Scouting Snapshots

The anniversary was celebrated by the 23rd Blackpool Scout Group, based in the Parish Hall, of St Mary’s Church, Mayfield Avenue, Blackpool.

The evening was a combination of business and pleasure, with the group holding its yearly annual general meeting.

Opened by leader Karen Ticehurst, the meeting continued with the Rev Peter Ennion leading the opening prayers and giving a brief history of the group.

The celebration included the cutting of a birthday cake, goodie bags given out, a raffle, and refreshments.

District Commissioner Victoria Da Silva said: “What a wonderful night of celebration, achievement and fun.

“Congratulations to 23rd Group who have given so many opportunities over the years to enhance the young people’s lives, and it was brilliant to see so many parents supporting the group and such happy 
faces on the youngsters receiving badges and awards.

“Thank you to the church for their support, and to Viv Hough for her leadership, and to all the leaders in the group both past and present.”

Learning about our world

One hundred Cub Scouts descended on the facilities of St John’s Primary School in Blackpool to take part in the ‘Our World Challenge Badge’.

The youngsters moved around the school to eight different bases which put their skills to the test.

Among the activities were learning about a different faith and culture, creating a community map, and taking part in an act of worship, celebration, or remembrance.

The Cubs were also asked to talk about a time when they kept their Cub Scout law and promise,

Well done to all those who took part and achieved their badges, which will be presented at their local group level in the next few weeks.

Faith, traditions and symbols

Blackpool District is always invited by the Blackpool 
Reform Jewish Congregation to visit their place of worship, so the 1st Bispham Beavers and Leaders took up that 
invitation to listen and take part in the different symbolic parts of the service.

The group had the opportunity to hear from Sara Tax, a member of the congregation, about many of their festivals, and the use of the skull cap, the horn (known as the Shofar), along with the shawl (which is known as a pallet), and what the members of the Jewish faith believe in compared to other faiths.

The visit goes towards the Beavers’ Faith Badge.

Emma Hornby, Beaver Scout Leader, said: “We visited the Synagogue as part our work towards our Faith Badge.

“We learnt all about the Jewish traditions from Sara and Gabrielle who are 
members of the Jewish 
Congregation.

“We particularly liked looking at the Torah and using the special pointer to help read the Hebrew writing, which we tried our best to read but definitely couldn’t!”

A very interesting evening took place, where the Beavers and their leaders learnt many new things about the Jewish faith in our community.