the park we made one final sweep through the park as we always do before we leave an area to make sure we left it better than we found it.

I am looking forward to doing this project again. It was a great time.