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.)