ACLC Pastor Donald Ward Holds Pure Love Event for Youth to Promote Chastity Before Marriage !!
Seattle, Washington - April 2010
“God’s Handmaidens & Manservants” was the main message title for the Third Annual Pure Love Celebration. Incorporating “A Dedication to Christ and Purity,” praise dance, and a Pure Love Essay contest, the annual celebration was founded and organized by the Byrne family of Seattle, in memory of their daughter Jin Joo. This year it was held at the Daystar Baptist Church in Renton, Washington, and two other congregations, the Haitian “New Jerusalem Baptist Church” and the Spanish “Strong Rock Church”, which also worship at Daystar Baptist Church, participated as well.
Pastor Donald Ward of Daystar Baptist Church a pastor who works with the American Clergy Leadership Conference and Pastor Jean Lance and Pastor Mauricio Bautista of Strong Rock Church, encouraged the young people to dedicate their lives to Christ and to stand strong for abstinence from sexual activities and from drugs and alcohol. Rev. Izabella Byrne and other ACLC leaders supported this very important effort.
Host of the event Pastor Donald Ward
Main Speaker Ass. Pastor Willa Blacknoll
The program began with a unique praise dance by the Daystar Praise Dancers. It was a very moving and inspirational dance depicting the beauty of salvation. The main message was given by the Assistant Pastor of Daystar Baptist Church, Willa Blacknoll. Her theme was “God’s Hand Maidens & Man Servants” emphasizing “ A Celebration of Purity” and based on Joel 2:29, 1 Corinthians 7:32-35, 1 Timothy 4:12, Proverbs 20:25, Psalm 34:1-3, 1 Peter 1:22-25 and 1 Peter 2:1-3
She emphasized the importance of the dedication to pure love ceremony and the opportunity that it offers young people to publicly declare their purity in honor and boldness, not to shy away from the issue or its importance. She also reflected on her life and the circumstances that led to the choices that she made, and that if a celebration such as this had of being the norm during her time, her choices would have been different, despite her circumstances..
Then we witnessed an inspiring “Dedication to Christ and Purity” ceremony, with many young people being anointed by the Holy Spirit and receiving “True Love Waits” purity rings. The congregation made the following Purity Pledge:
From this day forward, I promise to:
· Respect and honor the ideal of purity in myself and others.
· Practice unconditional love as a friend, spouse and parent.
· Preserve my love for my future marriage partner.
We also participated in a “protect your heart” activity. Everyone in the congregation received a paper heart and tore off several pieces of it, representing what happens to your heart when you are involved in multiple relationships. This showed the importance of protecting our heart, so that we may offer our whole heart to someone special in the safety and sanctity of marriage.
Rev Iva Jennings distributes the Purity Rings
Byrnes with a guest Elder Kwasi Poku
Our MC, Mrs. Yvonne Benavides, introduced the Legacy of Jin Joo Ellen Byrne, whose life was our inspiration to create this celebration. A video clip of Jin Joo was shown, of her street preaching on abstinence and pure life style at Speaker’s Corner at Hyde Park, in London, in 2000 during the PLA Tour. “Only by giving your 100% effort in the relationship there is a guarantee for success” she expressed in her speech. Her enthusiasm and passion were well received by the audience.
Mrs. Julie Burgess, co-founder of the Pure Love Essay Contest and a teacher in the Renton School District, introduced the Pure Love Essay Contest 2010. Essay topics for each age category this year were as follows:
College Age:
1.Why do you think that all the major religions teach about sexual purity before marriage and fidelity within marriage?
2.How would you explain the importance of abstinence as a good preparation for a faithful marriage to someone who is or was involved in premarital sexual relations?
High School - 11th and 12th grades:
How can you cultivate and promote sexual purity before marriage when the culture bombards you with sexually oriented messages and images?
High School - 9th and 10th grades:
How can choosing abstinence from sex, drugs and alcohol impact your present and future life?
Middle School:
How does keeping sexual purity and abstaining from drugs and alcohol affect your relationship with your parents, siblings and peers?
She gave a short talk on her concerns with how students are being taught on the subject of sex education. The following, she quoted, from the Pure Love Alliance Curriculum, a curriculum on relationships, marriage and family:
“These four institutions (The Kinsey Institute, Playboy, Planned Parenthood and the Sexual Information and Education Council (SIECUS) actively promoted sex outside marriage in public schools to unmarried minors. Their monopoly “imprinted the new variant standard in almost all of sex education curricula in the nation’s schools.”
