Almighty God, you have created each of us with a longing for you—a desire to reconnect with the nature in which you created us, a need for friends and mentors who will challenge and support us, and feelings of joy when we glimpse all that is wonderful about this world. We give thanks for Cub Scouting at St Paul’s, which has given us a way to find each of these things.
We pray for our Scouts. You see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: show them that your ways give more life than the things around us that at first seem exciting and helpful, and that following you and serving one another are better than chasing after selfish goals.
Use this meal and our gathering to inspire us:
- Inspire pride in the things we have achieved and which we celebrate;
- Inspire creativity and courage to set and achieve even greater goals in the year to come, and
- Inspire thankfulness for the leaders who have made this program possible—especially our cubmaster, Mr. Danhauer, and our den leaders—and for the wonderful people who have planned, prepared, cooked, and served this meal, not to mention all those of us who will eagerly help to clean up when the night is over.
And, for all of us, regardless of age, inspire a sense of wonder: make us all a little bit more like a Pack of scouts gathered around a campfire: intrigued by nature, curious about your world, and delighted with simple but deep pleasures.
Give us grateful hearts, our Father, for all your mercies, and make us mindful of the needs of others; remembering Jesus Christ—who went to nature to know you better and who was himself Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent—we pray. Amen.
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