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FOCUS PAPER # 25
HIV/AIDS MINISTRIES NETWORK


A NETWORK OF UNITED METHODISTS AND OTHERS WHO
CARE ABOUT THE GLOBAL HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC AND
THOSE WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN TOUCHED


IN FOCUS PAPER # 25

About This Issue

"FACING THE GLOBAL HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC" by Rev. Charles Carnahan

"I WEAR A RED RIBBON" by Debbi Hood Johnson

"THEORIES OF THE EARTH" by  Emily Newland

"THE FACE OF AIDS: A WORSHIP SERVICE FOR WORLD AIDS DAY" by Rev.
Nancy Carter

INVITATION FOR SUBMISSIONS

"WORLD AIDS DAY 1994"
Toll Church Bells 14 Times
A Commitment on HIV/AIDS By People of Faith..The Council Call


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HIV/AIDS Ministries Network Focus Papers are a publication of the
Health and Welfare Ministries Program Department, General Board
of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church, Room 350, 475
Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115.  Phone: [phone].  FAX:
212-749-2641.  Focus Papers, unless otherwise noted, may be
quoted, reproduced and distributed with credit being given to
Health and Welfare Ministries Program Department and the authors.

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ABOUT THIS ISSUE
October 1994

Dear Network Members:

     This edition of the HIV/AIDS Ministries Network Focus Paper
focuses on World AIDS Day 1994.  The emphasis of World AIDS Day
this year is AIDS and the Family.  All families, traditional and
non-traditional, have important roles to play in addressing the
issues related to HIV/AIDS.

         Focus Paper #25 provides material that can be used in
developing World AIDS Day programs and activities.  The Global
HIV/AIDS Pandemic is an edited version of a presentation I have
used on several occasions to address the global context of HIV
disease.  One of the most important points that I try to
communicate is that HIV/AIDS must be approached in the broad
context of international health.  Within that context,  HIV/AIDS
must be addressed or it will do us little good to address other
health issues.


  The article in the Family Network section,  I Wear A Red
Ribbon, by Debbi Hood Johnson shows how pain can be channeled
into providing hope for others.  Debbi's explanation for wearing
the red ribbon calls us all to re-examine our faith and its
witness in the face of this ever-growing world-wide epidemic.

 The Reverend Nancy Carter has developed a worship service
for World AIDS  Day that can be used in your church.  It is
designed to draw attention to the individuals behind the
statistics through the use of the idea of the faces of AIDS.  It
can be used in conjunction with Debbi Hood Johnson's article.
Theories of the Earth by Emily Newland, is a poem that could also
be included in your World AIDS Day activities.

 Special World AIDS Day resources are included in this
edition of the Focus Paper.  The Council of Religious AIDS
Networks and the AIDS National Interfaith Network are requesting
religious communities and individuals to participate in
activities to draw attention to the compassion, support and hope
available through faith communities.  In particular, religious
congregations are being asked to ring their bells 14 times at
1:40pm local time on December 1.  Also, individuals,
congregations and organizations are being asked to sign on to A
Commitment on HIV/AIDS by People of Faith...The Council Call.
(One copy is included in this mailing which can be copied and
distributed widely.)

CAM continues to be a major resource for those affected by
HIV/AIDS,  with more than 650 users.  If you haven't done so, we
invite you to try it by using your computer and modem to dial 1-
212-222-2135.

With kindest regards,



Cathie Lyons                             Charles R. Carnahan
Associate General Secretary         Executive for HIV/AIDS
Ministries

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FACING THE GLOBAL HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC
by Charles R. Carnahan

The Reverend Charles R. Carnahan is executive secretary for
HIV/AIDS Ministries in the Health and Welfare Ministries Program
Department of the General Board of Global Ministries of The
United Methodist Church.  He has written several articles on HIV
and the church and conducted numerous workshops nationally and
internationally.

-----------------------------------------------------------

BETWEEN 30 TO 110 MILLION PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD WILL BE
INFECTED WITH HIV BY THE YEAR 2000

10 MILLION CHILDREN WILL BE ORPHANED BY THE YEAR 2000 AS A
RESULT OF AIDS

IN AFRICA, GAINS IN CHILD SURVIVAL RATES WILL BE DECREASED,
POSSIBLY REVERSED

APPROXIMATELY 3 MILLION PRODUCTIVE YEARS OF LIFE HAVE BEEN LOST
TO DATE TO AIDS

To write about the global impact of HIV disease can be a daunting
exercise.  More has been written concerning HIV/AIDS in its brief
but brutal 12 years of diagnosis than any other health crisis of
modern times.  Much of our world seems to be on "information
overload."

