Remembrance - A Leader We Lost
| Category: | Remembrance |
|---|---|
| Notes: | For a troop or pack meeting, campfire, or memorial gathering after the death of an adult leader, a long-time volunteer, or a former Scoutmaster. Check with the family first about what to share. Swap in names and a real memory where marked. Works with the troop standing or seated in a circle. Part of a series - see also remembrance-one-of-our-own and remembrance-the-empty-spot. |
This week we lost (leader's name).
Some of you knew them for a few months. Some of you knew them for years. A few of the adults in this room were Scouts when (leader's name) was already a leader here. Whatever time you had with them, you're part of what they left behind.
Leaders like (leader's name) don't get paid. Nobody makes them come. They show up on cold Friday nights to drive to campouts. They teach the same knot to the fiftieth Scout as patiently as they taught it to the first. They do it because they believe in you, and in what Scouting can help you become.
(Share one true, simple memory: the thing they always said, the skill they loved to teach, the way they made a new Scout feel welcome.)
Here's what I believe. The people who teach us don't completely leave. Every time one of you ties the knot they showed you, or welcomes a new Scout the way they welcomed you, or keeps going on a hard trail because they told you that you could, a little bit of them is still here.
The best way we can honor them is to keep doing what they taught us.
Let's stand (or sit quietly) for a moment of silence and remember (leader's name).
(Hold the silence for about a minute.)
Thank you, (leader's name). For all of it.
For leaders: Grief can bring a crisis with it, for Scouts and for adults. If anyone is struggling or talking about harming themselves, get help right away. In the US, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, free and available 24/7. Outside the US, Find A Helpline lists free, confidential helplines by country.