Scout’s Own Service
What is a “Scout’s Own Service”? It is a brief spiritual service for all faiths, intended to be an uplifting and positive experience. A proper Scout’s Own Service respects all religions, and is welcoming to everyone. It should never be something you have to do; it’s something you choose to do.
This evening, we ask that you gather together with your family and share your thoughts about the meaning of the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Sing together and pray together. You can use the simple program below, or change it as you like.
Invocation
Invite someone to offer a prayer in your own tradition, or read aloud the following:
Dear Lord, We thank you that we are able to be here together as a family and as Scouts, and thank you for the friendship we feel. We are grateful for our home and our country, and the opportunities we have. Help us be better Scouts, that we might try harder to live the Scout Law. Help us to do our best. Help us to try and make the world a better place by the way we live, through service and kindness, so that we might be an influence for good. Amen.
Hymn: “America the Beautiful”
Watch or sing together.
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
Silent Reflection, Shared Thoughts
Take a moment and think about all of the reasons you have to be thankful.
Invite everyone to share their thoughts.
Responsive Reading
LEADER: “The person who is dishonest shall not live in My house; the person who is untruthful shall not stand before My eyes.” (Psalms 101:7)
ALL: A SCOUT IS TRUSTWORTHY
LEADER: “It is a loyal thing you do when you render any service to the friends, even though they are strangers to you (3 John 1:5)
ALL: A SCOUT IS LOYAL
LEADER: “Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.” (Hinduism; Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama)
ALL: A SCOUT IS HELPFUL
LEADER: “O Great Spirit, You have given us our house, where there is fellowship, where there is companionship, where there is friendship?” (Native American Prayer)
ALL: A SCOUT IS FRIENDLY
LEADER: “Good manners is thoughtfulness of God and man. The test of good manners is to bear patiently with bad ones.” (Talmud, Ibn Gabirol)
ALL: A SCOUT IS COURTEOUS
LEADER: “There is only one way of driving our Hate in the world, and that is by bringing in Love.” (Buddah) ALL: A SCOUT IS KIND
LEADER: “Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to the words of knowledge.” (Prov. 23:12)
ALL: A SCOUT IS OBEDIENT
LEADER: “A glad heart is good medicine.” (Prov. 17:22)
ALL: A SCOUT IS CHEERFUL
LEADER: “The true servants of the Gracious God are those who are neither extravagent nor stingy in spending, but keep a balance between the two.” (Quran, Al-Furquan)
ALL: A SCOUT IS THRIFTY
LEADER: “Be strong and of good courage.” (I Chron. 28:20)
ALL: A SCOUT IS BRAVE
LEADER: “Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? the person who has clean hands and a pure heart.” (Psalms 24:3–4)
ALL: A SCOUT IS CLEAN
LEADER: “It has been told to you what is good, and what the Lord requires of you; Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
ALL: A SCOUT IS REVERENT
Scoutmaster’s Minute
Watch this brief message from Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founder of Scouting.
As Baden-Powell asked, say the Scout Oath and Scout Law together.
Act of Friendship
Hug or shake hands with everyone in your family.
Hymn: “God Bless America”
Sing together, or watch on YouTube.
God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with the light from above.
From the mountains to the prairies
To the oceans white with foam.
God bless America, my home sweet home.
God bless America, my home sweet home!
Benediction
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and grant you peace.