The seriousness of this pandemic (worldwide epidemic) is clear.
If current trends continue, HIV disease will become, within the
next 7 to 10 years, the most devastating preventable health
crisis the world has ever witnessed.  While some churches have
made great strides in responding to AIDS, responses of churches
overall have not matched the significance of the crisis.
Unfortunately, in many areas of the world, including the United
States, the church has been one of the greater hindrances to
providing comprehensive prevention information and services.

As we move into the second decade of this pandemic, we have
already learned that every sector of society, including the
religious community (especially the religious community), must
resolve to dedicate its resources in amounts and ways which are
proportionate to the actual and potential devastation of HIV/AIDS
on individuals and the global community.

Several years ago, I was part of the founding meeting of the AIDS
National Interfaith Network.  At that time the majority of voices
heard from the religious community categorized AIDS as the "gay
plague," as judgment from God. These voices offered not a God of
love, but one of isolation and hatred.  At that meeting, one of
the participants commented that he was not surprised by the
churches' response to the AIDS pandemic.  He observed that "the
Church has, throughout its history, had problems dealing with
issues associated with semen and blood."  Unfortunately both
semen and blood are vehicles for the transmission of HIV.

The tables on page 6 shows the latest statistics released by the
World Health Organization (W.H.O.) and the Centers for Disease
Control.  These figures, which record the cumulative reported
deaths from AIDS in the world and in the U.S.A., just begin to
tell the story of the impact of AIDS.  AIDS is affecting all
areas of our lives.

There is the ever growing cost in human suffering.  For example
W.H.O. projects that more than 10 million children worldwide will
be orphaned by the year 2000.  In Africa entire families and
communities are mourning the loss of too many of their most
educated young adults: their hoped-for future leaders.  It is
impossible to project the future cost in lost lives and human
potential due to illness and death from HIV disease.

We know it could be years until infection rates peak and level
out globally.  In recent months, surveillance teams have
witnessed an alarming increase of HIV infection in Asia.  Much of
Africa is already devastated by AIDS.  HIV infection cannot be
seen simply as an issue to be dealt with alone.  It must be
viewed in the larger context of related issues and concerns.

HIV/AIDS is negatively affecting the already vulnerable economies
in countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and
the Pacific Islands.  The government of Thailand projects that
its Gross Domestic Product will decrease by as much as 20 percent
in the next few years as a direct result of HIV disease. Economic
hardship is evident in villages and cities where grandparents
have been forced to take on the added financial responsibility of
caring for their grandchildren.  Dr. Nariman Behravesh of
DRI/McGraw-Hill, presenting information on the economic impact of
HIV disease at the National Leadership Coalition on AIDS briefing
in Washington, DC, in 1992 pointed to a reduction in worldwide
Gross Domestic Product as a result of HIV disease by the year
2000 of between $350 and $500 billion (or the equivalent of the
economies of Australia or India).

HIV is  causing a slowing and even  a reversal of many of
the health gains that have been made within the developing world
in the past 20 years.  Marjorie Dam of W.H.O. has stated that,
before AIDS, the world's average life expectancy was projected to
be more than 60 years by the year 2010.  As a result of AIDS, the
rate may drop to as low as 48 or 50 in some parts of the world.
Reduction in child mortality in Africa that had come from
successful, privately funded, immunization programs has been
nearly wiped out by HIV.

While HIV disease is no respecter of persons, position, or
power, it continues to disproportionately affect marginalized
individuals and communities throughout the world.  These members
of God's human family can ill afford additional burdens.  In
June, 1992, at the Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches in
Latin America and General Board of Global Ministries sponsored
HIV/AIDS consultation held in Recife, a Brazilian woman who
worked with local sex workers spoke of her efforts to positively
impact their lives and provide risk reducing HIV/AIDS education.
She said, "To talk about putting oneself at risk for HIV that may
impact their lives within the next 3 to 5 years, in their context
is irrelevant and ineffective because daily life, itself, is a
risk."

