Chaplains meeting Scouts MSC

During the last month of March, it was held the Meeting of Chaplains and Faith Coordinators from Scouts MSC groups and associations. The meeting was held on the premises of the Salesian School in Guadalajara and involved 23 people, 15 of whom were priests, 8 laypeople and 3 women.

The objectives of the meeting were:

? To provide a forum for concerns and experiences exchange.

? To discover Scouting as a tool for evangelization.

? To discover the scout group as a good place where learning to be part of the Church.

? To discover the ‘support’ as a way to transmit the faith.

? To discover the elements of the Scout Method (Promise and Law, learning by doing, working in small groups, the symbolic framework, personal progression, Nature, the adult support).

? To know the new Youth Program of Scouts MSC.

These objectives were addressed in various activities. Each day began with a Mass, and after breakfast, there were conferences and seminars. The conferences, given by D.José Antonio Warletta, were: “Scout Group, a good place for evangelization” and “Faith and Scout Movement: the elements of the Scout Method and the Faith”. On the other hand, the seminars were led by D.Salvador Palomares and they were: “Create and consolidate a Scout group in parishes and religious schools” and “Scouts Groups of life within the parish and school.”

During the two nights, two prayer vigils framed in Faith education and Scouting were held: “Nothing is impossible for God” and “The Emmaus Road in Scouting.”

The afternoon of the second day participants were visited by the President of Scouts MSC, Jesús María, and the head of National Youth Policies of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, D. Raúl Tinajero, who expressed the importance of Scouting in youth pastoral and the feeling of Scouting community with the Catholic Church.

There were three days of living together in which participants shared experiences, knowledge, moments of prayer and especially the Faith. The meeting was a real experience that recalled the ancient Christian communities, so well described in the Epistles of St. Paul.The power of the Spirit was present, making possible the upsurge of diversity, the mutual enrichment and the regenerated commitment and enthusiasm to the mission in which all participants felt called at a time in their lives.