By Preben Bakbo Sloth, Copenhagen, Denmark

David hid himself from Saul. David feared for his safety and life.

After the crucifixion of Jesus his friends hid themselves from the religious leaders of their time. They feared for their safety and lives.

The first Christians hid themselves in the catacombs. They feared for their safety and lives threatened by the Romans.

People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWH) in Denmark today hide themselves at home. We fear rejection, disclosure, discrimination and stigmatization. And we fear for our safety. It is the same old story. We are left without hope and any sense of direction. We do not trust others to understand our worries. We have no confidence in being met with compassion. We do not expect being met with care. So we hide. We are invisible. We isolate ourselves. We seek to relieve the pain with alcohol and use of substances.

The stigma PLWH in Denmark experience today has reached the same level as in the late eighties and the early nineties. This is substantiated by a survey on the quality of life for PLWH in Denmark published a year ago. The knowledge in the general population about ways of transmission of HIV, (i.e. safer practices, etc…) is lower today than in the early nineties. This is substantiated by a survey made in the summer of 2008.

During the last ten years public funding for HIV organizations, psycho-social counseling for PLWH and public awareness campaigns has been cut with more than 30%. A retreat centre for PLWH was closed two years ago. Two of my friends I met there committed suicide within six months after the closure.

Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) is a blessing and is saving lives. ART means a longer life and hope for the future but when ART was introduced in Denmark in 1996 it was “goodbye” to empathy, compassion and solidarity – also within the LGBT community. “Take your meds, but we can live without your lamentations”, that is the message. “We are happy that you are alive, but we do not care about your quality of life”.

For PLWH, our sense of self-worth is low. The sense of dignity is low. Our challenge is to build up self-respect, a sense of self-worth, so that all of us living with HIV may raise our heads in dignity facing the future with hope and a sense of direction.

HIV has infected our blood and our bodies, but HIV can never compromise the dignity given us as created in the image of God. The covenant God made with humankind from the very days of creation and has renewed over and over again has not been withdrawn by HIV. Jesus confirms this covenant when he says, that he is one with God and God with him and that this applies to us. Or as Paul puts it: “Christ lives in me and I live in Christ”. Why is this so difficult for PLWH to believe?

I need the gospel of my God-given dignity. I need the empowering gospel of resurrection.

© 2008 Metropolitan Community Churches Global HIV/AIDS Ministry

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of Metropolitan Community Churches.  For permission to reprint contact Joshua L. Love, Director of Metropolitan Community Churches Global HIV/AIDS Ministry at http://www.mccchurch.org/.

by Joshua Love, Director of Metropolitan Community Churches Global HIV/AIDS Ministry

As I left the 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico City last week, I felt in awe once again at the complexity of HIV and AIDS in the lives of people around the world.  The impact of this virus has been anything but simple.  It complicates the body, mind, and spirit of people living with HIV (PLHIV).  I wanted to share a few of the ways time has evolved our understanding. 

On August 3, 2008, during the days and weeks many people around the world were preparing for and arriving at 2008 International AIDS Conference a press announcement was released by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which stated the following: “New Technology Reveals Higher Number of New HIV Infections in the United States than Previously Known.”   This was serious news to those of us working on the frontlines of HIV and AIDS in the United States, and potentially around the world.

I visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to gather their latest definitions and statistics on HIV and AIDS…wondering what language are the experts using to explain this multi-layered pandemic.  I then went back to a publication, ALERT, circulated by Metropolitan Community Churches starting in 1987.  Rev. Steve Pieters worked with a team to gather all the information available at the time and send out updates to the community.  I an including for comparison the 2008 CDC definitions and the 1987 news item from Alert on the definitions of HIV and AIDS.   First you will find the August 3 Press Release from the CDC, then a few excerpts from the CDC website and finally the synopsis by Rev. Steve Pieters of Metropolitan Community Churches AIDS Ministry in 1987.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
August 03, 2008

Contact: National Center for HIV/AIDS,
Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention
404-639-8895

New Technology Reveals Higher Number of New HIV Infections in the United States than Previously Known

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today that an estimated 56,300 HIV infections occurred in the United States in 2006. That estimate differs from the agency′s previous estimate of 40,000 because CDC is now using a more precise method for estimating annual HIV incidence, which is the number of individuals who become newly infected with HIV in a given year. The new estimate is published today in a special HIV/AIDS issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, released at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.