In many parts of the our world, women do not possess the
power to be able to make decisions concerning with whom, when, or
how they have sex with a partner.  The Program on Population has
observed, "Poor women with low levels of education and who have
little control over their sexual relationships are leading
candidates to contract AIDS.  Most women are at risk not as a
result of their own behavior but from that of their male sexual
partners."  AIDS is presently the leading cause of death in women
aged 20-40 in certain cities in sub-Saharan Africa, Western
Europe and the Americas.  In many countries of the world, the
traditions and cultural norms include practices that allow and
encourage multiple sexual partners, rituals that put one at risk,
and a devaluing of women preclude active choice making.

Women throughout the world, because of this devaluing, are
still viewed as mere property or as utilitarian instruments by
their male counter parts.  To talk about HIV in a global context
necessarily is to talk about the plight of women, their
empowerment, and their basic human worth and dignity.

Because women are so severely affected by HIV infection,
children remain vulnerable.  General Board of Global Ministries
missionaries and staff traveling in Africa report that, upon
entering villages, they look around and see old people and young
children.  When they inquire where the childrens' parents are,
they are told that they have died of "slims disease" (a term
frequently used in Africa to refer to AIDS).  Millions of
children are growing up without parents to care for them.  At
early ages they have to take on roles that are usually reserved
for much later in life.

AIDS has increased sexual abuse of children.  In some parts
of the world, young girls and boys 10 to 12 years old, some
younger, are kidnapped or sold to the sex trade industry.  Such
children command high prices in sex trade houses, since customers
believe someone so young is "clean" (not infected).  Once they
test positive, they are returned to the area from where they were
kidnapped or purchased.  When the family or village discovers
they are HIV positive, they are run out of the village or even
killed.  Troubling reports from Burma indicate that sex workers
who have been returned to Burma from the sex trade houses of
Thailand have been killed by the Burmese government.

HIV disease has the very real possibility of changing the
course of history and development of many countries if bold
action is not taken to stop its spread.  The church must be
equally bold in its response.

Believing there will be a vaccine or effective treatment for
HIV disease only indicates our Western bias.  The fact is that if
an effective treatment were announced today or a vaccine
developed tomorrow, at least 80% of the world would still face
the effects of an AIDS epidemic.  The distribution and cost of
such vaccines and treatments are simply out of the reach of most
severely affected countries.  The estimated cost of caring for
each persons with AIDS in Africa ranges from $US100 to $US1,500.
Place that against the reality that in Africa, government per
capita spending on health care varies from $US1 to $US10 per
year.

HIV disease continues to call people of faith, our
institutions and governments to action to stop the spread of this
disease.  The reality of AIDS informs us that if we do not
respond appropriately, little progress will be made in responding
to most of the worlds other problems. The impact of HIV cannot be
ignored.

We know what we need to do to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Our challenge is to find the will, through our faith, to provide
the education, medical and human response necessary to meet the
challenges we face in this pandemic.

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U.M. FAMILY HIV/AIDS NETWORK

A NETWORK OF UNITED METHODIST FAMILIES AND
OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY HIV/AIDS

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I WEAR A RED RIBBON
by Debbi Hood Johnson


Debbi lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she has been an
AIDS educator/counselor for eight years.  She is currently
writing a book about her husband and their fight against AIDS.
Debbi is the daughter of a former Wesleyan Methodist minister.

--------------------------------------------------------------

People often ask me why I wear a Red Ribbon.  Some people ask the
question simply to find out what the ribbon means, but other
people are really asking a hidden question:  they wonder what
experience in life has moved me so that I would want to wear a
Red Ribbon, a visible reminder to all who see me of the
continuing battle against HIV and AIDS.  They are asking why I, a
white heterosexual female in the heart of the conservative South,
would choose to take an often unpopular stand, instead of quietly
going about my life.  Unknowingly, they are asking about my
husband, BJ.

BJ made me his wife, but AIDS made me his widow.  He died in my
arms at 1:45 a.m. on Monday, May 17, 1993, in the little white
house we had moved into only two days earlier.  Surrounded by
packed boxes filled with our books, our music, our photographs,
and other mementos of our life together, we lay in the dark on
the hospital bed provided by Hospice.  Consumed, at this point,
by massive brain lesions caused by PML (Progressive Multifocal
Leukoencephalopathy), Beej had lapsed into a coma hours before.