Also, she read some excerpts from students’ essays which were submitted for the Pure Love Essay Contest 2010:
“Hearts are like glass. Be careful, they break. If people continue to be reckless with their hearts, then there will be nothing left of them except a pile of shards.” This quote was from the winner of the new “Glass Heart Award”, established this year, for essays that “capture the heart”, inspired by Joshua Kiefer’s essay.
Another student wrote,
“The relationships that I build with others are something that I cherish beyond anything physical, including drugs, alcohol, and sex…If by abstaining from these things, I can share an honest and comfortable relationship with my parents and siblings and a supportive brother/sister relationship with friends around me…what more could I ask for? I am not only doing my body a favor. I am able to connect to and support those in my life, without causing them unnecessary distress. So how does keeping sexual purity and abstaining from drugs and alcohol affect my life? It makes life good.”
Finally, came the moment the essay writers were waiting for, when Mrs. Ella Byrne and her daughter Christine, announced the winners for the Pure Love Essay contest 2010. First prize in each age category was awarded $200. Second prize was awarded $100. Runner-up essays were recognized as Honorable Mentions.
The following are reflections by participating pastors:
“This kind of program is very much needed in this day and age in every church across this nation… Purity simply means to have sexual self control and to stay within the boundaries.”
Pastor Pearlie Clay, Mount Zion Ministry
“These values are the most important because God wants us to live this way!”
Pastor Jean Lance, New Jerusalem Haitian Baptist Church
“ I was very moved by the beautiful dance offered by the Daystar worship and dance team. The Pure Love Celebration really promoted abstinence and purity in a very positive light. I learned more about the consequences of not living an abstinent lifestyle through the sermon and testimonies. Pure love and abstinence is something that is an important part of my life and I wanted to share with others the benefits of living an abstinent life style. To let people know that I and many other teens are living a life of abstinence and believe in pure love and we are encouraging others to do the same”
Oliver B (16 year old student)
We hope this report will inspire other congregations and communities.
Other sponsors included WFWP, FFWP and local businesses.
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Pure Love Essay Contest 2010
Excerpts from the winning essays:
www.ultrateenchoice.org Northwest Chapter
Middle School 1st Place
“Keeping sexual purity and abstaining from drugs and alcohol affect your family and peers in many different ways. The choice to use drugs and alcohol or becoming sexually active almost always has destructive consequences. Unconstructive behavior towards your peers and siblings can develop as a byproduct of the influence of drugs or alcohol. Younger siblings always look up to an older brother or sister and set an example for their behavior. For better or worse, parents are inevitably affected by the choices of their children. When you avoid drugs, alcohol, and premature sexual activity, you have a better chance of healthy development both emotionally and physically. Choosing to become involved in any one of these elements has a high likelihood of leading to other harmful options.”
Middle School – 2nd Place
“Drugs, alcohol, and sex can greatly affect our health in the future; we can get STD’s from sex, damage to vital organs from alcohol, and a multitude of harmful effects from drugs. If we don’t use drugs, consume alcohol, and have sex before marriage, none of this is likely to happen we will be able to have a strong relationship with God, our parents, our family, and our future children. We will also be able to live longer and be healthier. In the future we will also be able to get a higher education resulting in being able to get a better job and support our future children and spouse. Using drugs, alcohol and having sex before marriage doesn’t only affect our future it also effects our present day lives. If we use drugs and alcohol presently we won’t be able to participate in school sports we that we would like to play. We will also loose the trust and respect of our parents which would greatly effect what we are allowed to do. If we have sex before marriage we could get somebody pregnant and have to take care of the child which would also massively effect what we are able to do, how much our parents trust and respect us, and we won’t be able to enjoy the rest of our childhood. If we choose to not use alcohol, drugs, and not have sex before marriage we will be able to play in the sports we like, enjoy our childhood, and have relationships with our parents and God.
High School / 9-10 grade/ – 1st Place
“The things that make life so amazing are not only the experiences you go through, but the bonds you create along the way. To not only experience something positive, but to also get to share it with the ones you love. The relationships that I build with others are something that I cherish beyond anything physical, including the drugs, alcohol, and sex that are so prominent in life. If by abstaining from these things, I can share an honest and comfortable relationship with my parents and siblings, and a supportive brother/sister relationship with friends around me, than honestly, what more could I ask for? I am not only doing my body a favor, I am able to connect to and support those in my life without causing them unnecessary distress. So how does keeping sexual purity and abstaining from drugs and alcohol affect my life? It makes life good.”
