Dr. Ernie Hess of Covenant Presbyterian Church Speaks Out About Boy Scouts and Inclusion

This week, our local media reported that two of Cobb County’s largest Baptist Churches have severed their ties with the Boy Scouts of America due to the national organization’s decision to allow gay young men to become Boy Scouts.  I am saddened by this development and hope the churches’ decisions will prove to be the exception, rather than the norm.  Covenant Presbyterian Church is proud of our decades-long association with the Boy Scouts.  We have hosted scout troops on our Buckhead campus since 1928, and currently serve as the home for Cub Scout Pack #49.  A number of members of our congregation are or have been involved in scouting.  The opportunities for growth and development offered by the Boy Scouts should be available to all boys, and I applaud the organization’s new policy of inclusion.  At Covenant Presbyterian Church, we welcome people of all ages, gender, race and sexual orientation into our worship community.  We believe the combination of our different backgrounds makes us stronger as a whole and provides us with opportunities to learn from one another as we serve our church and community as the body of Christ.