The Steps Leading to Earning a Religious Award
When a Boy Scout or Girl Scout first expresses interest in earning a religious award, a scout leader, parish minister, parent or other adult begins to obtain the materials. The BSA program manuals can be ordered from the Golden Empire Council Scout Shop. The GSA manuals can be ordered on the NFCYM website.
Family-Based Medals
If the award is family-based, as described earlier for Family of God, Light of Christ, Parvuli Dei, the parents will work with the child as described in the manual for that religious emblem. A religious emblems coordinator may assist the parents with the process.
- Complete the requirements. Some manuals have a form that should be sent to the Sacramento Diocese CCS when starting work on the requirements. Please send all forms in pdf format to CCS via email (scouting@scd.org).
- Review: Most of the manuals require a review by a parish priest, deacon, or other parish minister such as the Religious Education Coordinator. We urge that the review be with a priest in the parish, because this gives the Scout an opportunity to interact with his or her pastor or other priest.
- The manuals have a form to be completed and countersigned by the parish reviewer after the review. The form is then sent to CCS. Instructions on how to pay for the medal will be given to you after CCS receive the form.
- Present the award. The family-based awards are to be presented at the parish level. CCS urges that they be presented at a parish liturgy. Scout Sunday is an ideal time, but a Scout should not be made to wait an extended period of time after completing requirements for an award.
Medals Requiring a Counselor or Facilitator
As described earlier, a counselor works with Scouts who wish to earn the I Live My Faith, Marian Medal, and Ad Altare Dei Medal. A facilitator works with Scouts working on the Spirit Alive and Pope Pius XII emblems.
- Complete the requirements. Some manuals have a form that should be sent to SDCCS when starting work on the requirements.
- Review. The appropriate reviews are important. A review by a Board of Review/Panel of Assurance is needed for all of these medals except I Live My Faith. The purpose of the interview with the review panel is to assure that the scout completed the requirements as specified for the emblem and to allow the Scout to share his or her thoughts on the emblem and the process. The interview is not a test, but a discussion. The Scout is encouraged to bring his or her emblem workbook or notes.
- The manuals have a form to be completed after the review. The form is then sent to SDCCS . Instructions on how to pay for the medal will be given to you after SDCCS receive the form.
- Present the awards. All awards are to be presented at the parish level. As suggested for the family-based awards, SDCCS urges that they be presented at a parish liturgy. Scout Sunday is an ideal time, especially for these awards, but a Scout should not be made to wait an extended period of time for an award. It is recommended that all religious awards are also re-presented at a Troop/Pack meeting for an additional recognition to the Scout, and a witness to other Scouts.
Funding for Awards
Should families be unable to pay for the workbooks or medals, we urge pastors or counselors to seek funding for the awards from the scout unit, parish, or a Catholic fraternal organization such as the Knights of Columbus.
Thanks for helping our young people grow in their faith!
Please click the link below to continue to the 'Counselor Certification Form' whereas you will be asked to complete and submit a Counselor Application, Counselor Certification Quiz, and Training Evaluation.
Emblem Counselor Certification Form
Acknowledgements
The Sacramento Diocese Catholic Committee on Scouting (SDCCS ) would like to give special thanks to the SDCCS , Father Ray Ballc and the Diocese of Manchester Catholic Committee on Scouting for their permission to use training content from their Religious Emblems Counselor Distance Training Program. Without their hard work and blessings, this distance training program would not be available to Scouters within the Sacramento Diocese.