tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653992368546779574.post5352070302448015754..comments2024-01-30T02:37:28.387-06:00Comments on Notes from a Jewish Thoreau: A "Seven Levels of Life" universal Arrow of Light CeremonyYonassan Gershomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918610823274529036noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653992368546779574.post-69177200889098574842015-03-19T09:47:31.642-05:002015-03-19T09:47:31.642-05:00Glad you liked it, Jane. It was well-received by ...Glad you liked it, Jane. It was well-received by the boys and their families at our ceremony. One boy's godmother came up afterward and told me how much she appreciated that I had written something with spiritual content. She was not familiar with Scouting traditions, so she googled "Arrow of Light" and found some pretty silly things, so did not know what to expect. I know what she meant. In my own research I found some pretty weird versions, including one based on seven types of candy bars (!) and another where everyone dresses as pirates. There is a time and place for "fun" things, but I believe a ceremony for a life stage transition should have some meaning to it. In a sense, this is a "coming of age" ceremony, going from being a child toward becoming a man. (It is, in fact, held at around the same age as a bar mitzvah, which is at age 13.) A Scout is reverent, and this is one place where I think reverence is appropriate.Yonassan Gershomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07918610823274529036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653992368546779574.post-9729172754345971972015-03-11T13:58:56.145-05:002015-03-11T13:58:56.145-05:00Excellent alternative to some of the others out th...Excellent alternative to some of the others out there. I have posted a link on the Autism and Scouting FB page, as another example of diversity in Scouting.Jane Strausshttp://a-part-or-apart.comnoreply@blogger.com