Twenty-five local scouts were awarded medals at Oxford United Methodist Church Sunday to recognize their completion of various levels in the ‘God and Country Program.?
The God and Country Program is a Protestant Christian Education Program developed by the PRAY (Programs of Religious Activities with Youth) organization.
PRAY’s mission is to encourage the spiritual growth of young people by building partnerships between the religious community and national youth agencies.
One way PRAY does that is through religious programs, such as ‘God and Country,? recognized by the Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA.
Local scouts in grades 1-8 participated in this year’s God and Country Program hosted by Oxford United Methodist. Two of the participants were Boy Scouts, 13 were Cub Scouts, nine were Girl Scouts, and one a former Girl Scout.
The God and Country Program helps scouts uphold their commitment to honor and serve God and their country at all levels of scouting. That’s why it’s divided into four levels:
n God and Me (grades 1-3) ? It’s designed to help children become best friends with Jesus and tell their story of ‘God and Me? together.
n God and Family (grades 4-5) ? It’s designed to help youth understand the importance of family and God’s role in a healthy family life. The program provides an opportunity for young people and their families to explore their faith together.
n God and Church (grades 6-8) ? This level leads young people on a journey. It’s a faith journey with three parts ? meeting Jesus, worshipping God and witnessing and ministering for Christ.
n God and Life (grades 9-12) ? This is a reflective type of program in which students study the lives of men and women in the Bible and discover what their lives teach them about God. Young people are challenged to integrate their faith into their daily lives.
On Sunday, the scouts received medals for completing the first three levels during Oxford United Methodist’s 11 a.m. service.
Completing the ‘God and Me? level were Cub Scouts Zachary Baran, Brandon Barrows and Gregory Martin along with Girl Scouts Sidney Hamen, Megan Kessler, Lauren Sakosy, Joan Simlar, Elaine Strzelecki, Montana Tasca, Michaela Tucker and Casey Wright.
Receiving medals for completing the ‘God and Family? level were Cub Scouts Alex Baran, Andrew Estrada, Christian Gilbert, Justin Klaus, Justin Mallard, Michael Sovis, Joseph Ufolla, Graham Wellens, Jake Williams and Joshua Wright. Girl Scout Brianna Tucker also completed this level.
Receiving medals for finishing the ‘God and Church? portion were Boy Scouts Jacob Keskes and Evan Tucker along with former Girl Scout Sydney Estrada.