Boy Scouts faring well a year after easing ban on gay adults

From The Denver Post (AP)-

There were dire warnings for the Boy Scouts of America a year ago when the group’s leaders, under intense pressure, voted to end a long-standing blanket ban on participation by openly gay adults. Several of the biggest sponsors of Scout units, including the Roman Catholic, Mormon and Southern Baptist churches, were openly dismayed, raising the prospect of mass defections.

Remarkably, nearly 12 months after the BSA National Executive Board’s decision, the Boy Scouts seem more robust than they have in many years. Youth membership is on the verge of stabilizing after a prolonged decline, corporations which halted donations because of the ban have resumed their support, and the vast majority of units affiliated with conservative religious denominations have remained in the fold — still free to exclude gay adults if that’s in accordance with their religious doctrine.
More here-

http://www.denverpost.com/2016/07/23/boy-scouts-gay-ban-year-later/

Sheffield church opens arms to Boy Scouts

From Alabama-

The pastor at Grace Episcopal Church in Sheffield extended his welcome in a letter inviting the scouts to use their facilities.

The Boy Scouts of America have been under fire since they voted to allow openly gay scouts, a decision that has some churches in Alabama denying them the use of their facilities.

Pastor Rick Oberheide states in his letter his beliefs as to why everyone should be welcome in the church. He feels young scouts should not have to suffer for decisions that are made beyond their control.

Pastor Oberheide also said that his decision to write the letter is not to criticize the beliefs of others, but a statement of disagreement with any decision that makes a group or individual feel unwelcome in the church. He said he'd like to see more people become more open and welcoming to others, especially those who are different.

"I think there's too many people walking around with rocks in their hands," said Oberheide. "We all need to drop them and admit we're all flawed in our own way and part of that is we need to listen to one another and respect other points of view."

More here-

http://www.waff.com/story/22763342/sheffield-church-opens-arms-to-boy-scouts

Episcopal churches welcoming displaced Boy Scout troops

From Alabama-

Several local scout troops and packs have been impacted by   the controversial rule change that allows openly gay scouts.
Many churches decided to cut ties with the organization. Others are now offering to take their place.

The controversy left Cub Scout Pack 404 looking for a place to land.

St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Pelham wants to be that place.

“We don’t want to come across as there’s a sense of any kind of criticism or judgement  against different organizations who are wrestling with certain issues.  We have all our own issues we wrestle with so apart from all of that. We want to step apart from the controversy and really extend a hand of friendship and welcome,” said Rev. Neil M. Kaminski,  St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church.

Several people have reached out to sponsor the scouts -and offer them a place to meet according to Jeff Calvert, Cubmaster of Pack 404-  he says they had been meeting at Pelham First Baptist Church, but now must part ways.  he says there are no hard feelings towards the church and he respects their decision.

They just want to move forward and limit the impact on the scouts as much as possible- particularly the younger ones-

More here-

http://www.cbs42.com/2013/06/27/episcopal-churches-welcoming-displaced-boy-scout-troops/

Alabama Episcopal Bishop Kee Sloan asks churches to sponsor Boy Scouts

From Alabama-

Bishop Kee Sloan, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, has posted a letter asking churches to sponsor Boy Scout troops.

In apparent response to the Southern Baptist Convention's resolution opposing the Boy Scouts' decision to accept openly gay scouts, Sloan wants Episcopal churches to step forward to host troops that may need a meeting place.

Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter said while in Birmingham last weekend that his church, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, plans to stop hosting its Boy Scout troop.

First Baptist Church of Pelham and First Baptist Church of Helena have also announced plans to stop hosting Boy Scout troops.

More here-

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2013/06/alabama_episcopal_bishop_kee_s.html

Baptists plan exodus from Boy Scouts

From CNN-

For Southern Baptist pastor Tim Reed, it was Scripture versus the Scouts.

“God’s word explicitly says homosexuality is a choice, a sin,” said Reed, pastor of First Baptist Church of Gravel Ridge in Jacksonville, Arkansas.

So when the Boy Scouts of America voted to lift its ban on openly gay youths on May 24, Reed said the church had no choice but to cut its charter with Troop 542.

“It’s not a hate thing here,” Reed told CNN affiliate Fox 16. “It’s a moral stance we must take as a Southern Baptist church.”

Southern Baptist leaders say Reed is not alone.

Baptist churches sponsor nearly 4,000 Scout units representing more than 100,000 youths, according to the Boy Scouts of America.

That number could drop precipitously.

The Southern Baptist Convention, the country’s largest Protestant denomination, will soon urge its 45,000 congregations and 16 million members to cut ties with the Scouts, according to church leaders.

More here-

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/31/southern-baptists-to-urge-churches-and-members-to-cut-boy-scout-ties/

Bishop responds to Boy Scouts’ decision on admission of homosexual members

From Catholic Culture-

Bishop Robert Guglielmone of Charleston, the episcopal liaison of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, has responded to the Boy Scouts of America’s approval of a resolution stating that “No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.”

The Boy Scouts of America’s approved resolution also stated that “while the BSA does not proactively inquire about sexual orientation of employees, volunteers or members, we do not grant membership to individuals who are open or avowed homosexuals or who engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the BSA.” “I kind of expected that this is the way the vote would go,” said Bishop Guglielmone. “I’m not particularly encouraged by it, but I knew it would happen eventually. As the policy change is right now promoted, we can live with it. Unfortunately, there are many people who are interpreting this policy to go much further than it actually does, particularly in the secular press.”

More here-

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=17978

Deferred Boy Scout decision forces churches to make choice of their own

From Houston-

Today, the Boy Scouts of America were set to make a decision in Irving, TX, the organization’s headquarters, regarding their controversial membership policy that bans gays and lesbians from Scouting and leadership. They deferred that decision until their annual meeting in May, no doubt in response to the raging controversy surrounding the issue.

Activists on both sides have been outspoken about the contentious decision, with religious organizations being at the center of the dispute.

The Boy Scouts of America has 2.7 million members nationwide. More than 70% of troops are affiliated with church or religious groups.

Ross Murray, Director of Religion, Faith and Values at GLAAD said that churches and the general public must, no matter their religious or political stance on this matter, remember that, “troops are often partnered with congregations, but are not a direct ministry of that congregation; it is just an affiliation.”

Murray clarified that the resolution that the Boy Scouts of America were considering is akin to others passed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which removed an over-arching ban or barrier, but, as Murray said, “leaves the decision up to the local entity, troop and congregation – what is going to be best for their particular context.”

More here-

http://blog.chron.com/sacredduty/2013/02/deferred-boy-scout-ban-decision-still-forces-churches-to-make-one-of-their-own/

Gay issue leads Scouts to find new Keene home

From New Hampshire-

Boy Scout Troop 18 had made its home at St. James Episcopal Church since 1949.

No longer.

The troop and the church recently parted ways over a national Boy Scouts of America membership policy that bans gays from Scouting.

Now BSA's national executive board is discussing removing that policy and leaving it up to the churches and other "chartered organizations" that host scout troops across the nation to set their own membership policies.

But it appears too late to fix the split that policy caused here.

Troop 18 has found a new home at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, just down the street from the Episcopal church.

"We found a very welcoming place, and I'm very happy for the troop," Scoutmaster Mark Hill said Friday evening.

The trouble began last fall when a parishioner at St. James raised concerns about hosting a Boy Scout troop, given the BSA policy that bans gay scouts, according to the Rev. Mark Jenkins, the rector.

More here-

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130203/NEWS06/130209786