High School / 9-10 grade/ – 2nd Place
“The bond between a parent and a child is very important. It should never be broken or tinkered with. Trust and love is the most important thing in a relationship. Love is a given with you parents, But trust isn’t. You should always work on building up your trust for one-another. Try as hard as you can to stop each other from making bad decision. Just one incident can falter a relationship, make sure you do the right thing and maintain sexual purity. Drugs and alcohol may seem like something you want to try, but don’t give into the pressure. Always think about how it could affect your relationship with your friends and family.”
High School / 11-12 grade / – 1st Place
“There is no way, other than to have strong self-control to maintain sexually pure. In a society that relentlessly bombards you with sexually oriented messages and images, there is no way to shelter yourself from them, so the only way to “avoid” them is personal self-control and discipline. You cannot rely on others to maintain your sexual purity, the decisions that you make personally are the only ways to remain pure. With my firm roots in the Christian faith, and the knowledge of knowing that God’s purpose and design for sex can only be achieved within marriage; and the physical and relational consequences of sex outside of marriage are devastatingly real, is what keeps me sexually pure before marriage.”
High School /11-12 grade/ – 2nd Place
“In order to maintain sexual purity before marriage it is essential for that person to understand why it is so important to remain pure and maintain sexual purity before marriage. If one truly understands the consequences of not maintaining sexual purity before marriage it will be so much easier for them to remain pure because they will want to remain pure and they realize that it is so much better for them to do so.”
“A great way in maintaining sexual purity before marriage is knowing the benefits of maintaining sexual purity. It strengthens character. It builds self-control. It protects body, mind, and spirit. It is an expression of love for God, others, and self. When a person is properly educated and knows all the benefits of maintaining sexual purity before marriage they will be less likely to have pre-marital se
College Age 1st Place
“In my experience, I’ve come to realize, that it would have been easier if I’d practiced abstinence from a young age. I now understand that God was only trying to protect me . He wanted to prevent me from all the disappointments, hurt, abuse and pain that accompanies premarital sex. I made a choice and my decision still affects me in ways that I could have avoided, if only I had adhered to the will of God for my life and exercised patience. The consequences range from pregnancy, to contracting a deadly disease to which there is no cure, changes to you as a person (attitude) and also depression that often times lead to suicide. I now understand that once you give your body to another you give them a part of you that belongs to God. 1 Corinthians 3:16 states, “Ye are Gods’ temple and the Spirit of God lives in you.” “You become one (1) with any person you lay with.” 1 Corinthians 6:16”.
College Age 2nd Place
“I personally have had the opportunity to experience the benefits of purity and fidelity in my own life. Purity was a choice I made to respect myself, my body. I chose not to be engulfed in a life of unnecessary struggles, pain and sorrow that I saw my peers immersed in. I chose to be free, free from premature parenthood, free from illness, free from the chains of the erroneous expectations of society, free to make my own decisions, and free to be able to offer my whole heart to one person. And now that I am engaged I can understand more . He also made that choice. Knowing that he waited for me helps me appreciate him so much more and allows me to be confident that he values me for who I am and that what we have will last forever. Purity and fidelity have allowed me to lead the life I want, full of trust, faith and love. That is why all major religions advocate purity before marriage and fidelity within marriage: because it works, not just for me, but it has for countless others all over the world, of all cultures, races, and religions, and it can work for you.”
College Age Alumni Award
“We can see the same virtues taught in almost every religion. Patience, mercy, selflessness, love, sincerity, dedication, faith, service, righteousness are just a few of these. In order for followers to consistently practice these, many religions also teach a high moral standard through self discipline. This eventually leads to greater fulfillment. These practices all put one’s mind above the body’s desires. On the other hand, sex outside of marriage puts the body’s desire before the well being of the other. It shows no trace of self discipline. It sacrifices other’s future family relationships for instant pleasure. When the couple breaks up, their ability to love and trust a new person is lessened and their hearts are damaged. It creates sadness and resentment that brings baggage into future relationships. If someone truly loves another person, they should be able to commit to that love for the rest of their lives. True love is for the sake of the other person and is unchanging. This is what marriage represents, commitment and devotion to one’s partner. Sex outside of this commitment is immoral because it comes from a selfish motivation. Religions teach of sacrificing oneself for a higher purpose and against selfishness. This world needs people who will help others and not just care about their own needs. Practicing pure love is an excellent way to give this to the world”.