What You Can Do
Scouting For All's National Campaign
Religious Congregations & Organizations

Photo From: Scouting for All's Healing Ceremony, May 2000, San Francisco, California, Trinity Episcopal Church, for those who have been hurt by the Boy Scouts of America's policy of discrimination.

The Scouting for All team, which includes our board of directors, regional and assistant regional directors and consultants are available upon request to provide you consultation and support.
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A Call to All Religious Leaders

On June 28th, 2000, the Supreme Court of the United States made it official - the BSA was given legal sanction to discriminate against gay youth and adults as well as atheists. With the advent of this stunning decision, many Faith Communities have started to rethink their relationship with the BSA and to question whether chartering a troop or other scout unit fits in with their policies of inclusiveness. Fully 61.51% of units representing 55.03% of the youth in Scouting are chartered by religious organizations. There is a huge responsibility on the part of Faith Communities to "do the right thing," but just what that is, remains the big question.

For some it means recommending to their congregations that they completely disassociate from the BSA, while looking forward to the day when they can rejoin and know that all God's children will be welcome. For others the choice may be to stay and continue to work for change from within. But for all, it seems clear that to stay in and not advocate for change means colluding with the discrimination of the BSA -- something inclusive Faith Communities should not be prepared to do.

Scouting for All is advising all faith groups to adopt a policy of non-discrimination that extends to all troops using their facilities and any troops that they charter (sponsor.) Insist that any group or scout unit meeting in your building or being sponsored by your faith community, sign the statement and be willing to stand by it.

The heritage of strong faith and the belief that all human beings have inherent worth asks this of you: that you be lights of hope, beacons of courage and love, and defenders of the disenfranchised.

For information on chartering organizations that are Religious Denominations Who have Taken A Stand Against the BSA's policy of Discrimination, Please Go to Section I Chartered Organizations and also to the Links menu under the title Support from Religious Denominations.

• LDS, (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) Family Speaks Out Against the HOMOPHOBIA of the LDS Church: The Harm The Church has Caused Its Gay Youth
• Reform Jewish Leaders Recommend to End Their Ties With the Boy Scouts of America
• Unitarian Church in Portland, Maine Held a Public Forum: Homosexuality and the BSA
• "Travesty of Justice"
• Statement from More Light Presbyterians on the Boy Scouts of America
• A STATEMENT CONCERNING BOY SCOUT SUNDAY: A United Methodist Congregation
• The Boy Scouts of America Refused to Charter a Scout Pack with a United Methodist Congregation
• Boy Scout's of America's Policy of Discrimination Threatens Churches Ties
• The Virtual Memorial for Gay Mormon Suicides: The Mormon Church Needs to Look at the Harmful Message It is Giving Gay Youth. The Mormon Church Continues to Pressure the BSA in Maintaining its Policy of Discrimination Against Gay Youth and Adults.
• Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons - Sign the petition to end the discrimination against gays in the Mormon church.
• A Conflict of Religious Beliefs
• United Methodists Reject Scout Policy Review
• The head of the United Methodist Church in Northern Illinois, Bishop C. Joseph Sprague Speaks Out Against the BSA in Support of an Oak Park, IL Cub Scout Pack
• More Light Presbyterians Applauds the Decision of the General Assembly Council to Review Scouting Relationship
• Rev. Louis P. Sheldon Chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition Preaches Hatred Out of Ignorance. His Points Against the Gay Community are Based on Mistruths and Bigotry
• Jewish Center Cuts Its Ties to Boy Scouts
• Scout's Honor & Scouting for All: Thought you might be interested in what the bible-abusers are saying about you in the name of "christian love."
• Religious Society of Friends General Conference FGC Statement on the Boy Scout's of America
• Bearing Burdens: A sermon by The Rev. Mary Lynn Tobin Davis Community Church, Davis, California
• Ban is morally unforgivable, intellectually indefensible
• A Scouting for All Member Asks His Church To Take A Stand
• Gregory William McGonigle, Eagle Scout, Seminarian, Unitarian Universalist, Harvard Divinity School, Speaks Out Against The Bigotry Of The Boy Scouts of America
• Steven's Speech, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Marin "Leave No Child Behind"
• Mormon Family Values
• Scouting for All Calls on Religious Leaders to Take a Stand
• Metropolitan Community Church Announces Theological Breakthrough
• Dignity Action Alert on Antigay Rhetoric from Catholic Leaders
• Panelists say Scouts must include gays
• Boy Scouts of America Denies Unitarian Universalist Association Its Religious Merit Badge
• I am outraged at the ousting of Darrell Lambert from the Boy Scouts of America
• Sharing comments from Finnland and Norway, via the International Unitarian Universalist list:
• On scouting: I have had the pleasure of doing some research on scouting and religion, in my job at the Humanist association of Norway. Here are some of the results that might interest the list:
• Scouts should respect my freedom of religion
• GAY BASHING IN JESUS' NAME A HATEFUL TWIST
• UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST TO VOTE ON BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA'S POLICY EXCLUDING GAYS
  • Three Resolutions of The United Church of Christ Opposing the Boy Scout's of America's Policy of Discrimination Being Submitted 2003
  • United Church of Christ at Dartmouth Evicts Boy Scouts Because Of Policy On Homosexuals, Hanover, New Hampshire
  • United Church of Christ: LGBT Issues at General Synod 24
• Insider Correspondence From A National BSA Informant To Dave Rice
• Another Supporter of The Boy Scouts of America And Scouting for All's Response
• Words of Support From An Eagle Scout and Scouting for All Member
• Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ
• Brigham Young Offers Degree In Scouting
• An Open Letter to Political Columnist George F. Will of the Washington Post
• A Letter From A Representative of The National Council of Churches
• Scouting for All Northwestern Regional Director Corrects Bill O'Reilly of the O'Reilly Factor
• Acceptance of the GLBT Community Comes From Within Religious Communities
• Unitarians set to give 30 acres to YMCA camp Church differences with Boy Scouts prompt change
• Statement from the Unitarian Universalist Association
• The Boy Scouts' Mormon Masters
• Follow-up Statement From Scouting for All Regarding The Protest Of The Boy Scouts of America At Its National Conference,TX And Scouting for All's Response To Statements Made By BSA National, Irving Texas
• Scouts Don't Discriminate Bush Admin Lawyer Tells Court
• The Bible Tells You So Says A BSA Member of 35 Years and Christian: Homosexuals Are Immoral
• Scout's admission of being Wiccan leads to turmoil (Louisiana)
• Scout's admission of being Wiccan leads to turmoil

