Scout Shabbat

Scout Shabbat begins February 4th, 2022 to coincide with the founding date of the Boy Scouts of America on February 8, 1910.

The National Jewish Committee on Scouting (NJCOS) urges all Jewish Scouting youth to show pride in their faith by holding a Scout Shabbat service for their unit, district or council. If a local Jewish Committee on Scouting (JCOS) exists, please coordinate activities with the official Scout Shabbat event for your council. In the event a JCOS does not exist, it is permissible to hold a Scout Shabbat on any convenient date.

Tips for celebrating Scout Shabbat during the pandemic

In-person services:
There are many ways you can help with in-person religious services, assuming local health guidelines permit them in your area. Be sure to check local and state health regulations, and review the BSA’s COVID-19 FAQs for even more helpful guidance. If you’re good to go, here are a few ways to help:

• Lead a portion of the service. This might include a recap of the unit’s service to its chartered organization, a sermon or the reading of a religious text. Use youth whenever possible.
• Serve as greeters, welcoming guests (from a safe distance) while wearing uniforms.
• Present religious emblems to youth and adults who have earned them in the past year.
• Publicly commit to some act of service to the congregation and announce the plan to everyone.

Online services:
Even as online worship services become our temporary reality in many places, there’s still plenty that Cub Scouts, Scouts, Sea Scouts and Venturers can do to support their congregation. For example:

• Prepare a prerecorded message from the Scouts to the congregation. This could be anything from a fun, short video to a more extensive “report to the chartered organization,” modeled after the BSA’s own Report to the Nation, that serves as a recap of all that was accomplished in the past year.
• Sing in a virtual choir.
• Use a videoconferencing platform (like Skype or Zoom) to present religious emblems live — or share a prerecorded presentation.
• Create a brief, photo-heavy PowerPoint of Scouts in action over the past year to present to the congregation during worship.
• Incorporate a message into the virtual bulletin or digital program for that day’s services.
• Extend an invitation to the congregation to join your unit.
• Find a way for everyone to individually participate in some kind of Scout Sunday, Scout Sabbath or Scout Jumuah service project.

Find more details here.