Last year, the 37th Newcastle Guide Unit was told by Girl Guiding UK that their membership would be withdrawn if they refused to adopt a new secular oath replacing the promise to ‘love my God’ with a pledge ‘to be true to myself’ and ‘develop my beliefs’. The change sparked 839 separate complaints and the uprising has pushed secular forces into backing off.
The national organization has done a complete about face following the waves of criticism which have seen the Newcastle unit being told they can keep the original pledge. The protests have resulted in a victory for Christian values and public opinion being heard.
Guide leader Glynis Mackie said: “We just think it’s fantastic that we have won our battle, they were trying to force us out with no process and only three weeks’ notice, the girls were really upset. It has been tough on them - some of them would have had to register with another group if we had been shut down. We cannot build a group which welcomes those without a faith while pushing out those who do. I see parallels with the legal world. In a courtroom, you have the right to swear on the Bible, or to opt not to have the religious dimension. But to be denied the choice of pledging to serve God is just wrong. Instead of becoming more inclusive, it is excluding people who do believe, and for whom the religious aspect is an important part.”
16-year-old Eleanor Thomson, one of several members of the group who opposed the changes made a much more insightful statement: “We haven’t done anything wrong. We have done what the Guide Movement has always taught us to do - stand up for our principles.”
And Thomson is correct! Guiding taught the girls to stand for Godly principles which is what they did while the national organization, co-opted by secular politically correct activists, tried to change Guiding into something it was never created to be. This in turn shows that young people can have extraordinary courage when seeded with the right foundations.
Girlguiding UK issued a statement saying: “Girlguiding has suggested a way forward that does not change the wording of the Promise or compromise Girlguiding’s commitment to having one Promise for all girls. Discussions are continuing with the group.”
Running concurrently to these events is a motion in the Church of England’s General Synod by Alison Ruoff saying that "this Synod believes that girls of all ages in the Girlguiding Movement should not suffer discrimination but be able to continue to promise to love God when enrolled." Ruoff spoke in the debate saying: “It seems to me to be absolute discrimination against the girls and their leaders. I am only asking that the girls and their leaders be accorded choice when making or renewing their promise.”
A compromise was proposed that kept the new (Godless) pledge with the optional preface “In the presence of God I make my Guide Promise.” This has been embraced in principle by Girlguiding UK as well as the NSS (National Secular Society).
UK Girlguiding responded to the Church of England efforts by saying “This suggestion ensures the wording of our promise is unaltered and, rather than having an alternative, ensures we maintain our one promise for all that celebrates shared values and embraces all beliefs.”
This statement suggests that the matter is actually far from closed. Some local troops are going to continue to emphasize the traditional Christian elements of the organization and it will only be a short time before the NSS rears its ugly head to advocate for some child whose parents are offended that Christian leaders are incorporating Christian beliefs into what started as a Christian organization.
It is NSS that has already caused a lot of the division in the first place, inserting themselves into a faith-principle based organization and trying to modify it to purposefully accommodate others. The effect is to sterilize the Christian components which will in turn remove the value system from the organization and change it to fit politically correct positions.
NSS responded in a snarky to the proposed compromise saying: “It is a good way to solve the problem, a way that should calm the protestors.” That response clearly looks down at those standing up for Guiding traditions with disdain. Their typical liberal elitist thinking does not consider that any point of view other than their own is valid and views the compromises as occasionally necessary steps to appease the natives.
But for now peace reigns and tranquility is the order of the day. The secularists will await their opportunities to challenge and weaken faith again, but hope abounds as long as the likes of Eleanor Thomson are being raised up.
