Adult Resources : Fellowship Network

Fellowship Network – A Fellowship of Service

Scouting is a worldwide Movement helping young people to play their full part in the community. The Scout Movement aims to encourage their physical, mental and spiritual development so that these young people may take a constructive place in society.

Relatively sober words covering adventurous activities, learning useful skills, experiencing leadership responsibilities, helping others and all in an atmosphere of fun and fellowship. Such a Movement depends on adults offering leadership, administrative support, technical advice and just helping in every possible way.

The Fellowship Network is a body of men and women backing Scouting and the young people in it – Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts and Venture Scouts and Rover Scouts. Backing the Leaders too, who need and deserve support.

The Fellowship Network offers a job of work within a family of friends supporting Scouting and enjoying doing so to the full. It offers FUN and SERVICE within Scouting.


A list of Useful Documents
Fellowship Patrol Registration Form
Fellowship Official Document SID 43/06
Setting up a Fellowship Network Patrol
Fellowship Network Factsheet

What is the Fellowship Network?

The Fellowship Network enjoys supporting Scouting.

Scouting depends on many thousands of adults who give up much of their spare time to accept the responsibilities of leadership. To make the best use of their time and talents the Scout Movement needs men and women to support those Leaders.

Many parents and friends help in a particular Scout Group and Scouting relies heavily on such traditional and dependable family support.

Yet more than that support is needed if Scouting is to play a full and successful role in the voluntary sector of the Youth Service. The men and women who lead and administer Scouting also need support. The Fellowship Network is in the business to provide that support and when it does so the Movement benefits and the Scouting offered to Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts,Venture Scouts and Rover Scouts is all the better for it.

Members of the Fellowship Network are in Scouting, sharing its commitment, service and enjoyment. An integral part of a national and worldwide family of many millions.

The keyword is FELLOWSHIP.

The Fellowship Network is a group of friends with unlimited opportunities for serving others and enjoying a programme of activities of their own choice.

Who can join?

Membership of the Fellowship Network is open to anybody of 18 years or more who believes that Scouting plays an important and worthwhile role in helping young people and who accepts the Scout Promise and Law as practical and necessary standards in today’s world.

There is no minimum standard of activity. A Fellowship Network comprising a large number of people each giving a little may be of greater value to Scouting than a very small number taking on too much. Members of the Fellowship Network are not required to affirm the Scout Promise. Certainly they may do so if they wish. Many do so after they have been involved for a while and feel they want to make that commitment. Every member of the Fellowship Network is registered.

Venture Scouts and Rover Scouts

Venture and Rover Scouting is for young men and women who enjoy running their own part of Scouting. Many Venture and Rover Scouts give sterling service to Scouting as Beaver Scout Instructors and Cub Scouts Instructors and among those of 18 years or more are Venture and Rover Scouts who have accepted the additional challenge of leadership as Scouters in a Beaver Scout Colony, Cub Scout Pack or Scout Troop, Venture Unit or Rover Crew.

But not every Venture or Rover Scout will feel able or want to be a Scouter. Time may be in short supply and the responsibilities of leadership, with the need for regular commitment and the necessary Leader Training may be too great.

The Fellowship Network provides the answer to a young man or woman who, on leaving the Venture or Rover Scout Programme Sections, wants to continue to enjoy the fellowship of Scouting. A practical opportunity to put to good use the skills learned within a familiar framework.

Members of the Fellowship Network run their own show and plan their own programme which can include all the well known activities of climbing, camping, sailing, canoeing and travelling abroad. Drama, music, debating and other activities can all be enjoyed within the Fellowship Network Programme.The Movement needs to be bold in the recruitment of younger members into the Fellowship Network.

Leaders

Outgoing Leaders may be members of the Fellowship Network and are welcome. Scouting cannot afford to lose the support of experienced men and women. In the Fellowship Network they retain their Membership of the Movement they have served so well and they can continue to support Scouting and very often when they have more time to give. Not unimportant, the Fellowship Network offers the opportunity to remain in the Scout family where they will have many friends.

By joining the Fellowship Network these men and women remain in Scouting to both their own and the Movement’s advantage.

Former Scouts and Leaders

In every community there are people who have been Members of the Movement. The Fellowship Network offers them a chance to be in the family of Scouting again, to enjoy its activities and to help the Movement. There is a spirit in Scouting which is not easy to define but that spirit is to be found in the Fellowship Network. The enjoyment is there and so is the acceptance of whatever service a member may be able to offer.

When Scouters have to give up because of a new job then what a criminal waste it is when they are allowed to disappear. Encouraged to join the Fellowship Network they can remain with the Scout family and give much needed help as their limited time permits.

Parents and Other Members of the Group Council

Most parents prefer to support the Group of which their child is a Beaver Scout, Cub Scout, Scout,Venture Scout or Rover Scout. Even so there will be parents and other adults in a Group who will want to be involved in Scouting on a wider basis.

The Individual

For the individual who wants to be in Scouting the Fellowship Network is tailor made!

If they were Scouts elsewhere with no roots in the Movement locally the Fellowship Network should offer a warm welcome back to the family. If an individual has little or no Scout background, the Fellowship Network will offer a warm welcome, a social programme and the enjoyment to be found in helping young people.

What does the Fellowship do?

The easiest question to answer but lack of space prevents is a long list of the many activities enjoyed by members of the Fellowship Network .

The programme of a Fellowship Network will depend on the needs of Scouting and the community and the interests of the members.

How is it organised?

If fun and enjoyment lubricate the system then flexibility makes it work for the wide range of age and interests to be found in the successful Fellowship Network.

The organisation and management of the Fellowship Network must be such that Scouting is well served and the administration of the Fellowship Network is effective but not, of itself, time consuming. It is important that any local organisation matches the needs of the Fellowship Network and that the Fellowship Network does not have to fit into an inflexible or traditional pattern of administration.

What is the commitment – time and money?

There is no minimum requirement as far as time is concerned. Any offer to help Scouting can be used effectively. The Fellowship Network comprises people who want to help Scouting in some way. For some the time spent will fill many leisure hours.

The Scout Group and the Fellowship

The opportunity of belonging to both an active Group Council supporting the Group and the Fellowship Network should be made known to those who are interested.

Divided loyalties must be avoided. It must be underlined that nothing is more important than the practical Scouting within the family of the Scout Group.

Adult Resources : Fellowship Network

A list of Useful Documents

Fellowship Patrol Registration Form

Fellowship Official Document SID 43/06

Setting up a Fellowship Network Patrol

Fellowship Network Factsheet