ST. PETER
CATHOLIC CHURCH
SCOUTING PROGRAMS AT ST. PETE H
ere at St. Peter, we are blessed to have an organization that encourages independence in some of our youngest parishioners while providing their parents with a wonderful resource for helping their children and teenagers grow in character and virtue — the Scouts BSA, represented in our parish by Cub Scout Pack 5 and Boy Scout Troop 5. Participating boys benefit from these programs as they learn outdoor survival skills, participate in community service projects, and forge lasting friendships with their fellow scouts. Jeff Wilson is the Scoutmaster for Troop 5 and father of Eagle Scout Louis Wilson. As both a leader and a father, Jeff has a great appreciation for the many life lessons made available through the Boy Scouts. “We basically try to teach them life skills and things that will make them upstanding citizens,” he says. “It’s especially important in this day and
age when the boys seem to gravitate toward video games and that sort of thing. Our troop in normal times typically does a monthly camp out, where we go out on Friday night and come back Sunday morning. It’s great just getting them off their devices, outside and learning skills like cooking and how to clean up after themselves and be more self-sufficient. As they get older, by doing all the different merit badges, they might even find things that interest them later in life.” According to the Scout Law recited at the beginning of all meetings, a scout strives to be “trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.” In Boy Scout Troop 5, this last character trait — reverence — takes on a particularly Catholic component. In addition to praying together as a troop, the scouts may earn special religious medals. “We do the Catholic religious medal program
Camp Jayhawk Summer Camp, July 2020. (From left) Evan Krohn, Rohan Dighe, Louis Wilson, Matthew Boudreau, Kyle Krohn, Ben Brown, Peter Damm, and Jeff Wilson.
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