WELCOME TO THE ORDER OF THE ARROW

Lodge 104

Congratulations on being elected to the Order of the Arrow by the Scouts in your unit. Following your election, you were called out. Next you must complete your Ordeal. There you will accept the Obligation and receive your Ordeal sash. The final step is the acceptance of Brotherhood membership, which marks full membership in the Order of the Arrow.

Your completion of the Ordeal sets you on the path of an exciting adventure. After 10 months of service to your unit and fulfilling certain requirements, you will be able to seal your membership in the OA by taking part in the Brotherhood ceremony. Brotherhood membership marks the completion of your induction into the Order of the Arrow.  Acceptance of Brotherhood membership involves a pledge of service to the lodge.

The Order of the Arrow provides many opportunities to serve. You are a unique individual with interests and skills different from anyone else, and there are several ways you can help your lodge. As you think about what role you would like to play in the OA in the future, imagine all the great things that you can become involved with: ceremonies, lodge or chapter leadership, ordeal administration, dancing, and many, many others. You can even become your Troop’s OA representative. Our lodge offers service opportunities which support Camp Reeves and Camp Durant.

Communications

Since OA is part of the Boy Scout program, everything is done through the Scout.   Each Scout is responsible for keeping informed of OA events.   The Lodge website is Lodge104.com.  Troop 212 has an OA Representative who should send out emails prior to OA meetings and upcoming events but OA members should not rely solely on that.  To subscribe to the Troop 212 OA email list server please go to website and click on Order of the Arrow Mailing List.

The best way to stay informed and contribute to the Chapter is to attend the Netami Chapter meetings which are normally held the second Thursday of the month at  6:45pm at the First Baptist Church of Cary, ANNEX #3 between South Chatham St and Academy St. in Cary.  (Parking can be found beside the Annex # 3 off of West Park St. or South Harrison, behind the First Baptist Church.)  To receive communications from the Netami Chapter all you need to do is send an email to Mr. Edmiston at  troop200@rtpnet.org and ask to be added. 

Induction

You become a member in the OA after completing the induction.  You have two opportunities to complete an induction.  Inductions are a weekend long camping and service experience held at Camp Durant.  Spring Inductions are in May.  Fall Inductions are in September.  You need to choose which of these events you will attend to complete your membership.  Should you not attend either of these events, you will have to be re-elected next year and tapped out again so please attend one of these opportunities. 

The cost is $50 which covers your meals, OA sash, OA handbook and your first year membership dues.  Please have a check made out to Lodge 104 or cash.  You also need to bring a current BSA medical form.  The lodge uses the one found here .   You may of course use your troop BSA medical form.

Recommended items to bring:

• a large ground cloth or tarp
• work clothes
• work gloves
• sunscreen
• hat
• flashlight
• sleeping bag
• tent
• Class A uniform
• spending money ($20 is more than enough)
• shower necessities (soap, towel, etc)
• backpack
• water bottle/canteen
• medical form
• $50 fee

You do not need to tell anyone ahead of time that you are coming to the event and there is no permission slip.  You should be at Camp Durant and check in at the admin building by 6:30pm.  Arrange to leave camp on Sunday morning by 10:00am. We encourage you to carpool. Other members of the OA from Troop 212 may be attending the event which means you may get a ride with them but ultimately transportation is your personal responsibility.

OA is a non-secret organization.  Parents are permitted to come and view any OA ceremony.   Some parents come to view the Induction ceremony on Saturday night.  Parental participation is an individual choice.  Most parents who are not OA members themselves do not attend OA ceremonies and events.   Logistically, it is a challenge to predict what time the ceremony will occur on that Saturday night.

Supervision at OA events is done on the whole by the adults in attendance.  This may or may not include adults from Troop 212.  The OA has a long history of this practice of letting the honor campers enjoy a larger degree of freedom in camp and it will continue to do so.  Your Scout is expected to live up to the standards of being an honor camper at events without constant supervision.  In this regard, OA events are not like Troop events.  No adult from Troop 212 is responsible for your Scout at an OA event.  Certainly adults will be there if Scouts need anything and are happy to help as always.  Please feel free to ask questions about this.

New inductees are given an OA Handbook and some other materials at the Induction.  They should keep and refer to them as they progress on their Brotherhood trail.

Once you’ve complete your Ordeal Ceremony you will be able to access a section of the Lodge 104 website called Jumpstart for New Arrowmen.  It has some really great information that will help you on your journey to Brotherhood.

OA Events

Once you’ve completed your Induction Weekend you can attend all OA events except those specifically for Vigil members. Ordeal members should not attend Brotherhood ceremonies until they have attained Brotherhood membership status. Attendance at OA events is by the scout’s own choice. None are required once they have completed their Ordeal.  To complete their Brotherhood they will need to attend a Spring Pow Wow or a Fall Fellowship.   Brotherhood is sometimes offered at other times as well.

OA members do not need to register in advance for events.  They check-in upon arrival and pay a fee which is normally $20 (for Occoneechee events), not including Induction or Brotherhood fees. The $20 includes a patch for that event and all meals.   Conclave will cost more.  See the Lodge website for details. 

Scouts bring their own tent, uniform, OA sash, toiletries, etc. but do not need any cooking or eating gear since they will eat in the dining hall.  Most people leave on Sundays before 10:00am.  Usually a schedule is posted on the lodge's website before the event but not always. 

     The General Schedule for the year is below.

>> Spring Pow-Wow    – March at Camp Durant

>> Conclave                  – April (Location varies)

>> Spring Inductions     – May at  Camp Durant

>> Fall Fellowship         – September at Camp Durant

 >>Winter Banquet        – December (Location varies)

OA Event Transportation

OA members must arrange their own transportation to and from events. One option is to try to carpool with other Scouts or adults planning on attending that event.  The troop does not organize transportation as we do for troop events.  There is no troop permission slip since none of the troop leadership is in charge of our Scouts while they are attending an OA function.  You need to bring a current BSA medical form or Class 3 medical form.