Girl Scouts from the Lehighton area marked Girl Scout Sunday this week at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lehighton.

Girl Scout Sunday is a chance for local Girl Scouts and families to attend and take part in a local worship service. It is the first day of Girl Scout Week, which celebrates the founding of Girl Scouts of the USA on March 12, 1912.Scouts opened Trinity's worship service with a presentation of the American and Girl Scout flags and played an active role throughout the service, assisting with scripture readings, the offering and prayer.The Rev. Guy Grube, interim pastor, welcomed the Scouts, leaders and family members and thanked them for taking the time to help with the service.He shaped the day's sermon around the girls and the week's Gospel reading, which told of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness, noting that many of the Scouts had badges which they had earned on their uniforms and sashes."I suspect that some of the things you did (to earn badges) because you had to do them, or because you wanted the badge," said Grube, adding that there may have been some badges that the girls enjoyed earning more than others."By trying to do different things, we begin to find out what the talents and gifts are that God has given to us."The next step, after discovering your talents, is to find out what you are called to do with these talents, said Grube. Finally, he said, we are called to use these gifts and talents to the best of our ability."Jesus could have done anything he wanted to do. He could have turned stone into bread, if that's what he thought he was supposed to do. He could have fed all the hungry people in the world," he said. "That's not what God wanted Jesus to do with his talents and abilities. Instead, Jesus determined that God wanted him to use his talents and gifts to preach."He ended the sermon by asking each Scout to remember this lesson and to use their talents to make the world a better place."God has given us all different types of talents and abilities. It is up to us to decide how to use those gifts," said Grube. "I hope that you somehow make your life, and the lives of others around you, just a little bit better."After the service, Scouts held World Thinking Day, a day to share information with the community about different countries and Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world. The Scouts created posters and presented foods from France, Pakistan, Bangladesh, St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Mexico to family members and members of Trinity."You can see that (Girl Guides and Scouts in other countries) is a little different, but that there are a lot of similarities," said Service Unit manager Katherine Hosler. "They get to learn about the different countries."The theme for this year's World Thinking Day was education and was meant to teach the Scouts about the importance of education, especially for young girls in the world's poorest countries.Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teen who was shot by the Taliban for promoting women's education, was highlighted in the Pakistan poster."She stood up for women's rights and was persecuted," said Ambassador Scout Madeline Walbert, 17. "It was interesting to learn about her. I also liked going around to all the different booths and learning about the other countries."Scouts participating in the worship service and World Thinking Day included Daisy troops 33 and 38; Brownie troops 3241 and 3862; Junior Troop 3248; Cadette Troop 3583; Senior Troop 3510; and Ambassador Troop 3802.Leading the service were color guard members Stephanie Riggio, Katelyn Hosler, Hannah Lictenwalner, Shealyn Buchert, and Emma Liguori; greeters Shelby Heater and Leilani McClure; readers Madeline Walbert, Shain Hrusovsky, and Emma Liguori; accepting the offering were Lily McDonough, Yasmin Seach, Tatiana Gonzolez, and Kylee Whiteman.