Pathfinder Halloween Enrolment Ceremony
Thanks very much to Shelagh Walsh, who posted this neat ceremony to the Guiding Mailing List!
This enrolment ceremony is, of course, most appropriate for around Halloween! This ceremony was written for the enrolment of one girl, however, it could be easily adapted for use with more girls.
Towards the end of the Unit's Halloween party, the girls' parents arrive. Use this as a signal to usher the girl to be enrolled out of the meeting room and into the hallway. Parents are sat opposite the door the girls will be re-entering, so they can see everything. Make 2 lines of orange & black crepe paper on the floor for the new Pathfinder to walk between (like a runway.) Place 2 paper bag luminaries at the start of the runway, with trefoils cut in them. At the end of the runway place a table with the lit Jack-o-lantern, a lit candle and 4 paper bags labelled: Dragon's teeth, Goblin brains, dried worms, and Ogre skins. You can also decorate the table with a Halloween tablecloth and cobwebs.
The Unit lines up outside the crepe paper lines, facing inwards. With the lights out and appropriate music playing (quietly), a Guider opens the door for the new Pathfinder to enter. As she walks in, each Pathfinder reads a line of a poem, and hands the new girl the card it is written on. As each person has read their line, they toss a tissue ghost at the enrolee. The 2 lines are now a Pathfinder "V" as each girl has taken a step forward or turned accordingly as the enrolee walked by. Now she is holding 7 cards, and is at the table.
On the back of each card is a Guiding Law with one word "missing." It is actually written in lemon juice (invisible ink.) She holds each card over the flame to decipher the last word. Here is the poem, a line of which is on each card:
The reverse says:
After she has read each Law, the Guider says "In one of these bags is a treasure rare, find it now, if you dare." She has to feel in the bags to find her enrolment pin. Once she has found it, her Guider pins it on her, and she is asked if she is ready to repeat her Promise. Finally, the new Pathfinder is welcomed into the group!