Passaconaway Lodge has proudly served as Daniel Webster Council, New Hampshire’s Order of the Arrow Lodge since 1942. We are comprised of seven chapters, who serve the seven districts in our council: Abnaki, Arrowhead, Historic, Massabesic, Mt Monadnock, Sunapee and Wannalancit. Passaconaway Lodge is the home lodge for hundreds of Arrowmen across the state who all live by the Scout Oath and Law, while valuing cheerful service, leadership, brotherhood, camping and of course, fellowship.

what is the order of the arrow?

For over 100 years, the Order of the Arrow (OA) has recognized Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives.  This recognition provides encouragement for others to live these ideals as well.  Arrowmen are known for maintaining camping traditions and spirit, promoting year-round and long term resident camping, and providing cheerful service to others.  OA service, activities, adventures, and training for youth and adults are models of quality leadership development and programming that enrich and help to extend Scouting to America’s youth.

Leadership and service are two of the most integral pieces which make up what the Order of the Arrow is. Cheerful service to one’s community, unit and lodge are key for all active Arrowmen. The Order of the Arrow organization exists so that the key scouts in your unit will be elected in, trained in their lodge, and gain the necessary leadership skills to go back and best serve their unit.

Mission

The mission of the Order of the Arrow is to fulfill its purpose as an integral part of the Boy Scouts of America through positive youth leadership under the guidance of selected capable adults.

Purpose

As Scouting’s National Honor Society, our purpose is to:

  • Recognize those who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives and through that recognition cause others to conduct themselves in a way that warrants similar recognition.
  • Promote camping, responsible outdoor adventure, and environmental stewardship as essential components of every Scout’s experience, in the unit, year-round, and in summer camp.
  • Develop leaders with the willingness, character, spirit and ability to advance the activities of their units, our Brotherhood, Scouting, and ultimately our nation.
  • Crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others.

The three membership levels

While there are three levels of membership (called “honors”) in the Order of the Arrow, all members—regardless of honor—are considered equal.

Ordeal

The induction ceremony, called the Ordeal, is the first step toward full membership in the Order. During the experience, candidates will go through a series of tests. The entire experience is designed to teach significant values. All candidates for membership must complete the Ordeal.

See more information on how to complete your Ordeal under our “Resources” tab.

Brotherhood

After 6 months of service as an Ordeal member and fulfilling certain requirements, a member may take part in the Brotherhood ceremony, which places further emphasis on the ideals of Scouting and the Order. Completion of this ceremony signifies full membership in the Order.

See more information on how to complete your Brotherhood membership under our “Resources” tab.

Vigil Honor

After two years of exceptional service as a Brotherhood member, and with the approval of the national Order of the Arrow committee, a Scout or Scouter may be recognized with the Vigil Honor for their distinguished contributions to their lodge, the Order of the Arrow, Scouting, or their Scout camp. This honor is bestowed by special selection and is limited to one person for every 50 members registered with the lodge each year.

ORGANIZATION IN THE ORDER OF THE ARROW

The Order of the Arrow has distinct organizational levels beneath the national organization: lodges, sections, and regions. Lodges carry out the Order of the Arrow program at the local level and are chartered to BSA councils. Sections consist of several lodges within a geographic vicinity, and regions, in turn, consist of sections that each span half the country. Lodges, sections, and regions each have a distinct set of responsibilities that ensures the OA program runs smoothly.

Chapters

Passaconaway Lodge is made up of seven Chapters that each service one of the seven districts within the Daniel Webster Council. Chapters hold separate meetings from the lodge and often hold monthly events outside of lodge events. Refer to the separate chapter pages for details on meeting times and locations.

When it comes to the structure of our lodge, there is one chapter for each district of the council. Each chapter has its own officers and advisers, the officers being elected by the youth Arrowmen members within the chapter, and the advisers being appointed by the Scout executive often with the consultation of the lodge adviser and district executive(s).

Chapters provide the ability to have meetings closer to home, and meetings and events can be scheduled to coincide with the district events. The chapter is central to providing quality unit visits for camping promotion, and unit elections.

Lodge

Passaconaway Lodge exists to serve Daniel Webster Council (and the state of New Hampshire) and individual units. The key leaders in the lodge are the youth lodge chief, volunteer adult lodge adviser, and professional staff adviser. The lodge chief presides over the Lodge Executive Board, which is responsible for executing the annual program of the lodge. Our Lodge Executive Board consists of two vice chiefs, a secretary, and a treasurer, as well as chapter chiefs and operating committee chairs who are responsible for various aspects of the lodge’s program.

Section

An Order of the Arrow section consists of lodges within a geographic vicinity, our being Section E19, which serves 8 lodges in New England. Each section is led by a chief, vice chief, and secretary, who play a crucial part in supporting lodges within the section as well as planning an annual conclave. The section may lead training seminars, promote national programs of emphasis, and provide resources to local lodges. The section chief presides over the Council of Chiefs, attended by delegates of each member lodge.

Each year, the approximately forty elected section chiefs are invited to a national planning meeting. The section chiefs form the conference committee for the following year’s national program of emphasis, such as the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC), which is held under the guidance of the National Order of the Arrow Committee.

Region

The Order of the Arrow is organized in two geographic regions: the Eastern and Gateway regions. Each region is led by a youth region chief, a volunteer region chairman, and a professional region staff adviser. The key three are, at the discretion of the region chairman, also supported by a region OA committee consisting of youth and adult volunteers. The region leadership team helps execute the national program on a more local level, implements the National Leadership Seminar (NLS) and Developing Youth Leadership Conference (DYLC), provides its member sections with resources, and facilitates communication between local organizations and the national OA committee.

National

At the national level, the Order of the Arrow is governed by the National Order of the Arrow Committee. The national committee sets program policy, directs the national program of the Order, and broadly manages the organization above the local lodge level. The committee is composed of the national chief and national vice chief (and their immediate predecessors), who are elected annually at the national planning meeting; the current and immediate past region chiefs, if appointed by the chairman; the volunteer chairman, who is appointed annually by the Chief Scout Executive; other volunteer members, as appointed by the chairman; and two staff members, the director of the Order of the Arrow and the associate director.