From staff reports

Noted author and abstinence educator Pam Stenzel is returning to the area to present “Nobody Told Me!” to students in eighth grade through high school, parents, religious education leaders and catechists, and youth ministers across the Diocese.

During the 90-minute presentation, Stenzel will use her pregnancy counselling experience, as well as her personal story, to help educate teens about the true meaning of sexuality and the consequences of sexual activity outside of marriage.

“I’ve realized that we have a lot of teenagers out there making decisions about sex having no idea – none – what the consequence of that choice will be,” Stenzel said during her spring 2017 visit to St. Catharine Church, Holmdel.

The presentation, co-sponsored by the diocesan departments of Evangelization and Family Life and Youth and Young Adult Ministries, will span three days. All are open to area schools or parishes, unless otherwise specified.

• March 8, 9:45 a.m., St. Veronica School, Howell; 1 p.m., Mater Dei High School, Middletown (closed event); 7 p.m., St. Gregory the Great Church, Hamilton Square.

• March 9, 10 a.m., St. Joseph School, Toms River; 1 p.m., Red Bank Catholic High School, Red Bank (closed event).

• March 10, 9 a.m., St. John Vianney High School, with Spanish track by the Corazon Puro organization.

Stenzel, who is founder of Enlighten Communications Inc., has a degree in psychology from Liberty University, Lynchburg, Va., and served as a member of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse Advisory Board. The former director of the Alpha Women’s Center in Prior Lake, Minn., Stenzel now takes her message to teens and parents in the United States and abroad.

She participated in former President George W. Bush’s Faith-Based and Community Initiatives meeting held at the White House in 2001, and has been a guest on numerous national TV and radio programs.

To register, contact Cristina Imparato, diocesan coordinator of young adult ministry, at 609-406-7410 or [email protected].