Links:

• www.Soulforce.org - Join our network of friends learning nonviolence from Gandhi and King, seeking justice for God's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender children.
• www.beliefnet.com - In case you're not familiar with Beliefnet, it's the largest religion and spirituality site on the web, reaching 5 million people each month. We cover religion in the news, politics, and culture, as well as general morality issues, charity, and family. Feel free to check out the site. Beliefnet is a Webby award-winning, National Magazine Award-nominated site, and we're the primary provider of religion and spirituality content to America Online and ABCNews.
• The National Conference for Community and Justice - The National Conference for Community and Justice, founded in
  1927 as The National Conference of Christians and Jews, is a human relations organization dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry and racism in America. NCCJ promotes understanding and respect among all races, religions and cultures through advocacy, conflict resolution and education. We support the efforts of Scouting for All to STOP discrimination within the Boy Scouts of America
• LGBT Bible Christians - Helping lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered Christians (and those
  who are away from Christ but wish to explore returning) to grow in faith, self-worth, and awareness of God's love and plan for their lives as LGBT people
• www.affirmation.org - Affirmation - Gay and Lesbain Mormons - A social, educational and advocacy group for the support of current and former GLBT Latter-day Saints, their families and friends.
• www.religiousinstitute.org - Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing
• www.aeu.org - American Ethical Union is a community of individuals dedicated to making our lives and our world more humane, more ethical...
• For The Bible Tells Me So - In the spring of 2003, executive producers Robin Voss and Keith Lewis attended a seminar entitled "Beyond the Bible and Homosexuality, A Journey into the Heart of God" at St. Mark, a progressive Presbyterian church in Orange County, California. The presenter was a straight minister named Steven Kindle, the Executive Director of the non-profit organization, Clergy United.

  During the presentation, Rev. Kindle provided a very different interpretation of the scriptural passages regarding homosexuality--passages that traditionally have been used by Judeo/Christian religious institutions to condemn homosexuality. Voss and Lewis were so moved by that initial seminar, that they agreed a film should be made addressing this issue.

• Unitarian Universalist Association
  
• Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement(United Kingdom)
  Richard Kirkek, Chief Executive
  Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London, E2 6HG, UK
  
  

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe." (Ephesians 1:17-19)