“These data, which are based on new laboratory technology developed by CDC, provide the clearest picture to date of the U.S. HIV epidemic, and unfortunately we are far from winning the battle against this preventable disease,” said CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding.  “We as a nation have to come together to focus our efforts on expanding the prevention programs we know are effective.”

The new estimate is derived from the first national surveillance system of its kind that is based on direct measurement of new HIV infections and builds on a new laboratory test (the BED HIV-1 Capture Enzyme Immunoassay) that can distinguish recent from long-standing HIV infections. CDC′s prior annual HIV incidence estimate was based on indirect and less precise methods available at the time.

A separate CDC historical trend analysis published as part of today′s study suggests that the number of new infections was likely never as low as the previous estimate of 40,000 and has been roughly stable overall since the late 1990s.

“It′s important to note that the new estimate does not represent an actual increase in the number of new infections, but reflects our ability to more precisely measure HIV incidence and secure a better understanding of the epidemic,” said Kevin Fenton, M.D., director of CDC′s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention.  “This new picture reveals that the HIV epidemic is - and has been - worse than previously known and underscores the challenges in confronting this disease.”

Burden Greatest Among Gay and Bisexual Men of All Races and African Americans

CDC′s new surveillance system also provides more precise estimates than previously possible of new infections in specific populations.  Results confirm that the impact of HIV remains greatest among gay and bisexual men of all races and among African American men and women.  In 2006, men who have sex with men (MSM) accounted for 53 percent of those with new infections (28,700), heterosexuals for 31 percent (16,800), and injection drug users (IDU) for 12 percent (6,600).  Infection rates among blacks were 7 times as high as whites (83.7/100,000 people versus 11.5/100,000) and almost 3 times as high as Hispanics (29.3/100,000 people), a group that was also disproportionately affected.

“Too many Americans continue to be affected by this disease,” stressed Fenton. “These new findings emphasize the importance of reaching all HIV-infected individuals and those at risk with effective prevention programs.”

Separate Trend Analysis Sheds New Light on History of U.S. Epidemic

In addition to the 2006 HIV incidence estimates, CDC conducted a separate, historical analysis that provides new insight into HIV incidence trends over time - overall and for specific populations. Results confirm dramatic declines in the number of new HIV infections from a peak of about 130,000 in the mid-1980s to a low of roughly 50,000 annual infections in the early 1990s. However, findings also indicate that new infections increased in the late 1990s, but have remained roughly stable since that time (with estimates ranging between 55,000 and 58,500 during the three most recent time periods analyzed).

“Prevention can and does work when we apply what we know,” said Richard Wolitski, Ph.D., acting director of CDC′s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. “While the level of HIV incidence is alarming, stability in recent years suggests that prevention efforts are having an impact.  In this decade, more people are living with HIV and living longer than ever before due to advances in treatment.  Even though this could mean more opportunities for transmission, the number of new infections has not increased overall. ”

The analysis revealed some other encouraging signs of progress as well as significant challenges among specific groups. Findings indicated reductions in new infections among both injecting drug users and heterosexuals over time. Yet, the findings also indicate that HIV incidence has been steadily increasing among gay and bisexual men since the early 1990s, confirming a trend suggested by other data showing increases in risk behavior, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV diagnoses in this population throughout the past decade.  The analysis also found that new infections among blacks are at a higher level than any other racial or ethnic group, though they have been roughly stable, with some fluctuation, since the early 1990s. 

“These data confirm the critical need to revitalize prevention efforts for gay and bisexual men of all races and to build upon the growing momentum in the African American and Hispanic communities to confront HIV,” said Wolitski.  “We must all remember that we are dealing with one of the most insidious infectious diseases in history.  Reducing this threat will require action from everyone - individuals at risk, community leaders, government agencies and the private sector.” 

For more information on HIV prevention, visit www.cdc.gov/hiv or www.aids.gov.

###

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Content Source: Office of Enterprise Communication
Note: Links to a non-governmental sites does not necessarily represent the views of the CDC
Page last modified: August 03, 2008

Page Located on the Web at http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2008/r080803.htm

Brief History of HIV in the United States

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/basic/index.htm#hiv

HIV was first identified in the United States in 1981 after a number of gay men started getting sick with a rare type of cancer. It took several years for scientists to develop a test for the virus, to understand how HIV was transmitted between humans, and to determine what people could do to protect themselves.

In 2008, CDC adjusted its estimate of new HIV infections because of new technology and developed by the agency.  Before this time, CDC estimated there were roughly 40,000 new HIV infections each year in the United States.  New results shows there were dramatic declines in the number of new HIV infections from a peak of about 130,000 in the mid 1980s to a low of roughly 50,000 in the early 1990s.  Results also shows that new infections increased in the late 1990s, followed by a leveling off since 2000 at about 55,000 per year.

