Troop 90 News

Blessed Sacrament's BSA Troop 90 Stays Active, Despite today's new Challenges!

 

You might be surprised to find that our own Blessed Sacrament Boy Scout Troop 90 has been able to maintain an active schedule -- despite the unexpected disruptions to our normal routine during the pandemic.  By using technology in creative ways to continue their Scout activities, the troop has been able to accomplish amazing things.  While the year started with our typical schedule of weekly Wednesday evening meetings at the Parish Center, in addition to the annual Ski Trip, monthly weekend camping excursions and several community service events, our Scout-led Troop really rose to the occasion when the pandemic burst upon us.

 

Our Scouts, along with the support of the active parents auxiliary, quickly determined that they could continue the Troop's Wednesday meetings by moving to a Zoom format.  We are proud to report that the boys have proven that they can have a fun and productive gathering via this remote technology platform.  In fact, the meetings have become one of the highlights of each Scouts' week.  The scouts are continuing to work on various Merit Badges, including: Citizenship in the Community, Genealogy, Communications, Law, Family Life, and Entrepreneurship, as well as preparing to work next year on Ad Altare Dei and Pope Pius XII.  These badges, chosen by each Scout, are part of their personal journey through the ranks.  They build on other valuable lessons to develop leadership and life skills, to help make Troop 90 Scouts better members of our Blessed Sacrament community.

 

For service during the pandemic, Troop 90 Scouts also took the time to craft individual letters to residents of a nearby military retirement home during this time of isolation from family members who can not visit them as normal, proving that these veterans and other residents are not forgotten.  This idea shows that ingenuity can lead to uninterrupted caring, since the Scouts can not do other normal community support activities, like their prior assistance to the Greg Gannon Food Drive and volunteering at homeless shelters.  The Troop has also initiated plans for "backyard" and "online" camping if needed to supplant their typical camping trips.  Also, although our planned High Adventure Trip this summer has been cancelled by the staff at Philmont (due to New Mexico Covid-19 restrictions) and the annual camping week at Goshen is also not going to occur, because of the camp's closure for this summer, the Troop is already booked for the Northern Tier canoeing High Adventure during summer of 2021 and plans to reschedule Philmont for 2022!

 

If anyone is interested in more information about Boy Scout Troop 90 and/or wants to join in our adventures, please contact Scoutmaster Keith Morrison at (202) 236-1624  [email protected] or Assistant Scoutmaster Dave Missar at (202) 368-9550 [email protected]

June 4, 2019

Our Boy Scout Troop 90 has some exciting news.  Two of our Scouts successfully completed the requirements for the highest level programs in Catholic Scouting:  Peter Silvia earned the Pope Pius XII Award and Justin Missar earned the Ad Altare Dei Award.  These programs represent six months of intensive study and practical application of our faith.

 

John Higgins, was selected by the Archdiocese for the Bronze Pelican Award for his untiring support of Catholic Scouting.  He has been the Chairman of the Parish Scout Committee for 27 years and before that, Scout Master and Cub Scout Master.

 

The awards were presented at a recent Mass officiated by the most Reverend Michael Fisher, Auxiliary Bishop of Washington. The annual Mass recognizes members of the Girl Scouts, American Heritage Girls, and Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, in accomplishing rigorous programs that help them live a more mature understanding of their faith and service to the Church.  These programs complement the Catholic Youth Ministry Program of the Archdiocese of Washington.