Earlier that day his wonderful parents and our supportive
friends, our "family of choice," had come, encircling his bed to
say their soft good-byes, kiss his cheek gently, and whisper
final messages into his ears as the room began to fill with the
loud, bone-chilling sound of fluids collecting in his lungs as he
struggled to breathe.

In our private final hours, I sang to him, prayed over him, and
recited the 23rd Psalm over and over as I carefully brushed his
long hair.  I reminisced aloud about how we met and some of our
favorite "heart snapshots"-- those special memories and private
jokes and tender moments we had shared for so long.  I chose to
believe BJ could still hear me through the curtains of his coma.

As I sang one of our most special songs to him, I suddenly
noticed my voice was no longer competing with the loud gurgling
"death rattle" of BJ's breathing.  I sat up on the bed and saw
that his eyes were open-- he was looking at me.  I knew he could
really see me once again and that he could see that I was truly
with him until the end.  His face looked so serene, with a
slightly lopsided grin.

"Go ahead, sweetie," I whispered hoarsely as I held him,
"it's okay to let go now."  As I kissed his lips for the last
time and felt his life leave his body, my hand stayed on his
chest, where his body heat remained the longest.  I sobbed as I
felt the chill spread; the warm spot over his heart grew smaller
until it was no more.  Another brave warrior in the fight against
AIDS had fallen.

Why do I wear the Red Ribbon?  I wear it because I CAN.  I
am still alive, still able to carry the message about the reality
and urgency of AIDS and how HIV can be prevented.  I carry this
message for those whose voices can no longer be heard but whose
presence can still be felt. What message is that?  I carry the
message-- to all who will hear AND listen-- that HIV/AIDS is, at
this point, 100% FATAL... but it is also 100% PREVENTABLE.

I carry the message that Persons Living with AIDS (PLWAs),
or-- as I heard recently from a feisty long-term survivor--
PLISOAs (Persons Living In Spite of AIDS) are PERSONS first and
foremost:

                         persons who have families and loved ones,

                         persons who have dreams and hopes and fears,

                         persons who laugh and cry,

                         persons who deserve the same respect as you and I.

The gay community, for more than a decade, has shown us an
incredible example of what unconditional love and honest,
unflinching AIDS prevention education can accomplish.  What about
the rest of us?  Where are the mainstream churches?  I have been
dismayed by stories of persons picketing AIDS funerals with
hateful signs or quietly asking HIV-infected families to leave
their congregations so that the tithes and offerings won't
diminish.

I know that these hurtful actions are not the only witness
of churches. Others have heeded Jesus' message in Matthew
25:35-45 ("...I was sick and you visited me..."). Recently I have
read and been deeply touched by the document "The Council Call"
that the AIDS National Interfaith Network (ANIN) has asked all
persons of faith to sign on to by World AIDS Day this year. It
sounds a clarion cry for all of us to serve
those in need, people who are gathering up the courage every
morning to get out of bed to face yet another day with AIDS.

When I wear the Red Ribbon, I am demonstrating my compassion
and care for people living with HIV/AIDS, my determination that
those who have already died from AIDS-related causes will not be
forgotten, my support for the ongoing efforts of all AIDS service
organizations and researchers, my respect for the dedicated
caregivers, and my desire to educate others about how to halt the
spread of this obscene plague.

I can think of many other reasons to proudly wear the Red Ribbon,
and these reasons have names and faces:

                     Bill, the first PLWA I knowingly met and for whom I became
                     one of Charlotte's first volunteer AIDS Buddies;

                     David, the quiet man whose face had become a macabre mask of
                     purple Kaposi's Sarcoma lesions;

                     Daphne, the woman who fretted about who would care for her
                     children after she had died;

                     Tony, the entertainer who hung himself in desperation,
                     afraid of how AIDS would continue to ravage his mind and
                     body;

                     Curtis, the proud African American who had such a big heart
                     and tried to alert his community to its risks before his
                     life was cut short one Christmas;

                     Little Jessica, whose panel in The NAMES Project AIDS
                     Memorial Quilt haunts me to this day with its stuffed
                     animals and baby blanket;

                     Ryan White, whose unyielding courage showed the world that
                     AIDS might sap his strength but never bend his spirit;

                     Ron, whose independent streak continued until he drew his
                     last breath in his apartment, surrounded by his friends and
                     beloved cat; and

                     BJ, my sweet, gentle husband, who never passed up an
                     opportunity to speak to groups to educate them and to "put a
                     face on AIDS."AIDS finally robbed him of his speech,  his
                     mobility, his bodily functions, his smile---but never his
                     dignity.


