Prior Highest Awards Join Gold Award Family

Girl Scouts who earned their First Class, Curved Bar, Golden Eaglet, or Golden Eagle of Merit, are a part of the Gold Award Girl Scout family. To make it official, we’re debuting a digital credential for you to display on LinkedIn (and other digital platforms) to show that you earned the highest award in Girl Scouting. Now you can display your award with pride and show the world—and potential employers—that you can triumph over any challenge that comes your way! Fill out the form below to access your digital badge, and if you are a recipient of one of the prior awards, you can get your Gold Award pin, too!

Official Gold Award Status

WHEREAS, since 1916, Girl Scouts have accepted the challenge of earning the Movement’s highest award, thereby demonstrating a commitment to bettering themselves, their communities, and the world; and

WHEREAS, this highest award has had different names over the years, including the Golden Eaglet (1916–39), the Curved Bar (1940–63), First Class (1938–40, 1963–80), and, since 1980, the Girl Scout Gold Award; and

WHEREAS, those who have earned it have shown the same outstanding leadership skills, determination, and resilience that have made Girl Scouts’ highest award a unique rite of passage for young women across the Movement;

NOW THEREFORE, I, Sylvia Acevedo, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of the USA, do hereby proclaim that all who have earned the highest award in Girl Scouts can on this day, January 15, 2019, and henceforth be recognized as Gold Award Girl Scouts, united by their similarities and their ideals, with all rights and privileges therein.

Request your Gold Award Pin and Digital Credential: https://www.girlscouts.org/proclamation

GIRL SCOUT SUNDAY

This Sunday is Girl Scout Sunday, which is observed during Girl Scout Week, an event recognizing the founding of the Girl Scouts on March 12, 1912. We would like to honor and thank the Girl Scouts in our area for their courage, confidence, and character in working to make the world a better place. Thank you to all the adult volunteers who give of their time and talents to support our local Girl Scout troops.

GIRL SCOUT UNIFORMS AND AWARDS

As you meet our Girl Scouts on Sunday, please take a moment to look at their uniforms. Each girl’s vest tells the story of her Girl Scout adventure. The number of stars on her right shoulder show how many years she has been a Girl Scout. Some of our older girls in tan vests have a lot of stars!

The badges and awards a Girl Scout has earned go on the front of her vest, and fun patches from events she has attended go on the back. If you see a badge or patch you think is interesting, please ask the girl about it. Girl Scouts love to tell people about the things they have done and what they have learned.

If a Girl Scout has a Bronze, Silver, or Gold pin on her left shoulder, that means she has earned one, or more, of the three “Highest Awards” in Girl Scouting. Girls who earn any of these three awards have displayed impressive leadership skills by taking on projects that benefit their community. Be sure to ask these Girl Scouts how they earned these this special recognition.

GIRL SCOUT GOLD AWARD

The highest award a Girl Scout can earn is the Girl Scout Gold Award. The Gold Award is earned by fewer than 6% of eligible Girl Scouts annually. The Gold Award was first introduced in 1916 when it was known as the Golden Eaglet. A young woman who has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award has worked hard for this recognition. Her accomplishments reflect outstanding leadership and citizenship skills. She can apply for special scholarships and can enter the U.S. Armed Forces one rank higher than her peers.

The season of Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and self-examination in preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord at Easter. It is a period of 40 days — like the flood of Genesis, Moses’ sojourn at Mount Sinai, Elijah’s journey to Mount Horeb, Jonah’s call to Ninevah to repent and Jesus’ time of testing in the wilderness. (The Sundays in Lent are not counted in this reckoning of the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter, as every Lord’s Day is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.)

In the early church, Lent was a time of preparation for the celebration of baptism at the Easter Vigil. In many communities of faith it remains a time to equip and nurture candidates for baptism and confirmation and to reflect deeply on the theme of baptismal discipleship.

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent with a public act of confession and contrition. Acknowledging that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, we stand in solidarity as fellow creatures before our Creator, acutely aware of our mortality. In the face of our transience, we pledge ourselves anew to live unto God’s Word in Jesus Christ, the eternal Word that remains forever.

Historically, Ash Wednesday was a time when penitents were presented for church discipline during Lent, culminating in reconciliation on Maundy Thursday. Ash Wednesday is also the occasion when would-be disciples of Christ known as catechumens were enrolled in the catechumenate, a special time of learning the basics of the faith in preparation for baptism on Easter Sunday or during the Easter Vigil. In some traditions, Ash Wednesday is a fast day, beginning the Lenten time of fasting and preparation for the Great Three Days that culminate in Easter.

Rev. David Jamison

Meditation: The Cross of Ashes

Service begins at 6:15pm * All are Welcome!

Hebrew Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-12

Epistle Lesson:  2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Transfiguration Sunday celebrates the glorious revelation of God in Jesus Christ and Christ’s manifestation as the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Jesus’ radiant appearance on the mountaintop evokes the devouring fire of the glory of the LORD at Mount Sinai (Exodus 24.17). Here, as at Jesus’ baptism, God claims him as a beloved child, in whom God is well pleased.

In their account of this event, the synoptic gospels offer an enlightening tableau vivant, with Christ flanked by Moses, representing the law, and Elijah, representing the prophetic tradition. With this vivid image, the gospel writers demonstrate the relationship of the human Word of God to the tradition of Israel and set forth the hermeneutic by which they read the Hebrew Scriptures.

Rev. David Jamison

Sermon Title: Dis-Oriented Vision!

Service begins at 11:00am * All are Welcome!

Hebrew Scripture: Exodus 34:29-35

Epistle Lesson: 2 Corinthians 3:12-42

Gospel Lesson: Luke 9:28-36