Dear Brothers,
We hope you and your family are doing well. We understand many of you have been missing Scouting and the Order of the Arrow, so we are excited to announce that we will be conducting an Ordeal weekend from Friday August 7th to Saturday August 8th, 2020 at Camp John H. Ware 3rd.
Note: The venue since the last email to members has been changed from Camp Horseshoe to Camp John H. Ware 3rd.
The Ordeal weekend can accommodate a maximum of 50 Ordeal candidates and 100 Order of the Arrow members, so registration is limited. Please note that in the registration link provided below, there are 3 different options – Ordeal Candidate, Essential Personnel, and OA Member. Please ensure you select the correct option. Essential Personnel are those OA members required to conduct the Ordeal weekend, including fire circle crew, ceremonialists, Elangomats, food service, and lodge leadership (steering committee members). Registration is capped for each option. IT IS CRITICAL THAT EVERYONE WHO ATTENDS REGISTERS AHEAD OF TIME SO THAT WE GET AN ACCURATE COUNT – Even those who did Pay to Play.
Register here.
The registration deadline is 7/31.
The Ordeal weekend will start Friday night at 6 pm and conclude by 5 pm Saturday after the Ordeal induction process is complete. All weekend activities will be conducted at Camp John H. Ware 3rd. Please consider bringing a tent with you as adirondack space is going to be limited. Please ensure you bring a completed BSA medical form and the completed waiver form (found in the email that will be sent to members after 4 pm on 7/15) with you to the weekend.
In accordance with local and BSA guidelines, we will be following all COVID-19 precautions including social distancing and wearing of face masks. There will be specific sleeping locations for OA members for Friday night. Food service for OA members who attend will be conducted Friday night (snack), Saturday breakfast, and Saturday lunch. Please ensure you bring proper PPE (facemasks and hand sanitizer) to the weekend if you wish to attend. Safety is our utmost concern and while we are ensuring that all precautions are being addressed, any member who does not feel comfortable should not feel compelled to register for the weekend. Also, if you are feeling sick, please do not attend the weekend.
Please note that while registration is limited, we are planning on conducting another Ordeal weekend in the future. More details to follow in future lodge communications. At this time, we do not have plans for Brotherhood ceremonies, but if/when that changes, we will also communicate that to the lodge.
Thank you for your understanding these past long months while things have been on hiatus, and we look forward to seeing many of you at this Ordeal weekend or in future Octoraro outings in the months ahead.
Sincerely,
Octoraro 22