Pax Lodge volunteers attend WTD service at Westminster Abbey

On Saturday 27 February 2010 nearly five hundred Girl Guides and Girl Scouts of all ages gathered in Central London to celebrate World Thinking Day with a Westminster Abbey Centenary celebration. The centenary event was a celebration of the foresight and enthusiasm of leaders who, for 100 years, have ensured that Guiding has moved with the times and the values that have been shared with each successive generation of girls and young women.

Pax Lodge volunteers gathered to commemorate the birthday of our founders Robert and Olave Baden-Powell whose memorial is located in the Nave of Westminster Abbey. The service forms part of the Guide’s World Thinking Day in which Guides are encouraged to think and act on a particular issue. This year's theme is girls worldwide say ‘together we can end extreme poverty and hunger’. Scouts are in attendance by special invitation and together they will celebrate the shared traditions and values of the two Movements.

The Service

The service started with a reflection on the beginning of Guiding and continued with a conversation between four members of the same Guiding family that illustrated how the Promise and the philosophy and values of the Movement have influenced and shaped the lives of successive generations of girls and women.

Later in the ceremony young members of Girlguiding UK sang alongside with Sense of Sound, runners-up in the BBC Last Choir Standing show. Before a handbell ringing performance by Girlguiding UK, Guides were given the opportunity to renew their promise with Chief Guide, Liz Burley. One of our own volunteers, Sophia from Nigeria, had the honor of renewing her promise onstage with the Chief Guide and then commemorating the Founder and Lady Baden-Powell by placing flowers on the memorial.

The service was also held to raise money to the work of the Westminster Abbey as well as a charity chosen by Girlguiding UK. Girl Guiding UK and the Scout Association have been celebrating World Thinking Day at Westminster Abbey for over 40 years.