No local church drop outs over Boy Scouts allowing gay adult leaders

No local churches have dropped their affiliations with the Boy Scouts since the national organization’s recent decision to allow gay leaders to serve, according to the leadership support council for the Boy Scouts in York, Chester and Lancaster counties.

The Palmetto Council, chartered by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, says churches and other sponsoring groups still have the choice of whether to allow gay adults to volunteer as leaders with Cub or Boy Scouts. The policy change finalized last week lifts a longstanding ban against gay adults becoming Scout leaders.

Palmetto Council Scout Executive Greg Leitch said last week he’s heard mostly positive responses from parents about the policy change.

Families, he said, tend to choose Scouting programs that are chartered by organizations that share their beliefs or hold similar values. Nationally, more than 70 percent of Scouting programs are chartered and operated by religious organizations. Those groups won’t be forced to accept gay or lesbian volunteers.

The Rev. Douglass Key of Clover Presbyterian Church says the Scouts have historically had close ties to the church and he doesn’t see that changing much even in light of the recent equality decision. The goals of Cub and Boy Scouts, he said, “are roughly consistent with the ethos of church ministry.”

Clover Presbyterian is the charter sponsor for one of South Carolina’s oldest Boy Scout programs: Troop 37. The troop has one of the highest numbers of Scouts who have attained the Eagle rank.

Key comes from a Scouting family – he and his father are Eagle Scouts and his 16-year-old son is close to achieving that milestone.

Some religious leaders, including those with the Mormon Church, have hinted they may end their association with the Boy Scouts over the decision to allow gay adults to lead. Despite some of the criticisms, Key said, the change won’t be the Scouting program’s “undoing.”

The Boy Scouts, he said, will continue to do great things for young men and boys involved in the organization.

Scouting, he said, has nothing to do with a person’s sexual identity, which shouldn’t disqualify a person of good moral character from participating. Key denounced the rhetoric some critics are using to portray gay adult volunteers as “predators.”

A fellow York County pastor, the Rev. Dr. Kim Strong, feels similarly.

Strong is pastor at Mt. Holly United Methodist Church in Rock Hill. The church is a charter sponsor for Cub and Boy Scout groups, serving about 40 children.

Mt. Holly United Methodist, Strong said, has no plans to discriminate against gay adult leaders who are otherwise eligible to volunteer with the Scouts.

Both Strong and Key said their churches thoroughly screen all youth program volunteers and perform background checks on adults who serve.

Some critics of the Boy Scouts’ decision have raised concerns that it is unsafe for children to have gay men as adult chaperones or leaders with the organization. Strong said that view of gay or lesbian people as “predators” is wrong and unfair.

So far, neither Mt. Holly United Methodist or Clover Presbyterian have had any gay or lesbian adults ask to volunteer with youth groups.

The recent Boy Scout policy change, Strong said, reflects how society has progressed. He said people of good moral character should be allowed to serve, regardless of sexual orientation.

At Mt. Holly, most of the children involved in Scouting aren’t church members so Strong said the program is especially important for Christian outreach to local youth. The United Methodist Church’s motto is “Open hearts, open minds, open doors,” Strong said, and he believes God’s “grace is good for everybody.”

Several other churches in York County with Scouting programs did not return phone calls from The Herald last week asking about the Boy Scouts of America’s decision. Westminster Presbyterian Church in Rock Hill said leaders had not fully discussed the lifting of the ban and no decisions have been made about the church’s sponsorship of its Scouting programs.

Both Key and Strong said many people have anticipated that the Boy Scouts would lift the ban on gay adults serving since the national organization decided two years ago to permit gay youth to join the groups. Then, Key said, his church had informal discussions about the change and everyone voiced the desire to be welcoming to any male child who wanted to participate.

Nationally, some have said the Boy Scout’s membership has shrunk slightly since the organization lifted its ban on gay youth. In York County, membership has grown nearly 5 percent since then, Leitch said.

Discussion of sexuality of any kind, Leitch said, has no place in youth scouting. “We are a character education program ... Leaders who violate the behavioral standards of the BSA by discussing these issues will be removed from Scouting.”

This story was originally published August 1, 2015 at 4:56 PM with the headline "No local church drop outs over Boy Scouts allowing gay adult leaders."