Purely Committed Conference Discusses Sex and Decisions
By Jaime Rau
It’s been a little over a week since the Purely Committed Conference that took place in Philippi, August 9th, 2003. That ground breaking Saturday event has been the topic of conversation upon the program founder’s return to the United States.
On August 9th from 11:00am to 5:30pm about 155 youth from Philippi gathered at the Community Centre to talk about Sex and other issues of concern; love, relationships, marriage, and AIDS. The aim was to motivate young people to commit to abstinence, in other words to save sex for marriage. The event included a catered meal as well as a multi-media presentation, including video of many celebrities who have embraced the lifestyle of abstinence until marriage.
Some of the compelling reasons given to encourage the youth were that abstaining eliminates the possibility of having a child when you are not ready, it reduces the chance of contracting AIDS through sexual transmission 100%, and sex was designed by God, for husband and wife only.
Three of the local speakers, a Reverend, a Reverend’s wife, and an Anglican Youth Leader, addressed cultural issues involving sex. A point made was that sex before marriage was not always accepted by the culture; it was not until recently that the new generations have started to have sex before marriage. The rapid spread of AIDS has also been a recent occurrence and it is now time for each individual to make a choice to live without aids by abstaining or to take the risk of infecting others and/or dying. Jessica Bailey inspired the youth through sharing her true story about committing to secondary virginity. A few years ago Jessica gave her precious gift of her virginity away but did not let that experience, accompanied by guilt and pain, keep her on a path of destruction. She made the commitment to herself, her future husband, and God that she would not have sex form that day forward until she was committed to her husband in marriage. Jessica shared about how she was redeemed and feels whole again despite her past mistakes.
The conference was a success as it opened discussion among the youth concerning the important issue of sex and introduced many to abstinence for the first time. One attendee stated, “It was very educational and exciting. It has changed my life, my way of thinking. It is the best workshop I’ve ever attended.” Another attendee stated, “I learned a lot. The issue of secondary virginity gave one a new meaning to life, knowing that it’s not over but we can start a new beginning.” Sixteen youth participated in a commitment ceremony where they were given an opportunity to symbolize their decision to save sex for marriage.
