Scouts of all ages attend the liturgy as well as a breakfast afterward that recognized adult leaders
By Dan McWilliams
When youth and adults in Scouting received awards from the diocese’s shepherd at the annual Bishop’s Mass and breakfast for them, they were being presented by a former Scout himself.
Bishop Mark Beckman celebrated his first Scouting Mass in East Tennessee on Feb. 1 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The native of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., is no stranger to Scouting.
“I’m deeply grateful for the presence of our Scouts here today at Mass. . . . I’m also grateful for what Scouts do,” Bishop Beckman said in his welcoming remarks at Mass. “I grew up in a little parish in southern Middle Tennessee as a Cub Scout and Webelo—in those days they had Webelos—and then as a Boy Scout, so I’m deeply grateful for that gift for young people.”
Bishop Beckman celebrated the Mass with Father Dustin Collins, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Johnson City and the chaplain for the Knoxville Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting. Father Collins is an Eagle Scout. Deacon Walt Otey of the cathedral assisted at Mass. Some 75 youth and adult Scouts attended.
The Scouting committee has sponsored the bishop’s Mass and breakfast most years dating back to 1999.
Bishop Beckman recalled his Scouting days as he began his homily.
“One of the great things about being part of Scouts is that you have the opportunity to do lots of adventures. That was my experience, and those adventures were often unexpected things that came up, especially on camporees and places like that,” he said. “I remember the experience of some of those adventures as a child. We had one winter campout where I thought I would never survive the cold weather at night. But it created in me a lifelong love for adventure and especially hiking, backpacking, and the wilderness.”
The future bishop once took two of his siblings on an unforgettable outing in Middle Tennessee.
“I remember vividly the first time I took two of my younger brothers on a backpacking trip. They had never been before,” he said. “We set up our tents in the most beautiful location, and the second night the most horrific storm came up—pounding rain. I went into my tent. My two brothers went into their tent. Lightning, strong winds, crashing thunder. We were right next to the gorge at Savage Gulf, if you’ve been there, at the Alum Gap Campground on the edge. And it was truly kind of terrifying. One of my brothers said, ‘I don’t think I slept that night.’”
But Bishop Beckman found peace in the experience.
“I was laying there in the pouring rain, and I thought, ‘Well, what else can I do but lay in the tent?’ I’m not going to hike out in the middle of a storm, and I thought, ‘There’s nothing I can do right now to change the weather, and so if there are lightning, thunder, and pouring rain and something happens, it’s going to happen, and I’m not going to be able to do anything about that.’
“So, a great peace came over me, the kind of peace that comes, I believe, in trusting in the Lord and His care for us.”
The day’s Gospel reading from Mark 4 told of the Apostles’ panic as they crossed the sea when a squall came up, and they failed in trusting in the Lord.
“That’s what the Apostles forgot in the boat, didn’t they? They were in the midst of a great adventure crossing the sea to the other shore when that mighty squall came up, and they were afraid,” Bishop Beckman said. “The water was coming over and filling the boat up, and Jesus was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat. In their terror, they began to cry out. And the words of Jesus are so beautiful, spoken to the storm: ‘Quiet. Be still.’ And a great calm occurred.”
That’s not the only storm Christ can still, the bishop added.
“The real storm that Jesus wants to calm in us is inside of ourselves, the storm that happens in our own hearts,” he said. “When we find ourselves in turmoil, that’s when we ask the Lord for that grace.”
Bishop Beckman presented certificates to 20 youth Scouts at the end of Mass on Feb. 1. About 75 youth and adult Scouts overall attended the Mass. (Photo Dan McWilliams)
The first reading at Mass from Hebrews 11 told of the call Abraham received “to go out to a place . . . not knowing where he was to go.”
“I also love the fact that today’s readings kind of take us all the way back to the beginning of the great adventure that God started with His people with Abraham. ‘Abraham, go forth to a land that I will show you,’” Bishop Beckman said. “So, Abraham, that great migrant, began a great epic journey with God. And I love the fact that it referenced that he was living in tents, so every time we go out to the wilderness and stay in a tent, we can remember that’s sort of how the human adventure began: moving around from place to place trusting in the care of God for us and letting God lead us.”
