The Religion of the Self

Posted on October 14, 2013 
Filed under Church of England, Opinion

David HollowayAt Jesmond Parish Church in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, the Rev. David Holloway explains why the church-sponsored brownie and guide units are refusing to make the new Girl Guide promise.

“There was a problem at the beginning of last month. On 1 September 2013 the Girl Guide promise, “the beating heart of guiding” according to the Chief Guide, was to change. The promise that was being discarded was as follows:

I promise that I will do my best
To love my God
To serve the Queen and my country
To help other people
And to keep the Brownie/Guide Law

Instead it was mandated from Girlguiding’s central authority that from the 1 September every girl and leader must say these words:

I promise that I will do my best
To be true to myself and develop my beliefs
To serve the Queen and my community
To help other people
And to keep the Brownie/Guide Law …”

Read it all at the JPC website.