UPDATE ON STATUS OF NEW RELATIONSHIP AGREEMENTS
WITH THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
On July 21, the Baltimore-Washington Conference issued guidance to churches that charter Scouting units, that representatives of The United Methodist Church and the Boy Scouts of America were working on to address emerging concerns regarding the newly developed Affiliation and Facilities Use Agreements.
Those conversations produced an alternative Affiliation Agreement — one in which the local church may retain ownership of the trailers, equipment and other materials used by the Scouting unit. This agreement relieved the Local Councils of the burden of insuring that property. The agreement was approved for use by BSA’s national leadership and by the United Methodist “BSA Leadership Team."
Unfortunately, that alternative has not been accepted by all BSA Local Councils, including some that relate to Scouting units associated with local churches in the Baltimore-Washington Conference. Because of this, the work to find mutually workable solutions for all United Methodist churches that sponsor a Scout troop or Cub pack remains ongoing.
Under these circumstances, and to ensure that your Scouting ministries continue forward, even as we work to resolve any remaining issues, UMC and BSA representatives on the national and regional levels have agreed to extend the effectiveness of all existing charter agreements between United Methodist local churches and a BSA Local Council. All existing charter agreements will now remain in effect until at least December 31, 2022.
In addition, we continue to ask that, pending the receipt of further guidance from your Conference leadership and the Local Councils, no changes be made to the existing charter or other relationship agreements between local churches and their respective Local Scouting Councils. The prospect of resolving any remaining issues will be greatly enhanced if our churches are united in preserving the status quo, taking full advantage of the agreement to extend the effectiveness of all existing agreements until at least the end of this calendar year.
The Baltimore-Washington Conference is resolute in the shared objective of ensuring that a robust United Methodist Scouting ministry continues on terms that work for all concerned. We are dedicated to continuing to work with the Local Councils that operate within our boundaries, along with the UMC’s and BSA’s national leadership, to resolve how best to move forward, leaving behind no local church that wishes to continue supporting Scouting. Achieving that objective will be best served if, pending further developments and guidance, no changes are made to existing relationship agreements and no new agreements are executed.
In the meantime, we encourage you to continue promoting, nurturing, and supporting the Scouting units in your church and community. If you have any questions or need any additional information, please direct your communications as follows:
Paul Eichelberger
Treasurer & Director of Administrative Services
Phone: 410-309-3424
peichelberger@bwcumc.org
Rev. Ken Lyons
Scouting Coordinator
Phone: 410-674-6579
