History of TLW Catholic WA
 Our
Perth group started at the end of 2000, with a few people getting
together with the vision of promoting chastity in Perth and supporting
young people who are saving the gift of sex for marriage. The group
decided to run with the True Love Waits movement as some of our
members had seen its success and popularity elsewhere.
The first meeting was in someone's lounge room with about a dozen
of us sitting around discussing big picture ideas for WA. Some of us
were students, some of us were working, but all of us were
volunteers and each gave what time and gifts that they could offer
to the group. It was a new and exciting time.
Within a couple of weeks of forming, our fellow True Love Waits
groups in the other states were getting some media attention.
Immediately Channel 9 and The Sunday Times were speaking to us and
this caused us to quickly establish our identity.
School Presentations
School presentations were a big part of our mission. In the first
year we ran 17 school presentations as well as various other
presentations to youth groups, Christian organisations and
interviews on Christian radio.
Our presentations cover various aspects to chastity, including:
dignity and respect of every person, understanding authentic love,
the meaning of our sexuality linked with marriage, the joys and
benefits of a chaste life, consequences and risks associated with
pre-marital sex and turning back to a chaste life for those may have
fallen away. We also include skits and demonstrations to assist in
presenting this.
Pledge Ceremonies
Early in the first year, we also created the pledge ceremony.
Continuing with the TLW pledge card tradition, we organised an event
that started out with a presentation and testimonies on the beauty
of chastity. This presentation concluded with the celebration of
Mass and the pledge cards were signed at a particular moment during
the Mass. Mass was followed with food and celebrations. The pledge
ceremonies have been an annual event since then.
Open Sessions
An idea that got off the ground in early 2001 was to have regular
gatherings called 'open sessions'. The open sessions would be a
monthly presentation providing formation for the team and were also
advertised to the wider community. Examples of past topics include:
real love, chastity in marriage, real men and women, a three part
Theology of the Body summarised series, a modesty debate, sexually
transmitted infections, natural family planning, the life of St.
Maria Goretti and various videos.
Not only do these provide formation for those who attend, open
sessions also help TLW build a strong presence in the wider
community and provide more support for young people who find
fellowship through the monthly gatherings. Open sessions continue to
be a great success for the group.
Discovery of Theology of the Body
In 2003, two people in the group went part time at their work for
12 months to devote more time and attention to the group's
presentation program. It was in this year that the group tapped into
the teachings of Pope John Paul II's 'Theology of the Body', which
brought tremendous enlightenment and new perspectives on chastity
and the meaning and dynamics of human sexuality, marriage, celibacy
and sexual morality.
A Catholic Identity
As the members of the group are Catholic, our faith has had a
strong influence on our understanding of human sexuality and the
virtue of chastity. Hence in 2004, the name True Love Waits Catholic
WA was established and the TLW logo seen on this website was decided
upon.
And so the TLW story goes on! As our group continues to grow and
evolve, we look forward to furthering the promotion of chastity and
the true meaning of sexuality in Perth.
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