Provided that you are currently registered with Tidewater Council, you may renew your Lodge membership simply by contacting the lodge and paying your dues along with the late fee, if applicable. In accordance with the lodge rules, the current dues are $10 per year and a $2 late fee is assessed if payment is made after January 31.

If the last time you paid dues to the lodge was less than twenty years ago, then we most likely still have records of your membership. If it has been more than twenty years since you were a member, then it would be helpful if you could show an OA membership card or in some other fashion provide evidence for your prior membership. You may pay your dues at the Council Service Center or at most chapter meetings.

Every lodge has its own membership policies. All lodges will require you to be registered with the local council before you may join the lodge. Most will require that you demonstrate your OA membership in some fashion, perhaps by showing an OA membership card. Others require a letter or some other sort of verification from the prior lodge. If your new lodge requires membership verification from Blue Heron, please visit our lodge members page to locate the email address for our Lodge Adviser and email him with your request.

In order to be registered with an Order of the Arrow lodge, you must first register as a Scout or Scouter in the council. For assistance in locating a unit near you or to volunteer at the district level, please contact the Tidewater Council Service Center.

Once you have registered with a unit or district, in accordance with the lodge rules, OA members wishing to transfer to Blue Heron Lodge will need to complete the dues form and submit the current year's dues ($10). The late fee is waived for transfers.

We will ask that you produce some sort of evidence of OA membership. This could be a membership card, Brotherhood or Vigil certificate, or letter from a former lodge.

Blue Heron Lodge conducts Brotherhood Ceremonies at both Ordeals, the Fall Fellowship, and the Council Freeze-o-ree at Pipsico. We also occasionally have "Brotherhood Days" at one of the other council camps. To go through the Brotherhood ceremony at a lodge event, simply add the appropriate line item to your event registration form.

In order to go through the Brotherhood ceremony, you must:

1. Be a member of the Order of the Arrow for at least ten months.
2. Have a passing knowledge of our customs such as the Obligation, the Song, and the Ordeal ceremony. A complete list can be found in the Order of the Arrow handbook.
3. Pay the Brotherhood fee when you register for the event. The fee covers the cost of your new sash.

Normally, the form is distributed to candidates at their callout. If you were not given one at your callout, if you misplaced the form you were given, or if you were never called out, then please ask your chapter for one or email the Unit Elections adviser, Mr. Ron Misfelt or the Lodge Adviser, Mr. Ed Hotel.

In a nutshell, visitors at Ordeals are not encouraged and persons who are not OA members are not permitted at ceremonies. Parents with questions or concerns should contact the Lodge Adviser, Mr. Ed Hotel, or the Ceremonies Adviser, Mr. David Torbert.

OA Members

Any family members who are Lodge members should pay the registration fee, attend the Ordeal, and participate at the event. If there are unusual circumstances that don't allow them to attend this particular event then the person desiring to visit may contact one of the Key 3 (Lodge Chief, Adviser, or Staff Adviser). Requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

We understand family schedules that don't allow Lodge members to attend every event but we will not make a Lodge policy allowing open attendance while other members bear financial burden for the event. Opening an Ordeal to visitors sends the wrong message to the membership about being in the OA, performing service for Scouting, and paying to attend events.

Non OA Members

If parents are not members but are interested in learning about the organization their son has been elected to join, we offer a video, "Scouting's Brotherhood of Cheerful Service", at the Council Service Center. This video explains the purpose and mission of the OA and will help the parents understand the event their son is experiencing.

The May 2006 Order of the Arrow Operations Update states the following: The referenced passage of the Order of the Arrow handbook says:

In accordance with this policy, all persons attending a ceremony must be Order of the Arrow members. Despite rumors that result from a mis-interpretation of Scouting's rule against secret societies, it is not, and never has been, the policy of this lodge or the policy of the Order of the Arrow to permit non-members at ceremonies. Persons who are not members will be asked to leave.

Parents who have questions or concerns about the content of ceremonies should contact the Lodge Adviser, Mr. Ed Hotel, or the Ceremonies Adviser, Mr. David Torbert prior to the Ordeal weekend. As discussed in the policy above, we can answer any questions about the ceremonies or the symbolism therein, as well as make available DVDs and other resources.

Lodge Flaps may be purchased at most Lodge of Chapter events. Please check the calendar for your specific Chapter meeting location and date. Your Chapter Custodian or his adult adviser should have Lodge memorabilia available at most meetings.

If a Troop/Team is planning to have their OA candidates called out at an Out-of-Council Summer Camp, the Unit Leader is required to present a letter of request from the Lodge Chief or Lodge Adviser of Blue Heron Lodge to the Camp Director and Lodge Chief of the Host Council. The earlier you start the process to request the letter from the Lodge, the sooner you can expect to receive it. The Lodge Chief will need the name of the camp your unit is attending, the dates your unit is registered to attend summer camp, the Council in which the Camp is located, the names, ranks, and unit positions of any youth or adults to be called out.

Following the call-out all Ordeal functions will be performed in Tidewater Council under the direction of Blue Heron Lodge; unless, as per page 22 of the Guide for Officers and Advisers, prior approval has been reached and appropriate funds have been exchanged between all concerned.

On the return to Blue Heron Lodge the Unit Leader should contact the Lodge Induction Team to acquire Lodge Ordeal schedule and registration information.

Page 21 of Chapter 3 of the 2007 printing of the Guide to Inductions says, "Unlike the other OA ceremonies, photos and video may be taken at call-out ceremonies". We are not aware of any direct statement of policy on cameras at ceremonies (only this indirect statement, regarding photos at call-outs) and so we have adopted the following guidelines:

• Recognizing that the Order of the Arrow safeguards its ceremonies, neither video of ceremonies, nor still pictures that clearly display any symbol or symbolic act should be posted publicly.
• The Order of the Arrow is NOT a secret society. Any request from a parent to see photos or video from a ceremony should be accomodated.
• Under no circumstances should any camera with a flash or which makes noise be utilized. Flash photography is inherently disruptive to the ceremonialists, the candidates, and the other spectators and will not be tolerated. Please set your camera to not use the flash and turn off its sound PRIOR TO THE START OF THE FIRST CEREMONY. If you are uncertain whether your camera makes noise, take a test shot beforehand. If you do not know how to turn off the flash, ask for help or do not use your camera. If you cannot comply with this policy, you will be asked to leave.
• Photographs of ceremonies are generally taken by the ceremonial, website, historian, and Drumbeat committees and posted in the photos section of this website or on the lodge's facebook page.
• Because of the distraction that can be caused by excessive numbers of cameras, it is asked that individuals use reasonable discretion with cameras.