The Scouting motto—“be prepared”—was appropriate for that day’s readings, the bishop said as he concluded.
“The most important preparation of all is trusting in the Lord’s care for us. And once we trust God, we follow Him,” he said.
At the end of Mass, Scouting committee chair Chris Manning introduced the presentation of certificates to young Scouts who have earned a religious emblem in the past year. Bishop Beckman, assisted by the Scouting committee’s Martin Vargas, gave the certificates to 20 Scouts.
A hearty breakfast buffet in the Cathedral Hall followed the Mass. Father Collins led a blessing before the meal.
Following the breakfast, as Mr. Manning provided introductions, Bishop Beckman presented the Scouting committee’s annual adult-recognition awards.
Three adult Scouters received the Bronze Pelican Award, a diocesan emblem presented to those who have made a significant contribution to Scouting in the field of Catholic relationships.
Karin Turnmire, a parishioner of All Saints in Knoxville; Stacy Langlois of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City; and Dennis LaPointe of the cathedral parish received the Bronze Pelican Award. Mrs. Turnmire and Mrs. Langlois received theirs in person.
Mrs. Turnmire was a Venturer in Crew 59 and was the Great Smoky Mountain Council of Scouting’s first recipient of the Summit Award. She was also the first female in East Tennessee to receive the Ad Altare Dei award. She has served as the Area 5 president for Venturing and as program and camp director for the Cherokee Area Council’s Skymont Scout Reservation. She is currently program director at Camp Buck Toms.
Mrs. Langlois is Cubmaster for Pack 770 at St. Thomas the Apostle. She also serves as the registrar for the Great Smoky Mountain Council.
Mr. LaPointe is pack committee chair of Pack 22, chartered at the cathedral, and he is a member of Council 5207 of the Knights of Columbus.
Adults honored at the Scouting breakfast, pictured with Bishop Beckman and Father Collins, included Karin Turnmire, Stacy Langlois, Kim Carideo, and Martin Vargas (pictured above). (Photo Dan McWilliams)
Mr. Vargas, a parishioner of All Saints who is also executive director of the St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic, and Kim Carideo of St. John XXIII Parish in Knoxville, received the St. George Emblem, a national Scouting committee award presented through the diocese. The honor recognizes the recipients’ outstanding contribution to the spiritual development of Catholic youth in the Boy Scouts of America.
Mr. Vargas has served the Scouting community on the Knoxville Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting for more than 11 years in various roles.
Ms. Carideo has served as a volunteer with the Great Smoky Mountain Council for 29 years. She has served in a variety of roles promoting Catholic Scouting. Her most recent role was as the district commissioner in the Cades Cove District.
Cheri Van Bynen of Immaculate Conception Parish in Knoxville received the rarely presented St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Medal.
The honor recognizes the meritorious contributions of adults who serve Catholic youth through girls or boys organizations. The medal affirms the work of those who help youth develop their spiritual lives within the context of girls or boys organizations.
Ms. Van Bynen has been a volunteer with the Girl Scouts for 30 years. She has been a valued member of the diocesan Scouting committee for the last three years. She has been instrumental in the increase in Girl Scouts earning their religious emblems.
After breakfast, Bishop Beckman recalled his Scouting days in elementary and high school in Lawrenceburg. The bishop already had a love of the outdoors before Scouting provided even more opportunities to experience nature.
“I think because I grew up on the outskirts of town—we were surrounded by fields and pastures and forests—my love for the outdoors started when I was a little kid,” the bishop said. “I loved exploring the pine woods that were near our house. There was a little creek that ran through it. We’d play in the pastures and that sort of thing.”
The Scouting breakfast drew what may have been a record 60 youth and adults. The Mass also was well-attended not only by the Scouts but also by cathedral parishioners.
“When I got up, it was a cool, foggy, wintry morning, and this Mass was at 8:05 in the morning, and I thought, ‘I wonder how many people will come out this morning?’” Bishop Beckman said. “I was just delighted by the turnout.”
Visit knoxccs.org for more information on the Scouting committee and on youth and adult religious emblems and awards.