There are those who believe the Red Ribbon has lost its
meaning, that it's only an empty symbol now.  I disagree!  As
long as my Red Ribbon gives someone the opportunity to ask me a
question about AIDS, or gives someone the strength to go through
another day encouraged by this small sign of support and
solidarity, then its message is very clear:

                     The Red Ribbon simply means that I care.


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THEORIES OF THE EARTH
by Emily Newland

It remains to us now to formulate a theory
of our own lives, to excavate the layers
through which we have settled into our selves;
the drifted continents of days we might gather
into explanation, sounding our lives as seas are sounded
by the light toward which they are impelled.

We might see what it is we are surviving,
and from what we are resulting, we who have measured
our fevers against the suns, we who have named our selves
with the names of every heaven.  Will we pass now
from the classified globe, whose atmospheres have fallen
onto the heads of saints?

And what will we say to the arrogance of mountains
who infinitely continue expecting everything
and who are certain, as they watch us going,
that they, alone, endure?

_________________________________________________

From IN MEMORIAM: EVERYBODY, an unpublished book in progress, by
Emily Newland, Copyright 1994.  Used by permission.

Emily Newland's poetry and short stories have been published
in magazines and journals such as THE MISSOURI REVIEW, LIGHT,
ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERY MAGAZINE, TWILIGHT ZONE MAGAZINE, and Roz
Warren's humor anthologies.  She has a fellowship in short
fiction from the Arkansas Council for the Arts and Humanities.


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THE FACE OF AIDS
A WORSHIP SERVICE FOR WORLD AIDS DAY

By Nancy A. Carter

Nancy A. Carter is a consultant for the Health and Welfare
Ministries Program Department, General Board of Global
Ministries, The United Methodist Church.

This service has been designed for use with "I Wear a Red
Ribbon" by Debbi Hood Johnson and other materials in this month's
mailing. Feel free to adapt these resources to your needs.


Hymn: "Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service," #581, The United
Methodist Hymnal

Reader 1: 1994 is the International Year of the Family.  As the
year began, the General Assembly of the United Nations heard a
warning from Donna Shalala, Secretary for Health and Human
Resources for the United States. She said that families worldwide
are being torn apart from the force of the AIDS epidemic.  HIV is
striking increasing numbers of children and adolescents and
destroying family ties at a time when the world is struggling to
preserve them.

Reader 2:  The World Health Organization has made some mind-
boggling projections about the spread of AIDS.  It predicts that
by the year 2000:

                    30-40 million people in the world will have been infected
                     with HIV; 8 million of these people will have died already:

                    90% of the new infections will be happening in two-thirds
                     world countries, primarily through heterosexual sex;

                    10 million children and teens will have been orphaned by the
                     AIDS pandemic;

                    10 million babies will have been born with HIV antibodies in
                     their blood;

                    13 million women will have been infected.


R1: The World Health Organization believes that, in the decades
after the year 2000, more than 1 billion people-- 1/5th of the
world's population-- could be infected with HIV.

Facts and projections are important. They help us to
understand what is happening today and what could happen
tomorrow. They help us to make decisions about what we will do,
as Christians striving to be faithful to God.

R2:          Even more important than statistics are the people
themselves.  Jesus stressed this truth with his face-to-face
personal ministry with people.  He also taught that his followers
must do good and love God, others, and self in order to be
recognized as the righteous ones of God. In the parable of the
sheep and the goats in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says that
both the just and the unjust ask, "Lord, when did we see thee
hungry, thirsty, naked, sick...?"

(Read Matthew 25:34-40.)

