LONDON, Ont. -- As a recent
graduate of religious studies from the University of Western Ontario, Lorraine
Scott has decided to take on a challenging, yet rewarding direction in
life.
Scott is a 22-year-old independent
speaker in the southwestern Ontario region. Her ministry is called “Chastity:
The Loving Alternative.” Scott is extremely busy speaking to youth ministry
meetings, retreats, classrooms, confirmation preparation and catechism
classes.
Initially, Scott recognized
young people’s hunger for chastity when she toured with the Chastity Challenge
team - a group of young people who undertake national speaking tours on
chastity. She felt the need to concentrate on a specific region in order
to remain a strong presence for youth in terms of chastity education. She
found that teens require ongoing support in an “anything goes” society.
Positive feedback
After attempting a two-month
pilot project, Scott realized that there was no turning back. Her endeavor
to reinforce teaching on chastity in classrooms brings an enthusiastic
and positive feedback from the students.
“I am someone they can relate
to ... speaking the truth from personal experience,” Scott says. She believes
this is the main reason for the success of her presentations on chastity.
Specific topics covered in
Scott’s presentation include physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences
of sex before marriage, chastity as a virtue, and the freedoms chastity
provides. “The interactive style of the presentation is something the teens
enjoy and benefit from,” Scott says.
Scott added that one of the
root causes of teenage promiscuity today derives from a need to be loved.
Scott thoughtfully quotes Mother Teresa, “The hunger for love is much more
difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
She tells young people that
sex cannot fill the void for love. This will only lead to deeper emptiness
and heartbreak. “The key to experiencing love is to develop healthy relationships
based on respect,” she says.
Scott has concluded that
young people in the late 1990s are desperately seeking hope. They have
difficulty looking ahead; they’re ignoring the future and merely living
for the “now.”
She urges teenagers
to acknowledge that the foundations they build today will impact the future
in a positive way, if they seek the truth. She asks them questions such
as: “What is really important to you? What is life about? What can you
do for the future?”
Personal commitment
In addition, Scott offers
hope to all with the promise that it is never too late to start over and
lead a new life of self-respect. A personal commitment to chastity and
the sacrament of reconciliation (for Roman Catholics) are two essential
ways to start afresh and clear up past mistakes.
Scott’s main goal is to join
forces with leaders and educators in the community. She believes that when
chastity educators unite as role models, they can provide a positive, lasting
model to young people.
There are many ways to reach
out and assist in the spread of chastity awareness. Anyone interested in
having Lorraine Scott address a group, or would like to donate to this
special ministry, telephone 1-519-673-3535, fax 519-439-0207.
(Keri-Ann Mullan is a
student at the University of Western Ontario in London, and an occasional
contributor to The Interim.)