AIDS cases began to fall dramatically in 1996, when new drugs became available. Today, more people than ever before are living with HIV/AIDS. CDC estimates that about 1 million people in the United States are living with HIV or AIDS. About one quarter of these people do not know that they are infected: not knowing puts them and others at risk.

2008

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/basic/index.htm#hiv

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. This is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV is different from most other viruses because it attacks the immune system. The immune system gives our bodies the ability to fight infections. HIV finds and destroys a type of white blood cell (T cells or CD4 cells) that the immune system must have to fight disease.

AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection. It can take years for a person infected with HIV, even without treatment, to reach this stage. Having AIDS means that the virus has weakened the immune system to the point at which the body has a difficult time fighting infections. When someone has one or more of these infections and a low number of T cells, he or she has AIDS.

1987

ALERT: News from the UFMCC on Legislation, Education, Research and Treatment

Written by Rev. Stephen Pieters, Rev. Elder Don Eastman, and Gary McClelland, M.D.

“It has been recognized ever since the discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) as the cause of AIDS and of sensitive, accurate tests to determine its presence that the original case definition of AIDS was far too narrow to include all the manifestations of the disease.  As a result, the statistics which are quoted so frequently in tracking the progress of AIDS have not been truly reflective of the full extent of the disease.  In response to this awareness, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia in its August 14, 1987 newsletter presented a new broader definition of AIDS which is expected to increase the counts by more than 15%…

“While the primary goal of the CDC in introducing this expanded definition is for its own benefit – to reflect a more accurate picture of how widespread AIDS is – there is, a much more significantly beneficial impact of the definition on the AIDS patient and that is socioeconomic.  Up to this point there have been large numbers of people with significant illness, disability, and even death who were never classified as AIDS because of the narrow criteria which previously existed.  Because these patients did not fit the AIDS definition they were excluded from many of the benefits which AIDS patients received (i.e disability, SSI, MediCare, benefits from AIDS organization, etc…) With the more realistic definition of AIDS untold thousands will become eligible for these benefits and will no longer be living their lives in the grey zone – that limbo of disability in the absence of diagnosis. 

Plenary on Gender-Based Violence and Trafficking

(photo courtesy of Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance)

This morning’s plenary session began with a chilling recitation of headlines and quotes from news sources around the world:

“The peacekeepers cannot be prosecuted in the countries where they are serving.”

“She has a fistula as a result of genital mutilation.”

“Three year-old girl HIV-infected by relative.”

“A fifteen year old girl was raped on her way home from school.”

These were but a few of the painful messages read by the plenary moderator, Ms. Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, General Secretary, World YWCA, as she brought us to attention.  Many people nodded their heads as she spoke, some even bowed their heads in silent prayer.  The grim reality that women and girls are still at great risk of sexual and gender-based violence in the vast majority of the world never gets easier to hear.  

This plenary session served to inform the uninformed and call the knowledgeable to greater action.  The challenge was clear, as people of faith how can we NOT respond?  It is not enough to imagine action in the future.  Action is needed, NOW.  The panel of speakers each offered different glimpses into the issue.

Dr. Pauline Muchina, Senior Partnerships Adviser for UNAIDS opened by asking us to take a moment of silence to remember all people suffering from all forms of gender-based violence who suffer alone.  Dr. Muchina commended those members of the Ecumenical Pre-Conference and Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) who have been present in the work to end AIDS from the earliest days.  She also mentioned that there was a rising number of FBOs who were engaging in the HIV and AIDS ministries and education efforts.  

Dr. Muchina noted, however, that many religious groups are ill-equipped to be of service, in fact some increase the damage done to people living with AIDS by perpetuating stigma, shame, and gender-oppression.  She noted that while FBOs have succeeded in many areas of compassionate response like service to orphans and vulnerable children there are many more who have taught that sexual feelings and desires are evil and sinful, that women belong to men, and that sexual diversity is against God’s will.  She says that these harmful messages increase HIV risk and infection.  

Dr. Muchina explained that gender-based violence and gender-oppression are clearly connected to new HIV infections.  Promotion of social standards which prevent women from making their own best decisions about who they have sex with, when, or how they choose to engage their sexual selves increase risk and danger.  These male dominant messages contribute directly to the continuing pandemic.  