Reading: "I Wear a Red Ribbon" by Debbi Hood Johnson

Hymn: "Help Us Accept Each Other," #560,  The United Methodist
Hymnal

R1: We have heard the words from the Gospel of Matthew about when
we have visited with the Christ. We have heard Jesus' words
illustrated in Debbi Hood Johnson's witness, "I Wear a Red
Ribbon."  Let us be in an attitude of meditation, close our eyes,
become quiet, look, and listen inwardly.  (speak slowly and
quietly)


             Take some time now to go in your mind's eye to a safe and
             comfortable place. Relax there. (pause)
             Reflect on the ways the Christ has appeared to you in your
             life. (pause)
             Can you see the face of the Christ?  What does it look like?
             (pause)
              How do you respond to the face of Christ? (pause)
              Now look again.  Can you see in Christ's face the many faces
              of people with AIDS? (pause)
              Can you see the HIV positive women, men, teenagers, girls,
              boys, babies? (pause)
              People from all races and continents? (pause)
              People form all economic backgrounds? (pause)
              People from cities, suburbs, and the countryside? (pause)
              How do you respond to the face of Christ? (pause)
              What do you do? (pause)
              What do you say? (pause)
              What does Christ do or say? (pause)
              Say goodbye now to Christ, saying any final words that you
              wish.  Your good bye may take the form of a thank you or a
              promise. Do whatever is comfortable for you. (pause)


R2:  Let us pray. Perhaps as you were looking at the face of
Christ, thoughts came to your mind of persons for whom you would
like to pray.  Now is a time you can speak your prayers out loud
and pray silently to yourself. Remember to respect the
confidentiality of any who may have requested this.

               (accept prayers from the group and then pray)

May we see the face of Christ in all of the family of God.  May
people with HIV/AIDS know the love and acceptance Jesus has shown
us and not be shunned by family, friends, and community.  May
persons with AIDS and their loved ones experience God's grace,
not guilt and blame.  May they be lifted up by the Holy Spirit of
God, not pulled down by the weight of sickness, poverty,
oppression, or depression.  May all of us in this room, whether
HIV positive or HIV negative, respond to God's call in our lives
and show God's love and justice in our actions. Amen

R1: Jesus calls us to follow him.  We have heard stories from the
Bible of how he ministered with all in need and called us to do
the same.  Let us show our commitment to stand with persons who
are HIV positive and their loved ones:

(Choose one or more options at this time: (1) Pass an
offering plate around the group, inviting those who wish to take
a red ribbon and wear it to symbolize that they care; (2) Read
"The Council Call"; (3) Read "A Covenant to Care"*; Pass an
offering plate with a request that persons give money toward The
United Methodist Church's Advance Special "Enabling AIDS
Ministries"* [Advance #982215-6] or another HIV/AIDS Ministry
Program.)

R2: Let us pray:

GROUP: WE ASK FOR GOD'S GUIDANCE THAT WE MIGHT RESPOND IN WAYS
THAT BEAR WITNESS ALWAYS TO JESUS' OWN COMPASSIONATE MINISTRY OF
HEALING AND RECONCILIATION; AND THAT TO THIS END WE MIGHT LOVE
ONE ANOTHER AND CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER WITH THE SAME UNMEASURED AND
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE THAT JESUS EMBODIED.

Hymn: "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling," #384, The United
Methodist Hymnal

R2: We go assured that nothing can separate us from the love of
God. We are committed to loving one another as God has loved us.
We seek to be the body of Christ, revealing God's love to the
world.  We are strengthened by the Holy Spirit as we go from this
place. Go in peace.
____________

  *"A Covenant to Care" is a program sponsored by Health and
Welfare Ministries, which encourages congregations and other
United Methodist groups to adopt statements covenanting to
welcome people with HIV and their loved ones.

The resources below are available from the Service Center,
General Board of Global Ministries, 7820 Reading Road, Caller No.
1800, Cincinnati, OH 45222-1800. They are free, except for
postage and handling.

         AIDS: A COVENANT TO CARE is a statement that declares that
         your church welcomes people with HIV/AIDS. It can be ordered
         in two sizes:

            -    bulletin inserts (English #5072, Spanish #5074 Spanish)
            -    posters (English #5073, Spanish #5074).

         ENABLING AIDS MINISTRIES is a flyer that gives information
         about this Advance Special of The United Methodist Church
         (#5088).

