Many people have seen a statue of St. Francis or St. Anthony in a garden or in front of a home. I wanted to take this space to share a few things with you about our patron St. Anthony, and order’s founder St. Francis. When we think of them in relationship to our core values, “The Dignity and Order and Care of Creation,” we can gain significant insight into God’s will for us and for our children.

When St. Francis encountered birds and squirrels and worms on the path he marveled at them because they always did the same thing. Birds chirped and pecked and made nests. Squirrels ran about collecting, burying and digging up nuts. Worms made the soil rich. All day and night they act exactly as the creator intended. Never would they act outside of God’s intention for them.

Francis wondered why human beings weren’t so obedient to their nature. A bird can never be in-bird the way a human being can be in-humane. The disobedience of humanity saddened him when everything around him was being obedient. St. Francis longed to act obediently, which he believed was to live like Jesus, true human nature.

So, like St. Francis and St. Anthony, we marvel at the way creation obeys God better than we do. We try to learn from nature and respect and care for it because it teaches us to obey our nature, to be true Christian people, followers of Jesus Christ. Then, all of nature, us included, praises God at once! How wonderful for us to pursue these goals together at St. Anthony School.

- Father Patrick Tuttle, OFM

Many new partnerships have already been formed this year as we grow ever closer to breaking ground for our new school, which is being planned to be as green as possible.

Wikipedia tells us that…”Green building brings together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. It often emphasizes taking advantage of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar, and photovoltaic techniques and using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens, and for reduction of rainwater run-off. Many other techniques, such as using packed gravel or permeable concrete instead of conventional concrete or asphalt to enhance replenishment of ground water, are used as well.”

When we do begin construction, the children will have a solid foundation for understanding many of the elements involved in treating Mother Earth and all of her creatures with tender, loving care.

Pack 523 went to downtown Greenville for an adventure on Saturday, December 17. We ran into Mayor Knox White on our trek through the city, and he wished us well.

We arrived at the Ice on Main rink and got our skates on! Everyone had a great time skating, falling and playing. We ended the day with funnel cakes on the way back to church. The outing was lead by Cubmaster Norm, Assistant Cubmaster Michael, our new Assistant Cubmaster Armando, Pack Mom Pam and Den Leader Catherine.

-Submitted by Cubmaster Norm

On December 6th, Girl Scout Troop 2481 sang Christmas songs at Gower Place Apartments. Of course, they sounded like angels! They also distributed special containers they had created the week before with yarn wrapped around empty containers filled with peppermints for the residents.

-Submitted by Suzanne Newton, Troop Leader

(Photo by Kathy Little)

On Saturday, November 19, the St. Anthony School Junior Scouts (grades 4 and 5) and Cadette Girl Scouts (grade 6) worked as Christmas Elves, painting baby doll beds that will be given out at Christmastime. A special thank you to the Greenville Woodworkers Guild for their help and guidance!

(Provided by Suzanne Newton.)

Cub Scout Pack 523 went to the North Carolina mountains to Sky Top Orchard. Father Pat let us take the bus for the trip, which was a lot of fun. We stopped on the way up and had some lunch. Two boys were even able to finish a Monster Burger!

When we got to the orchard, we took a hayride through the orchard and animal pens. The boys all enjoyed eating apples from the orchard and playing on the playground. Special thanks to Bus Driver Dan. The trip was lead by Cubmaster Norm, Dan Krick and Eagle Scout Armando Krick.

(Written by Cubmaster Norm.)

Girl Scout Troop 2481 enjoyed a Day Camp adventure in Mauldin, S.C. We roasted marshmallows to make S’mores, sewed sit-upons, took a little hike, ate walking tacos, made treasure boxes, learned how to deal with choking, and did a service project for Shepherd’s Gate Women’s Shelter. And, as our closing event, our amazing Junior Scouts set up a special ceremony to welcome our new Brownie Scouts. Suvella, LaToya, and Alice provided awesome hands-on help with our fun day.

(Written by Scout leader, Suzanne Newton.)

Pack 523 spent the day at The World of Energy’s annual Hunting and Fishing Day on October 1. Everyone had a blast, as we got to shoot bow and arrows, BB guns, visit a virtual shooting gallery, and participate in a virtual fishing experience. We learned about nature, animals, the environment, how energy is made and much more! Lunch was spent at a tailgate – we enjoyed eating Duke sandwiches and sides! The trip was lead by Cubmaster Norm, Asst. Cubmaster Michael, and dad Darry.

(Submitted by Cubmaster Norm.)