Specifically she spoke about trafficking of human beings, especially young girls and women for sexual service.  She lifted up FBOs like the Salvation Army who are doing direct hands-on work to support the lives of women and girls to help them help themselves and have increased sexual and economic independence.  She also noted that all forms of oppression, including discrimination and stigma of diverse sexual and gender identities must be overcome in order to see real change occur. 

Dr. Muchina’s challenge speaks to the need for serious changes on all levels in order to create safe and just world for women.  Furthermore her words put FBOs into a serious process of considering what role our theological and social teachings have on the lives of vulnerable people, especially women and girls.  

It brought to mind the following parable for consideration about hearing a call for justice and not responding.  

 Luke 18:1-8

“Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ 4For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” 6And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

For more information on the topic of gender-based violence and ssupporting women and girls please visit the UNAIDS website listed below and read about their powerful work on gender.

http://www.unaids.org/en/PolicyAndPractice/Gender/default.asp

Excerpt:

 “Gender inequality both fuels and intensifies the impact of the HIV epidemic and is most effectively addressed on the national and community level. In the context of HIV prevention, treatment, care and mitigation, this reinforces the need for interventions that are directed at individual people. Reducing gender inequality requires changing social norms, attitudes and behaviours through a comprehensive set of policies and strategies.

At the 2006 High Level Meeting on AIDS, all member states of the United Nations have pledged “ to eliminate gender inequalities, gender-based abuse and violence” and to “increase the capacity of women and adolescent girls to protect themselves from the risk of HIV infection, principally through the provision of health care and services, including, inter alia, sexual and reproductive health, and the provision of full access to comprehensive information and education.”

Furthermore, as part of the same resolution, all member states of the United Nations have also pledged to “ensure that women can exercise their right to have control over, and decide freely and responsibly on, matters related to their sexuality in order to increase their ability to protect themselves from HIV infection, including their sexual and reproductive health… and to take all necessary measures to create an enabling environment for the empowerment of women and strengthen their economic independence…”

Inaugural Summit of Religious Leaders Living with HIV
XVII International AIDS Conference
Mexico City, Mexico
3 August 2008

Statement

We, as lay and ordained religious leaders, women and men, living with and affected by HIV, assembled in Mexico City for the 2008 International AIDS Conference, make the following statement.

Faith, in all its forms, holds a powerful and central position in the lives of the majority of people in the world. Leadership in faith communities thus carries great responsibility. 

Religious leaders are uniquely positioned to bring an end to the stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV (PLHIV) which continues to damage the bodies, minds, and spirits of human beings.

Religious leaders living with and affected by HIV who are open about their status exemplify the transformative power of honesty. By bringing an end to our own self-stigmatization, we serve as agents of hope to other PLHIV and affected persons and model the possibility of ending their own self-stigma. We also show that HIV does not disqualify us from fulfilling our respective callings in the world. Since HIV is a global pandemic, we consider all religious leaders to be affected by it.

Many injustices continue to marginalize PLHIV: criminalization; travel restrictions; immigration policies; access to medications, care, education and prevention services; and many forms of violence. We call upon all religious leaders to make full use of their trusted positions to break the silence surrounding HIV and take an active stand against these injustices as well as all forms of stigma and discrimination

________________________________________________________________________

The Rev. Paul Mokgethi, from the Metropolitan Community Church in Johannesburg, South Africa spoke inspiring words at the Inaugural Summit of Religious Leaders Living with HIV at the International AIDS Conference.  In addition to Rev. Paul’s participation three other Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) leaders participated in the Summit; Bobby Pierce of San Francisco, USA, Preben Babko Sloth of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Joshua Love of San Francisco, USA.

At the event Religious Leaders Living with HIV were asked to work together in a breakout session to craft a statement for public distribution.  Joshua Love and Preben Bakbo Sloth were two of the drafting authors of the official statement released above.  Once the initial draft was created the entire gathering discussed and expanded it to bring many voices into common action.  Together the gathering leaders completed the statement to continue our work of putting “Faith in Action Now.”

PRESS RELEASE
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance
For immediate release: 4 August 2008

Religious leaders living with HIV share experience, hopes and dreams

(MEXICO CITY) — Speakers and participants in the Inaugural Summit of Religious Leaders Living with HIV shared stories of their experiences with HIV, and their hopes and dreams for the church and their community.

Held in Mexico City on 3 August, the summit was sponsored by the newly formed International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+). The network was formally launched the day before as part of the faith-based participation at the 17th International AIDS Conference.