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HIV/AIDS NETWORK FOCUS PAPER ON WORSHIP RESOURCES
INVITATION FOR SUBMISSIONS

In 1995, the Health and Welfare Ministries Program Department,
General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church,
plans to feature an HIV/AIDS Network Focus paper focused on
worship and HIV/AIDS ministries. We are looking for your original
materials (not materials someone else has written and published),
such as prayers, litanies, meditations, responsive readings,
vignettes, songs, homilies. Short articles on worship and
HIV/AIDS ministry will also be considered.  Submissions should be
1000 words or less.

We will pay a very small honorarium for each piece
published. Our focus paper also has an electronic edition which
is uploaded to our own CAM (Computerized AIDS Ministries)
bulletin board, the AEGIS network, HNS HIV net, CDC NAC Online,
and other electronic information services.

If you are interested in submitting materials, please send them
to:

Charles Carnahan
HIV/AIDS Ministries Network
Room 350
475 Riverside Drive
New York, New York 10115

You can also write to the Network and request a sample focus
paper or download our online versions from CAM (BBS number 212-
222-2135).

In your cover letter, include a short biographical sketch and
that you are submitting your work for the focus paper on worship.
On each submission, please include your name, address, and
telephone, fax, and/or electronic address.  Be sure to indicate
your correct byline and any copyright notice, if you do not want
your work to be in the public domain.  If you want your materials
returned, please include a SASE.

If we have lots of good material and not enough room in this
issue, we may use your submission in a later edition of the focus
paper.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: February 1, 1995

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WORLD AIDS DAY 1994

Toll Church Bells 14 Times

In an effort to re-focus the public on the impact of the
HIV/AIDS pandemic, the AIDS National Interfaith Network is
requesting that parishes and religious congregations across all
faith communities toll their bells 14 times at 1:40 pm local time
on December 1, World AIDS Day. The ringing of the bells will
symbolize the 14 years since the first cases of the disease that
is now known AIDS were reported.

Bell ringing is symbolic of grief as well as joy. Let this
time be an outward sign of our remembrance of those who have died
as well as a celebration and recognition of those who continue in
compassionate love and service with those living with AIDS/HIV.

Those communities which will ring bells are asked to notify
ANIN in writing at 110 Maryland Avenue NW, Room 504, Washington,
DC 20002.



A Commitment on HIV/AIDS by People of Faith...The Council Call

You have an opportunity to be a part of history this year.
For the first time in the 14 years of the pandemic a call is
going out -- to religious officials, to the "people in the pews"
and to all people of  faith across the United States to sign on
to A Commitment on HIV/AIDS by People of Faith...The Council of
Religious AIDS Networks a project of AIDS National Interfaith
Network (ANIN).

On World AIDS Day, Thursday, December 1, 1994, ANIN will
sponsor a public ceremony at the United Nations to acknowledge
and celebrate the endorsements of The Council Call received by
that date.  With your help, we hope to reach hundreds of
thousands of people of faith with this important message.

Please make copies of The Council Call, if you need to, and
disseminate them as widely as possible.



A COMMITMENT ON HIV/AIDS BY PEOPLE OF FAITH...  THE COUNCIL CALL


We are members of different faith communities called by God to
affirm a life of hope and healing in the midst of HIV/AIDS. The
enormity of the pandemic itself has compelled us to join forces
despite our differences of belief.  Our traditions call us to
embody and proclaim hope, and to celebrate life and healing in
the midst of suffering.

AIDS is an affliction of the whole human family, a condition in
which we all participate.  It is a scandal that many people
suffer and grieve in secret.  We seek hope amidst the moral and
medical tragedies of this pandemic in order to pass on hope for
generations to come.

We recognize the fact that there have been barriers among us
based on religion race, class, age, nationality, physical
ability, gender and sexual orientation which have generated fear,
persecution and even violence. We call upon all sectors of our
society, particularly our faith communities, to adopt as highest
priority the confrontation of racism, classism, ageism, sexism,
and homophobia.

As long as one member of the human family is afflicted, we all
suffer.  In that spirit, we declare our response to the AIDS
pandemic.

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1. WE ARE CALLED TO LOVE: God does not punish with sickness or
disease but is present together with us as the source of our
strength, courage and hope.  The God of our understanding is, in
fact, greater than AIDS.

