(above) Violet Tallon, a Girl Scout Brownie, earned the “Family of God” award and Addison Stroh, a Girl Scout Junior, earned the “I Live My Faith” award. These recognitions were bestowed at a service at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
Girl Scouts of Cranford Earn Religious Awards
Submitted by Kerry Rokicki
Recently several Girl Scouts of Cranford undertook individual endeavors to earn religious recognitions from their respective faiths. While Girl Scouts is a secular organization, it encourages girls to take spiritual journeys through the exploration of religion. “As a Girl Scout, I promise to serve God and my country, to help people at all times and to live by the Girl Scout Law,” explained Isabella Reibarkh, who recently earned the Lehavah Award for the Jewish faith. “This law is true no matter what religion you are.”
Julia and Molly Love, a Girl Scout Ambassador and a Girl Scout Senior respectively, each earned the Alpha Omega Award which is the Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting’s religious award for Girl Scouts in grades 6 – 12. Both girls worked with the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church to complete the award. Julia is a junior at Cranford High School and Molly is a freshman at Union County Vocational-Technical School (UCVTS).
“Earning my Alpha Omega Award was a great way to learn more about my faith and how to apply it to other areas of my life, like scouting” said, Julia.
Girl Scout Junior Isabella Reibarkh earned the Jewish Lehavah Award and worked with her mother to learn about her heritage and religion. “There are not many Jewish girls in our service unit or my troop and I wanted to earn an award that was special to me,” explained Isabella. “The name of the Jewish award is Lehavah which means flame. This award is given to those girls that are able to make a connection between Girl Scouts and their Jewish religion. I had to look inside myself to be able to answer questions that were a part of this award. I am proud to wear my Jewish pin. It makes me feel unique and proud.”
Members of the Girls Scouts of Cranford also participated in the religious award program offered by the parish of Saint Michael in Cranford which is designed to allow girls of all levels to explore the Catholic faith. Violet Tallon, a Girl Scout Brownie, earned the “Family of God” award and Addison Stroh, a Girl Scout Junior, earned the “I Live My Faith” award. These recognitions were bestowed at a service at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. Additionally, three Girl Scouts earned their “Our Lady of Guadelupe” patch by learning more about the appearance and miracles of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico almost 500 years ago. They are Grace Santos, Lila Schau and Violet Tallon. Grace is a Girl Scout Daisy and Lila is a Girl Scout Senior.
The Girl Scouts of Cranford boasts over 1,139 Girl Scout Members in 71 troops and Juliette’s making it one of the largest non-profit organizations in town. The Cranford Service Unit is a part of the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey (GSHNJ) Council which is part of the Girl Scouts of the USA. If your family is interested in learning more about local Girl Scouts or to find out more information on the Girls Scouts of Cranford, please visit www.cranfordgirlscouts.com.
(above) Julia and Molly Love, a Girl Scout Ambassador and a Girl Scout Senior respectively, each earned the Alpha Omega Award which is the Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting’s religious award for Girl Scouts in grades 6 – 12.
(above) Girl Scout Junior Isabella Reibarkh earned the Jewish Lehavah Award and worked with her mother to learn about her heritage and religion.