At the summit, some 30 participants discussed overcoming stigma and discrimination, living positively with HIV, and mobilizing and empowering faith communities. In a statement, they affirmed their conviction that “religious leaders are uniquely positioned to bring an end to the stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV”.

Overcoming stigma

Stigma originates from a cycle in which some people believe that AIDS equals sex, which equals sin, which equals death, said the Rev. J.P. Heath, acting executive director of INERELA+ and its African predecessor, ANERELA+, which has 3,500 members in 23 countries.

According to Heath, who has been living with HIV since 2000, in order to break the stigma, faith communities can deliver messages that HIV is preventable and manageable. Prevention messages include safe sexual practices, abstinence, voluntary testing and empowerment, he said.

“I believe that God can use HIV to heal the church. I also believe that we are the church, the body of the Christ, and together, stigma and discrimination can be something of the past,” Heath said.

“We religious leaders have contributed so much to the stigma and discrimination within our places of worship,” said Pastor Maxwell Kapachawo, coordinator of ANERELA+ in Zimbabwe. HIV is not a moral issue, it’s a virus Kapachawo said, urging participants to believe in themselves, and defeat “self-stigma” so they can work with others who are HIV-positive.

Living positively with HIV and empowering faith communities

The Rev. Paul Mokgethi, from the Metropolitan Community Church in Johannesburg, South Africa, said he learned he was HIV-positive in 1999, about the same time he was ordained.

He began to disclose his status with one-on-one conversations with his family, and finally his congregation. “I found great strength within my own congregation, when I shared my status. I knew they would always stand by me,” he said.  Religious leaders and people living with HIV can do many things together, said Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga, chairperson of the Bolivian REDBOL+. She suggested creating spaces for dialogue, reviewing teachings and words about “the other,” reducing blame, accepting that AIDS is no one’s fault, and recognizing that “AIDS offers an opportunity to bring these principles into reality for a broken world.”

ANERELA+ and now, INERELA+, is a “movement” not a network, said the Rev. James M. Matarazzo Jr., acting director of INERELA+. According to him, INERELA+ makes it possible to “empower religious leaders to be instruments of hope and change in their communities,” he said. Community members respond to HIV and AIDS in many ways, changing “hearts and minds” when clergy are involved, he said.

For Sally Smith, an advisor to the Civil Society Partnerships Unit of UNAIDS, faith communities can provide HIV and AIDS education and accompaniment through “inreach” to members and leaders. “The credibility of our outreach is measured by our inreach.”

Notes for Media

The summit statement is available for downloading at: http://www.e-alliance.ch/media/media-7357.doc Extensive coverage, including photos, news, features, video and audio, of faith-based participation at the International AIDS Conference is available at http://iac.e-alliance.ch/ All material can be reprinted free of charge providing credit is given to the source. Sign up to receive a daily digest of the latest news and features, video and photos, and other media products by sending an email saying “subscribe IAC” to media@e-alliance.ch To set up interviews or for more information contact Sara Speicher, sspeicher@e-alliance.ch , +521 55 1246 6140 (until 9 August)

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is a broad international network of churches and Christian organizations cooperating in advocacy on global trade and HIV and AIDS. The Alliance is based in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information, see http://www.e-alliance.ch/

August 3, 2008

Dear Joshua and MCC Delegates at AIDS 2008,

Thank you so much for sending us an update from the AIDS Conference. As is always the case, you have touched my heart. I will hold you and your colleagues in prayer throughout the week. I trust that God will provide you the courage, the stamina and strength that you need to make it through the challenges you face.

Love and blessings,

Rev. Melody Wolder, Interim Pastor

New Spirit Metropolitan Community Church

N E W S R E L E A S E
For Immediate Release: August 3, 2008

Mexico Hosts International March Against
Homophobia, Stigmatization of HIV and AIDS
Metropolitan Community Churches Joins Faith Leaders, LGBT Activists at
International AIDS Conference to End Discrimination Against Persons with HIV/AIDS

___________________________________________________________

“Faith communities have a key role to play in ending
religion-based stigma against people with HIV and AIDS.”
- Joshua Love, HIV Program Director for Metropolitan Community Churches
___________________________________________________________

Mexico City, MEXICO — Several thousand activists took part in the 1st International March Against Stigmatization, Discrimination and Homophobia in Mexico City on Saturday, August 2, 2008, to focus public awareness on rejection and stigma related to HIV and AIDS.

Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), the United Church of Christ (UCC), the Center for Church and Global AIDS, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and INERELA+ (International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally affected by HIV and AIDS) marched with other faith leaders and LGBT activists and supporters at Saturday’s historic event.

