Parades & Services : Thinking Day / Founder’s Day

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With grateful thanks to Sheila Collins for pulling these ideas from her wealth of experience. Guides/ Scouts Own are just that. In modern parlance, they take ownership of the Act of Worship NOT A SERVICE!! Twenty minutes should be enough before the fidgets set in. 1) The Promise. All branches make a Promise. Across the World it is very similar in wording ( That is your link for Thinking Day being all over the world) Look at other Promises. Bank Notes. What does it mean to make a Promise? I set up two girls (Troublesome Twins) to suddenly start an argument in the middle of a Parade service. It got progressively louder and more heated, especially as I had sat their unsuspecting friend in the middle of them. Eventually I apologised to the congregation...sorry I forgot to say that I was at the front helping with the service...and fetched them out. (their Mother was the Brownie Guider and she of course knew nothing about the "set up".) I asked what was happening and the story was that I had said that I had told both of them that they could take the collection. On closer examination I had TOLD one but I had PROMISED the other one. We then explored what a Promise is with "help" from the young and old in the congregation Ask when did God make a Promise, and to whom. Look at the story of Noah. If you have Rainbows they could pre-make a Rainbow. They could make animal masks and go into An Ark. These could be made in advance. All the different animals made up the Ark and presumably lived together without killing each other off. I do always wonder a little about the Woodworm!! You could think about how we all have to live together in Peace. Remember the Dove. 2) Gameshow There are so many quizzes on the T.V. that can be adapted. We did "Who wants to be a Millionaire". The contestants were Senior Section and Guiders, and they were given the answers that they were not expected to know. But you could do your own setting up of this. How about "Ask the Family" using all the ages for that. Or "Weakest Link". The girls would love to see their Guiders being sent off by a bossy "Anne Robinson". Questions could range from "whose birthday are we celebrating?” to “what are Brownies called in America?”. Where is the first place in the world to celebrate Thinking Day each year (New Zealand Rangers climb to the top of a Mountain (can't remember it's name ) to see the sun rise) Put some daft questions in as well. 3) Badges. The possibilities are endless. In advance ask the congregation to bring their Special Badges to the Service and to be prepared to tell why it is special, or why they have kept it for many years. We had some really good ones. A medal from the first world war, a nurse’s belt buckle, a gold Blood Donor’s Badge, someone’s aunties Guide Badge from 1912, my Camp blanket. You then talk about the three parts of the badge (unique to Guides and Scouts) being the Promise and then the other bits, the flame of life and the arrow leading to the true way to God. Every section of the movement in every Creed has a Supreme Being at the centre of their Promise. It is the same God but in some religions is a different name It is a good opportunity to throw in that if you belong to a swimming club you go regularly to keep up the standard and to get better at swimming. Likewise, Dancing, or Judo or football/hockey/netball. Ask what clubs they belong to? You need to keep going to learn more, to meet people who are also interested in getting better, and who will encourage you to get better at it. Why then do people say they are Christians and yet hardly ever go to Church?????? This sadly applies to many Adult Leaders. They make a Promise to "Love their God" but only think about it once a year on Thinking Day. A very good book is available through Guide publications called "To Do MY Best". This has loads of short verses, prayers, prose etc.

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