Sixteen-year-old Philip Slack of Albrightsville helped give new life to Christ Lutheran Church in Penn Forest Township recently.

Several years ago the church was the scene of an arson, which destroyed much of the interior of the building."We had previous Eagle ceremonies at the church," said Slack, a member of Boy Scout Troop 555, Penn Forest Township. "Because of that, we figured it would be a good project to do for my Eagle Scout."At the time Slack proposed his plan to help fix up the church, plans for renovations and repairs of the church were getting under way."It was a big deal to fix up the church, and the timing was right."The project, which refurbished the kitchen area of the church hall, totaled about 100 hours of manual labor and took up most of Slack's summer."I went in to work with my dad every day and learned how to make cabinets. We refurbished some old cabinets and repainted them and then installed them with the help of other Scouts from the troop."The cost for the project was covered by troop fundraising and donations made by David Peer of European Country Cabinets.Slack says he learned a lot from being in the Scouts. Besides survival skills, CPR, camping and hiking skills, he also learned a lot of leadership skills and the value of hard workSlack also enjoyed the adventures and trips the troop went on during his time in Scouts. Slack says he has been in the Scouting program "forever;" at least since his time as a Tiger Cub Scout. He says he is grateful for all his experiences."It feels good to accomplish something that few people can or will do," says Slack, pointing out that being an Eagle Scout is a major plus on applications and resumes.Slack would definitely recommend Scouting to other boys, as a way to make new friends and learn a lot about life and for all of its experiences.Slack is the son of John and Eileen Slack of Albrightsville. He is a junior at Jim Thorpe Area High School and hopes to earn an ROTC scholarship and go to school for criminal justice. After that, he hopes to join the FBI.Slack be celebrating his achievement and officially become an Eagle Scout in an Eagle Court of Honor Ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Christ Lutheran Church. He will share the ceremony with two of his fellow Scouts, who have also attained Scouting's highest rank.