100 Days of Scouting: Day 88, OA Ordeal weekend

Day 88, Friday, May 6th.

Tonight was the start of a very long weekend. It's the start of the Order of the Arrow Ordeal weekend.

For those of you that might not know what Ordeal is, it's the name of the ceremony that all new members that have been elected into the Order of the Arrow must undergo to become full members in the Order of the Arrow.

The weekend starts out with a ceremony on Friday night called the Pre-Ordeal Ceremony. The candidates are then taken to a campsite where they will spend the night under the stars. Saturday will then be a day of service that is given to the campground, where the candidates will help with several different projects to help with the upkeep and maintenance of the camp. The day of service is then followed by a special ceremony called the Ordeal ceremony, and then a huge banquet. On Sunday morning after breakfast there is a Scout's Own service where the Scouts can worship in a non-denominational service. The service is then followed by a brief presentation of how the Order of the Arrow was started. After the presentation is over, the new members are then told all about the makeup of their local lodge and chapter. After that, everyone is dismissed to return home.

My role this weekend was to cook for all the staff and candidates, and to guide the ceremony team in preparation and execution of all of the ceremonies that were held during the weekend. Since there were over 100 candidates we had to hold 3 separate Ordeal ceremonies, along with another ceremony for the members that had been in OA for the last year. They can then seek the next level in the Order called Brotherhood membership. This involves a ceremony called the Brotherhood ceremony. It is usually done after the Ordeal ceremony, and before the large banquet.

Because of severe weather and really bad rain we had to hold the ceremonies inside the dining hall. Therefore, the Brotherhood ceremony was not able to happen until after the banquet was over. There are no secrets in the Order of the Arrow, but there is a certain level of mystery involved. Therefore, the Ordeal members are really not allowed to see the Brotherhood ceremony. With the rain it was a little difficult to pull it all off.

For my 100 Days of Scouting today:

1 made preparations to serve around 150 people their meals on Saturday.

I put out a cracker barrel for all staff members tonight.

Have a great day today, and remember to keep your Scouting fun!