The march took place one day before the opening of the first International AIDS Conference to be held in Latin America.

According to conference participant Joshua Love, an author, educator and public policy advocate for HIV issues and director of Global HIV/AIDS Ministry for Metropolitan Community Churches, “The streets of Mexico City were filled with impassioned activists for this powerful act of non-violent protest. I could not have been more proud of our many communities standing up in courageous solidarity. Today we experienced true ‘Faith in Action’.”

“We were informed of threats of violence made against the marchers,” said Love, “but, thankfully, the event was peaceful and we were met by respectful local crowds along the march route.” The demonstration began at the Angel de la Independencia, and ended at the Plaza de la Constitucion, the main square in Mexico City’s urban center.

March organizers invited the public to participate and extended an invitation to groups and individuals who impact public policy, those who represent the range of Mexico’s sexual diversity and people living with HIV/AIDS. Joining Saturday’s march was Mexico’s Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova, marking the first time a member of the government attended a public event supporting sexual diversity.

Organizers hope the march will rally support for an end to stigma, discrimination, transphobia, violence, and homophobia through education, civility and human understanding.

“Even with the benefit of 25 years of information and education, millions of people around the world still face daily discrimination and ostracism because of their HIV status,” said Love. “Faith communities have a key role to play in ending religion-based stigma against people with HIV and AIDS.”

Love is part of a growing international movement working to end religion-based discrimination and exclusion through a public campaign that encourages churches and people of faith to ask, “Would Jesus discriminate?” (www.WouldJesusDiscriminate.com)

Founded in 1968, Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) is the world’s largest and oldest Christian denomination with a primary, affirming ministry to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons, along with their families and friends. Often referred to as “The Human Rights Church,” Metropolitan Community Churches has members and adherents in 28 countries. To learn more about MCC’s international ministry, visit www.MCCchurch.org.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Metropolitan Community Churches is hosting an online blog with news and information from onsite at the 2008 International AIDS Conference. Visit MCC’s HIV/AIDS blog at http://www.mccGHAM.org.

(END)

Contact:
Joshua Love, Program Director
MCC Global HIV/AIDS Ministry
Tel. (213) 321-3975
E-mail: JoshuaLove@MCCchurch.net

To Arrange Press Interviews Or For Photos, Contact:
Jim Birkitt, Communications Director
Metropolitan Community Churches
Tel. (310) 625-4177
E-mail: info@MCCchurch.net

the Reverend Nancy L. Wilson
Office of the Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches

~  HIV/AIDS IN 2008  ~
A Message from the Moderator
of Metropolitan Community Churches to
Participants at the XVII International AIDS Conference

August 2008

HIV/AIDS is a vastly different experience than when I was a young pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles, in the U.S. in 1986.

Today, HIV/AIDS lives and thrives at the intersection of poverty, violence, oppression, sexism, racism and classism as never before. The forces of globalization, for good and for ill, create patterns and opportunities for HIV/AIDS to either flourish or die.

As queer Christians in Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), we have a legacy that is also our destiny.

HIV/AIDS impacted us savagely in the 1980’s and 90’s; it also challenged us to be a community of faith and compassion as never before. It molded and shaped us. It ignited a passion for justice within us; it pushed us out of denial and into activism. It taught us to be healers and it healed us in the process.

As people of faith, we are here at this XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, because we cannot not be here.

We have much to share and contribute. And we have a lot to learn from the newer communities that are being battered and shaped by HIV/AIDS today. We are citizens of the world, and people of great hope and heart. We are followers of a Christ who was crucified for his love and solidarity with the poor and marginalized.

In our world, religion can be a force for division or for unity-in-action. We live in a pluralistic world and in times that demand religious mutuality and respect from Christianity, who’s history too often has been marred by colonialism and intolerance. The friends and members of Metropolitan Community Churches are committed to building ecumenical and interfaith relationships upon which a healing movement of faith can still be built.

We have our courage, strength and experience to offer, and a willingness to partner and to risk doing what needs to be done to stop HIV/AIDS from killing generations of people in vastly different cultures and contexts.

We know that silence still equals death and that education and access are the keys to empower people with HIV/AIDS and those who care for and about them.

May this XVII International AIDS Conference be a turning point in the struggle to end HIV/AIDS.

With our prayers and best wishes for every success during your gathering this week in Mexico City,

+Nancy

The Reverend Nancy L. Wilson
Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches
www.MCCchurch.org