Scouting at St. Paul's

 Boy Scout Troop 910

The appeal of Scouting is timeless.  Boys are still drawn to outdoor adventures just as they were 90 years ago when Scouting was founded.  Today Scouting is strong at St. Paul's.  We have an active Boy Scout Troop (ages 11-18).  Troop 910 has more than 60 boys who meet every Monday night in the Youth Room from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. and we generally go camping each month and to Boy Scout camp in the summer.

Call Stuart Thomas to find out how to get your son involved.  Our biggest challenge, however, is not interest by our young people; it is adults willing to serve as leaders and taking an active role in this ministry.  The Boy Scouts of America now has many men and women adult leaders and we need you!

 Cub Scout Pack 910

Members of Cub Scout Pack 910 of St. Paul's Episcopal Church present the flag from the original Pack 10 chartered in 1936 to Ken Badgett of the Old Hickory Council Historical Association/Raven Knob Museum. Joining the members of Den 7 Dragon Patrol are Marvin Ferrell, a member of the original Pack 10 (far left) and Dave Rosario, cubmaster of Pack 910 (far right). The presentation was part of Pack 910's recent Blue & Gold banquet where members of Den 7 participated in a Crossover ceremony to Boy Scouts. Pack 910 is the oldest Cub Scout pack in Winston-Salem.

St. Paul’s reactivated Cub Scout Pack 910 in 2001 with 35 scouts. The group has grown to 60 active scouts. The national Cub Scouting program was formed as a part of Boy Scouts of America in 1930 and seeks to develop and foster caring, nurturing relationships between boys ages 7-11 and their parents, adult leaders, and friends. Cub Scouting at St. Paul’s has nine purposes:

• To positively influence character development and encourage spiritual growth
• To help boys develop habits and attitudes of good citizenship
• To encourage good sportsmanship and pride in growing strong in mind and body
• To improve understanding within the family
• To strengthen boys’ ability to get along with other boys and to respect other people
• To foster a sense of personal achievement by helping boys de-velop new interests and skills
• To show how to be helpful and to do one’s best
• To provide fun and exciting new things to do
• To prepare boys to become Boy Scouts

With St. Paul’s as our sponsoring "Chartered Organization," Cub Pack 910 now has more than 20 volunteer adult leaders from inside and out-side the Parish. We are also blessed with "Den Chiefs," or Boy Scouts from the Parish who volunteer their time to assist the young cub scouts. Our "Pack" has 6 "dens" (grouped by school grade). A majority of the scouts are from St. Paul’s families, but many are not affiliated with the church. Thus, Pack 910 provides both outreach and membership opportunities for the Parish.

The dens meet twice monthly, usually from 4-5 p.m. on Sunday afternoons. During this time, they work to learn the principles of scouting, to explore and learn about the world around them, to learn the value of service to others, and to earn badges and other achievements and recognition. Once each month, the various dens also gather in a large "Pack Meeting" led by the cubmaster, where special programs are offered. Our scouts have experienced, many for the first time, nature walks in the local community and camping outings at Camp Raven Knob, the campground near Mt. Airy that scouts from our Old Hickory Council regularly attend. Our boys have experienced ice skating, snow skiing, and bicycle and fire safety courses. Many boys have attended summer day camp and enjoyed new adventures (and gave their parents a break!) during summer vacation. Pack 910’s boys have built and raced wooden Pinewood Derby cars.

Pack 910’s participation in the national scouting Popcorn Sale fundraiser was critical to the success of our program. Unlike other youth fundraisers, this sale showed the boys that they were direct recipients of their sales efforts, and they were encouraged to knock on doors themselves, which helped these boys with manners, public speaking, and self-confidence.

At Pack 910’s annual Christmas Party, the boys do not exchange gifts with one another but continue a tradition of collecting new unwrapped toys for families in need. The boys toured the Toy Shop’s operations and learned a great deal about the true spirit of Christmas.