Our young parishioners in grades K-8 have an opportunity not only to grow closer to Christ but also to grow in their abilities to live their Catholic faith, thanks to the Scouting programs offered at St. Monica.
Boy Scout Troop 514 and Cub Scout Pack 514, as well as Girl Scout Troop 564, help their members develop life skills and grow into leadership.
The Cub Scouts meet at 7 p.m. on alternate Fridays at the parish, and the Boy Scouts meet at 7 p.m. on Mondays, alternating between St. Monica and the Pike Fire Department.
Cub Scouts may join in kindergarten and advance through fifth grade. Both boys and girls can join Cub Scouts at St. Monica.
Michael Rodriguez has worked in various roles with the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts for 19 years, but he has retired. Mark Stratemeier now is taking those roles. Although retired, Mike shared his experiences and insight on the Boy Scout and Cub Scout programs.
“We try to promote friendship, as well as help the Scouts do something new and learn how to do various things,” Mike says. “Kindergarteners’ attention span is different at that age, so we try to promote listening skills and how to follow directions.”
Arts and crafts are major activities for the Cubs, as well as competitive games.
“Last year they built kites and went to the park to fly them,” Mike says. “They saw their work in action. This builds confidence for the younger Scouts. For the older ones, we try to build citizenship, character, and leadership skills.”
The youth in the Boy Scout troop can choose from more than 100 badges as they advance through the program. The topics include everything from hobby activities, and life skills, to engineering and robotics. The Scouts are ranked as Tenderfoot in fifth grade, then move up to Second and First Class ranks. They can achieve leadership ranks of Life Scout and Eagle, which is the highest rank in Boy Scouts.
“Many of our Scouts make Eagle,” Mike says. “We’ve had more than 75 achieve Eagle in our troop history.”
The Scouts’ parents are a valuable part of the program, as they serve and assist through all the activities.
“Our parents have really helped them achieve,” Mike says. “They’ve really helped with leadership. They are very patient!”
The Scouts experience growing closer to Christ by following the ideals expressed in the Scout Law, “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.”
“Part of the law says a Scout is ‘reverent,’ and reverence means a special relationship with God,” Mike says. “We always try to say prayer before meals when we’re camping, for example, and of course, before any meal. Although we are in the Catholic Church, the Scouts accept all faiths. You don’t have to be a parishioner to join, but the majority are from the church and our school.”
A special event for the Scouts is the celebration of Scout Sunday in February, marking the Feb. 8, 1910, anniversary of the founding of Boy Scouts of America. The Scouts who have earned the Catholic Scouting awards receive them during Mass. The awards aim to help the Scouts develop a personal relationship with Jesus and learn more about the sacraments.
The Scout membership fees should not be a deterrent for a child to join. Financial assistance is available.
Our Girl Scout Troop 564 has 17 members, ranging from the youngest Daisies in kindergarten to high school students as Ambassadors. Sarah Shaughnessy is the leader for Girl Scout Troop 564.
The troop meets from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month in the Parish Meeting Center.
“All the ages meet at the same time, and we get the older girls to break out in a group to work on their advanced awards and activities,” Sarah says. “My personal goal is that the girls learn to be leaders and good citizens.”
The Scouts work on achievement badges and take part in community service.
“We have a Girl Scout Garden by the St. Monica gym,” Sarah says. “We’re trying to reduce the footprint where grass is cut and weeded. They have adopted a space for a cutting garden, with last year being its first year. They have planted sunflowers and marigolds. This year, the cutting garden is a bit larger, with wildflowers and gladiolus.”
The Girl Scouts can earn three awards according to the members’ ages: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Gold Award calls for the Scouts to develop a project that will be self-sustaining. One such project for Troop 564 was starting a food pantry in a local “food desert,” while another was assembling kits that included feminine products for girls lacking these items.
Currently, the younger members are working on the Bronze Award by sorting a storage shed that belongs to the Scouts.
No matter the members’ ages, they are building their Catholic faith.
“They see service,” Sarah says. “We talk about this, bringing in the ideas of time, talent, and treasure. They see these concepts in the Girl Scout Garden and being a sister to each other, according to the Girl Scout Law of ‘a Girl Scout is a friend to all, and a sister to every other Girl Scout.’”
Sarah tries to balance the activities between crafts and spending time outdoors while offering new experiences for the girls.
“We’ve done camping activities and pumpkin decorating,” she says. “They also had a scavenger hunt. I don’t do a full week of camping in the summer due to my schedule, but I encourage them. We went ice skating in December during their Christmas break, and some had never skated before. They did well, and they enjoyed it thoroughly.”
Girls may join the Girl Scout troop at any time.
For information about Girl Scouts, or to join, contact Sarah Shaughnessy at 317-473-8560, or by contacting Girl Scouts of Central Indiana at 317-924-6800. For information about joining Boy Scouts at St. Monica, visit www.stmonicaindy.org/scout.
