Religious Emblem ceremony recognizes Scouts

Intermountain Catholic

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The Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, presents awards to Scouts during the 2012 Scout Religious Emblem ceremony. IC photo/Marie Mischel

SALT LAKE CITY — More than 60 Boy and Girl Scouts from throughout the Diocese of Salt Lake City gathered with their parents and leaders in the Cathedral of the Madeleine for the annual Scout Religious Emblem ceremony March 17.

"This is a very important celebration, and we’ve all come out to honor you today as a sign of our gratitude for all that you have done," said the Most Rev. John. C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City.

Referring to the Gospel reading from Saint Paul, Bishop Wester said, "The one point to take home from all of this is that God loves you, and these honors are a symbol or a sign of God’s love for you.

"The way we express our gratitude is by using the gifts God gives us as completely as we can, and that’s what you’ve done," the bishop said. "You’ve taken the gifts that God has given you – your talents, your abilities, your discipline, your compassion, your charity, your desire to obey the law, your desire to help others, your desire to learn about the environment, to learn about your church, to learn about your government and your country, to learn about other peoples and other cultures – all of this is your way of saying ‘Thank you’ to God."

Two adults who have used their gifts for many years also were honored for their outstanding contribution to the spiritual development of Catholic youth through scouting in the Catholic Church. Acting through the Diocese of Salt Lake City, the National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS) awarded Deacon Herschel G. Hester, III and Nancy Reading with the Saint George emblem.

Reading is the chairperson for Catholic Scouting to the Great Salt Lake Council and is a member of Saint John the Baptist Parish in Draper.

She began scouting a decade ago with her two sons. "Scouting has been my mission for the past 10 years," she said. "I stay in the ministry in Utah to bring Catholic scouting into the mainstream so that Catholic scouts have the same scouting experience as any others in the country. Scouting is a faith-based organization and it allows children of like-faiths to come together; however, the most important thing I have to keep in mind is scouting is for everyone and is non-denominational."

For Reading, scouting has been an adventure. "There is nothing like watching the boys grow into amazing young men," she said. "I watch them experience new things in scouting like tying knots or going to the Scout-O-Rama, where they teach a severely handicapped child to push a button to make a water rocket go off, and then tell me that was the most amazing moment in their life. To be there for these kids is important to me."

Deacon Hester views scouting as youth ministry. "Scouting is an opportunity to help boys grow in a way in which they learn to develop and make good, right and moral decisions," he said. "Scouting introduces boys to a wide range of people from every circumstance and from every place so they become broader and more integrated people."

In 2004, Deacon Hester was ordained in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. For nine years he has been the RCIA director at St. James the Just Parish, where he is a parishioner.

Deacon Hester became a Cub Scout when he was 6 years old and remained active until he was 18.

As an adult, Deacon Hester served as a troop leader from 1965 to 1980. He was elected chairman of the Trapper Trails Scouting Council Executive Board in 2003 and remains a sitting member. Also in 2003, he received the Silver Beaver award.

In 2007, he became the charter organization representative for St. James Parish. He has attended and taught the Woodbadge Camp and Rosary Patch workshops at scouting camps.

In 2012 he received the Bronze Pelican Scouting award. He also received the NCCS Whitney M. Young, Jr. award, a service award for developing scout troops in urban areas.