2. WE ARE CALLED TO COMPASSIONATE CARE: We must assure that all
who are affected by the pandemic [regardless of religion, race,
class, age, nationality, physical ability, gender or sexual
orientation] will have access to compassionate, non-judgmental
care, respect, support and assistance.

3. WE ARE CALLED TO WITNESS AND DO JUSTICE: We are committed to
transform public attitudes and policies, supporting the
enforcement of all local and federal laws to protect the civil
liberties of all persons with AIDS and other disabilities.  We
further commit to speak publicly about AIDS prevention and
compassion for all people.

4. WE PROMOTE PREVENTION: Within the context of our respective
faiths, we encourage accurate and comprehensive information for
the public regarding HIV transmission and means of prevention.
We vow to develop comprehensive AIDS prevention programs for our
youth and adults.

5. WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE A GLOBAL COMMUNITY: While the
scourge of AIDS is devastating to the United States, it is much
greater in magnitude in other parts of the world community.  We
recognize our responsibility to encourage AIDS education and
prevention policies, especially in the global religious programs
we support.

6. WE DEPLORE THE SINS OF INTOLERANCE AND BIGOTRY. AIDS is not a
"gay" disease.  It affects men, women and children of all races.
We reject the intolerance and bigotry that have caused many to
deflect their energy, blame those infected, and become
preoccupied with issues of sexuality, worthiness, class status,
or chemical dependency.

7. WE CHALLENGE OUR SOCIETY: Because economic disparity and
poverty are major contributing factors in the AIDS pandemic and
barriers to prevention and treatment, we call upon all sectors of
society to seek ways of eliminating poverty in a commitment to a
future of hope and security.

8. WE ARE COMMITTED TO ACTION: We will seek ways, individually
and within our faith communities, to respond to the needs around
us.

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Portions of the text of this document were taken, with
permission, from "The African American Clergy's Declaration of
War on HIV/AIDS," (The Balm in Gilead Inc., 1994), and from "The
Atlanta Declaration" (AIDS National Interfaith Network, 1989).

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YES! I/WE SUPPORT A COMPASSIONATE AND JUST RESPONSE TO HIV/AIDS.

                     Please fill out the information below, detach, place in an
                     envelope, and mail to:

The Reverend Charles Carnahan
United Methodist HIV/AIDS Ministries Network
Room 350
475 Riverside Drive
New York, New York 10115


_____  This is an individual endorsement.


_____  This is an organizational endorsement.


Name


Organization


Address


City                                State            Zip


Phone                               Fax


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                     NOTE: THIS DOCUMENT MAY BE COPIED

* * * * *

A Commitment on HIV/AIDS by People of Faith, The Council Call,
was written by the Council of NATIONAL RELIGIOUS AIDS NETWORKS.
The Council, a project of the AIDS National Interfaith Network
(ANIN), is composed of leaders of AIDS networks associated with
specific national religious bodies. It is a voluntary association
working together to support ANIN's mission, to foster better
communication, and to enhance the dissemination of information
from ANIN and/or other organizations to the individual members of
the networks.

IN OBSERVANCE OF WORLD AIDS DAY, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1994,
ANIN IS CALLING UPON:

* all people of faith to "sign on" to this document, The Council
Call, and

* all house of worship to ring their bells 14 times at 1:40 PM
local time on Thursday, December 1, 1994 in recognition of the 14
years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.


For additional copies of The Council Call or for more information
about the ringing of bells or AIDS National Interfaith Network,
please call ANIN at 202-546-0807.

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ENDORSEMENTS

AIDS Ministry Network--Christian Church (DOC)
American Friends Service Committee
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Dr. Robert Glover, Rev. Jane Lawrence, Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)
Jane Hull Harvey, Assistant General Secretary, General Board of
Church and Society, The United Methodist Church
Dr. Jon Lacey, AIDS Ministry Network, Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ)
National Catholic AIDS Network
Office of Governmental Relations, National Ministries, American
Baptist Churches USA
Presbyterian AIDS Network
206th General Assembly (1994) Presbyterian Church (USA)
Union of American Hebrew Congregations/Central Conference of
American Rabbis AIDS Committee
Unitarian Universalist Association, John A. Buehrens, President
United Church AIDS Network
United Methodist HIV/AIDS Ministries Network
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches AIDS
Ministry
Washington Office, Unitarian Universalist Association, Robert Z.
Alpem, Director
and others