Santorum, Specter, Hart, Pitt, Fed fund "Silver Ring Thing" Abstinence Ed

[RamboLiberal]

Sewickley is a very wealthy area of Pittsburgh area. I gotta find info on Reverend Guest.

<snip>

But the item that caught my eye brought it all home for me. It was a tantalizingly brief mention in a highlights box accompanying the Post-Gazette's main story: "$75,000 to help persuade teens in Sewickley to abstain from sex."

Wait, I said to myself, I am a resident of Sewickley. Am I to understand the teens of my town are having sex? The little jerks! And the federal government is using taxpayers' money to stop them? Hey, cold showers always worked for me, and the taxpayers didn't take a bath.

As it turns out, this faith-based initiative reaches further than Sewickley, which is a relief. Hitherto, my main local concern has been that the borough leaf picker-upper come down the alley behind my house. I do not welcome anything that might be a distraction from this important municipal function -- such as, say, the streets being clogged with Lolitas.

The $75,000 is going to a program called the Silver Ring Thing. Teens pledge to be chaste until they are married and wear a ring as a symbol of their commitment. The local program is affiliated with the Rev. John Guest and Christ Church at Grove Farm. Actually, the church is in the North Hills, but just as the Lord's house has many mansions, so does Sewickley, and I suppose it is not strictly necessary that they all have to be in the borough.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04335/418988.stm

I don't think they need the money.



Christ Church is located on the former Grove Farm in Ohio Township, just off the Mt. Nebo exit of I-79. The 46-acre campus contains a small lake, the church, the youth barn, and offices in the former farmhouse. Adjoining the church is a large athletic field and basketball court.

http://www.ccgf.org/fac.html

Christ Church receives grant for Silver Ring Thing
By Chuck Gibson, Staff writer, 4/23/2003

Abstinence education is spreading all over the country, and its origins are coming from one Sewickley-area church. Launched in 1995 in Yuma, Ariz., the Silver Ring Thing program eventually migrated to Christ Church at Grove Farm. Recently, the program received a $700,000 federal grant to help it go national.

In the next seven years, the program hopes to expand to 75 cities throughout the United States. Denny Pattyn, executive director of the John Guest Team, says the first steps will come this year.

"We want to dole it out to six cities this year. We're also building our national organization in order to do that," he said.

"We're very pleased to have received it. It's the largest grant of its kind in United States history."

Pittsburgh will be one of the cities in the initial launch, along with Boston and Columbia, S.C.

Denver, Oklahoma City, Knoxville and Minneapolis are also in the mix to launch the program.

"Some people to credit in receiving this grant are Sen. Rick Santorum and Sen. Arlen Spector, along with Rep. Melissa Hart and Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Chester County,)" he said.

http://www.silverringthing.com/staff-article-01.html

[RamboLiberal]

1. And my goodness a minister there involved in teen sex scandal

Saturday, May 31, 2003

The family of a girl who police say was sexually assaulted by the Rev. David Valencia at Christ Church at Grove Farm feels betrayed not only by Valencia, but also by the church's senior pastor, the Rev. John Guest, and a failure of governance in the large, unaffiliated church in Ohio Township.

Guest told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Thursday that he was aware Valencia had viewed sexually explicit Web sites in his church office in summer 2001, but told no one for six months. According to police, the assaults also occurred in summer 2001.

"He looks like the bishop of Boston. I hold him at least partially responsible for what happened to my daughter," the father said. The Post-Gazette is not using his name because that would identify the victim of a sexual assault.

Guest declined to discuss the issues between him and the girl's family.

http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030531valenciareg4p4.asp

[samwisefoxburr]

2. Heh...

Someone should make a parody of this but instead of abstinence rings they are cock rings.

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

3. More ammo against Santorum

Nice to know that the Federal money he is bringing to the region has absolutely no bearing on jobs or healthcare.

We don't need religious zealots, we need people interested in representing the region. I think he will find out rather quickly that Western PA is not quite the religious conservative base he had thought it was. Conservative yes, religious conservative, not necessarily.

I should do a t-shirt

"Congress handed out $338 billion dollars and all I got was this Silver Ring Thing"

DBDB

[miss_american_pie]

4. Oh my word

The hubby and I are looking for a church, and my in-laws are trying to get us to visit there. I think not.

Thanks for this thread.

[Joy Anne]

5. welcome to DU and

Watch out for "unaffiliated" churches, which often turn out to be somebody's private money machine.

I'd love to invite you to my church, but it's in the Harrisburg area, a long commute on Sunday morning!

[miss_american_pie]

6. Thanks

Don't think I could manage that drive.