HIV/AIDS Awareness Meditation for the PC(USA) Mission Yearbook

Sunday, October 11



Minute for Mission: HIV/AIDS Awareness

The Lord’s Day

The face of AIDS is changing, but how many of our congregations are aware of this? Many people see HIV/AIDS as primarily a concern in the gay community and sub-Saharan Africa. Our last PC(USA) policy statement on HIV/AIDS was adopted in 1988. Imagine how dramatically the face of AIDS has changed since then! For such a time as this, the 218th General Assembly (2008) directed the Advisory Committee for Social Witness and Policy (ACSWP) to organize a small group of experts and stakeholders to study our faith response to this crisis and to prepare a report for our 219th General Assembly (2010) in Minneapolis.

In these past twenty-five years, just as the face of AIDS has changed, so has the Twin Cities area been transformed by the diversity of our new neighbors from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We rank fourth in the nation for refugee resettlement populations. The Hebrew prophetic call to embrace the stranger among us has new and special meaning.

In Minnesota, 68 percent of the new HIV infections among women occurred in women of color, according to the Minnesota AIDS Project. Micah’s call to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God challenges us to develop new, local HIV/AIDS ministries in our diverse racial ethnic communities. The face of AIDS has changed but do our ministries reflect this new reality? The church of Jesus Christ needs to see the new face of AIDS and to live out Micah’s call for justice, kindness, and humility.

—Rev. Howard Dotson, board member, Presbyterian AIDS Network

Prayer

Loving God, touch our hearts with your immense love and compassion. We are all connected as members of your one body. When one of us has AIDS, we all have AIDS. Open our eyes to see and respond to the new face of AIDS. We pray for the day when we have a cure that is accessible to all. Melt us and mold us into instruments of your peace. Amen.