At the start of the Trefoil Guild’s February Executive Committee meeting Pauline Cox and Chris Birch, Lichfield Guild, led a Thinking Day ceremony entitled the “Golden Link” ceremony from the Netherlands which reminded us how, as individuals, we are important in making the whole chain of Girlguiding and Girl Scouting strong. As members of Trefoil we are not only members of our own guild, county, region and country, but we have sisters in Trefoil, Girlguiding and Girl Scouting in 136 countries around the world. Each of whom has accepted a Promise and Law much like our own.
Strips of paper where given out to members at the meeting. On each strip of paper was written the name of a country where there are Girl Scouts or Girl Guides, and a portion of the Promise or Law from that country. Members were requested to look at what was written on the paper strip before creating a link with another strip by slotting the ends together to make a circle and joining them together with our neighbour’s.
In the Netherlands, a Girl Guide is called a Padvindster. Padvindster’s close their meetings with a friendship circle, each girl says in turn, “I am a link in the golden chain of world friendship, and I will keep my link strong and bright”. As each of us added a link to build our Golden Chain of Friendship, we thought about our members throughout the world and also about how each of us is an important link in the Golden Chain of Friendship.
The golden paper chain link was then put around the Thinking Day Candle. Together we renewed our promise and said aloud the saying from Padvinsters in the Netherlands; “I am a Link in the Golden Chain of World Friendship, and I will keep my link strong and bright”. Pauline Cox then lit the Thinking Day Candle.
