Eagle Scout projects benefit parishes, help youths grow in their faith

Andrew Hostetler, a member of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg, poses by a Marian grotto on the grounds of the Indianapolis West Deanery faith community. He oversaw the planning and fundraising for the project and took part in the manual labor of constructing it as part of an Eagle Scout project he completed. (Submitted photo)

By Sean Gallagher

Young people involved in Scouting have to complete a significant community project as part of the process for them to earn the highest rank in the organization: Eagle Scout.

During the past several months, two young men in the archdiocese earned that rank by assisting their parishes.

Andrew Hostetler, a member of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg, raised funds and took part in the work to create a large outdoor grotto featuring a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary (which had previously belonged to the former Holy Trinity Parish in Indianapolis) on the campus of the Indianapolis West Deanery faith community.

Michael Dexter, a member of Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Parish in Indianapolis, worked to create a new stable for an outdoor Nativity set for his faith community.

On Dec. 8 last year, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Andrew was amazed to see so many St. Malachy parishioners gather for a blessing of the new Marian grotto.

“Witnessing all of those people there definitely had an impact on me, especially knowing that I had such an integral role in the grotto,” he said.

Although Andrew spearheaded the creation of the grotto at St. Malachy, many parishioners helped him by donating $39,000 to make the construction of the grotto possible.

To solicit their support, Andrew spoke about it in the parish and made sure that parish communications—including its bulletin—shared information about the project with its nearly 1,900 households.

“I was the main spokesperson,” Andrew said. “I did advertising and spoke before a couple of Masses.”

He also worked on an application that resulted in the awarding of a $15,000 grant from the Queen and Divine Mercy Fund, which is managed by the archdiocesan Catholic Community Foundation.

A lot of times in Eagle Scout projects, the young person does much of the manual labor to complete it. Andrew did, assisting contractors who performed the work nearly every day that they were at the parish working on the grotto.

But he also learned a lot in his project about the necessary behind-the-scenes tasks to make a project like the building of the grotto possible, such as fundraising, communicating with potential donors and through the challenges that can come in working with multiple contractors on a complex initiative.

Andrew said that when he sought the approval of the project from Father Sean Danda, St. Malachy’s pastor, he “didn’t really know what to expect” regarding all the work that would come with it.

“I realized it more during the project,” Andrew said. “I don’t think I saw the value [in that work] then like I can now see it in retrospect.”

As the project approached completion, Andrew was grateful for the help of his parents, Joe and Dawn Hostetler, whom, he said, “put just as much, if not more, time helping me with this project than I did.”

He also appreciated that his fellow St. Malachy parishioners “could come together and create a project like that.”

Now that he has reached the pinnacle of his involvement in Scouting, Andrew hopes that his work at St. Malachy will have a lasting legacy.

“I hope that my project can set an example for not only other Scouts that are doing Eagle projects, but also for other people around my age in the parish,” Andrew said. “They can know that they can take an active role in the parish.”

Michael Dexter, a member of Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Parish in Indianapolis, poses by his faith community’s outdoor Nativity set. He created a new lightweight stable for it as part of an Eagle Scout project he completed. (Submitted photo)

For his part, Michael was glad to serve his home parish as well.

“It holds a special significance [for me],” he said. “I usher at some of the Masses, and I feel that here I am surrounded by people I know and love. I feel that my project was a great way to give back to everyone who has been there for me pretty much all my life.”

Michael got the idea for his Eagle Scout project from the work he and other Scouts did annually to set up his faith community’s outdoor Nativity set during Advent.

“The old stable was extremely heavy and took just about every Scout that we had to set it up and take it down,” said Michael, who recently graduated from Roncalli High School in Indianapolis.

After speaking with Father Eric Augenstein, Nativity’s pastor, Michael made plans to construct a new, more lightweight stable. He also did landscaping work around the parish’s rectory as part of his Eagle Scout project.

He oversaw the work of more than a dozen people on the project who put in more than 150 hours of work through four days.

“My main goal with the new design was to make the whole stable lighter, so it would not be as difficult to take up and tear down,” Michael said. “As of now, a group of three Scouts can easily set up the entire stable, compared to a previous average of about 10 people.”

He said that taking part in outdoor events like camping in Scouting in the past has helped him feel “connected with God, particularly in nature.” In his Eagle Scout project, the connections he had with his parish helped him to give back to it.

“I already knew everyone I needed to talk to about getting my project in motion, so I was pretty comfortable in presenting my ideas and plan,” Michael said.

He previously earned with his brother Scouts the Pope Pius XII religious emblem. It involved, he said, “a lot of time reflecting on our faith and hosting a canned food drive” for a local food pantry.

While overseeing all the work involved in his Eagle Scout project, Michael was focused on the work itself and the reward he would receive.

Now that it’s complete, he has an appreciation of the effect that his project will have.

“It’s pretty cool to think that the work I’ve done will affect others for years to come,” Michael said. †