Ashes Ceremony

posted by Bev Walkling

FOUR SPIRITS OPENING:

Obtain silence with a raised hand. Each entered from the appropriate compass point and said their reading.

North: I am the spirit of the North where the great game of Guiding began.

South: I am the spirit of the South and I spread the love of Scouting & Guiding to the world.

East : I am the spirit of the East and I spread the friendship of Scouting & Guiding to the world.

West: I am the spirit of the West and I spread the worth of Guiding & Scouting to the world.

All: Together we join in the fire of friendship.

ASHES CEREMONY:

Ashes taken from a campfire are sprinkled into the flames of the next campfire. The next morning, when the ashes are cold, they are stirred and each Scout takes some along to mix with her next campfire.

"We carry our friendship with us in these ashes from campfires with other comrades in other lands. May the joining of the dead fires with the leaping flames symbolize once more the unbroken chain that binds Scouts and Guides around the world. With greetings from Scouts of the United States, Guiders from Canada, England, and New Zealand, and everywhere."

If more than one Scout brings ashes to the same campfire, the lists are pooled, with the dates and places of all campfires recorded and passed on. It is traditional that only those present at the ceremony carry away ashes from that ceremony.

"Each of you present here will receive a portion of these campfire ashes to keep the chain of sisterhood continuing forever. We hope you will carry these ashes further on the journey around the world, and share them again and again."

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7/26/98