AIDS has never been about the body alone.  It is a condition of the body, mind, and spirit.  AIDS crosses the depths of despair, soars on clouds of hope, and sits in hushed silence while time passes and no cure is forthcoming. 

 

Members of many faith communities are continuing the theme of “Faith in Action Now”, from the Ecumenical Pre-Conference of the 2008 International AIDS Conference in workshop sessions, satellite events, participation in the Global Village on-site, and worshiping together.

 

(The following worship service was carefully and loving crafted by members of the Ecumenical Pre-Conference worship team.  It is with all due respect and gratitude that I share portions of it with the readers of this blog.  I have used their citations for songs and readings when they were made available. Thank you.)

 

Ecumenical Pre-Conference: Opening Worship, 31 July, 2008

 

Musical Preparation

 

Greeting

We gather in the name of the Blessed Trinity, one God, now and forever.

Amen

Nos reunimos en el nombre de la Santísima Trinidad, un solo Dios, ahora y siempre.

Amén

Come Spirit, come, blow with the east wind

And show us faith sure enough to move mountains.

Ven Espíritu, ven, sopla con el viento del Este,

Y muéstranos una fe tan segura como para mover montañas.

People from Asia and the Pacific are invited to rise and be greeted.

Se invita a las personas de Asia y el Pacífico a ponerse de pie y les Saluda.

Holy Spirit, breathe over the 4.9 million people living with HIV in Asia and the Pacific.

Blow Spirit, blow, to put faith in action, now.

Espíritu Santo, respira sobre los 4.9 millones de personas que viven con VIH en Asia y el Pacífico.

Sopla espíritu, sopla, para colocar la fe en acción, ahora.

 

**Song: Wa wa wa emimimo

 

Wa Wa Emimimo, Wa Wa Wa Alagbra Wao wao wao.

Emioloye alagbarameta Emimimo.

 

(Yoruban and music as taught by Samuel Solanke, ©The Church of the Lord (Aladura), PO Box 71 Sagamo, Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria.  Notation and English paraphrase by I-to Lol © 1986 WCC and the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music, Francaise, Joëlle Gouël © WCC.)

 

Come Spirit, come.  Blow with the west wind,

And inspire within us a faith full of compassion. 

 

Ven Espíritu, ven, sopla con el viento del Oeste,

E inspira en nosotros una fe llena de compassion.

 

People from Europe and Central Asia are invited to rise and be greeted.

 

Holy Spirit, breathe over the 2.3 million people living with HIV in Europe and Central Asia.

Blow, Spirit, blow, to put in action, now. 

 

Espíritu Santo, respira sobre los 2.3 millones de personas que viven con VIH en Europa y el Asia Central.

Sopla Espíritu, sopla, para poner la fe en acción, ahora.

 

**Song:

Wa wa wa emimimo

 

Come Spirit, come.  Blow with the north wind,

And strengthen our faith to realize daring dreams.

 

Ven Espíritu, ven, sopla con el viento del Norte,

Y fortalece nuestra fe para realizar sueños osados.

 

People from North America are invited to rise and be greeted.

 

Las personas de Norteamérica levántense por favor, les saludamos

 

Holy Spirit, breathe over the 1.3 million

People living with HIV in North America.

Blow Spirit, blow, to put faith in action, now.

 

Espíritu Santo, respira sobre los 1.3 millones de personas que viven con VIH Nortamérica.

Sopla Espíritu, sopla, para poner la fe en acción, ahora.

 

**Song:

Wa wa wa emimimo

 

Come Spirit, come.  Blow with the south wind,

And enflame our faith to melt hearts of stone.

 

Ven Espíritu, ven, sopla con el viento del Sur,

Y inflama nuestra fe para derretir corazones de piedra..

 

People from Caribbean are invited to rise and be greeted.

 

Las personas del Caribe levántense por favor, les saludamos.

 

Holy Spirit, breathe over the 230 thousand

People living with HIV in the Caribbean.

Blow Spirit, blow, to put faith in action, now.

 

Espíritu Santo, respira sobre los 230 mil personas que viven con VIH Caribe.

Sopla Espíritu, sopla, para poner la fe en acción, ahora.

 

**Song:

Wa wa wa emimimo

 

People from Africa are invited to rise and be greeted.

 

Las personas del áfrica levántense por favor, les saludamos.

 

Holy Spirit, breathe over the 22.5 million 

People living with HIV in Africa.  Bring comfort and healing to the 12 million orphans due to AIDS.

Blow Spirit, blow, to put faith in action, now.

 

Espíritu Santo, respira sobre los 22.5 millones personas que viven con VIH Africa.  Otorga bienestar y sanidad a los 12 millones de huérfanos por causa del SIDA.

Sopla Espíritu, sopla, para poner la fe en acción, ahora.

 

**Song:

Wa wa wa emimimo

 

People from Latin America are invited to rise and be greeted.

 

Las personas de América Latina levántense por favor, les saludamos.

 

Holy Spirit, breathe over the 1.6 million 

People living with HIV in Latin America.

Blow Spirit, blow, to put faith in action, now.

 

Espíritu Santo, respira sobre los 1.6 millones personas que viven con VIH América Latina. 

Sopla Espíritu, sopla, para poner la fe en acción, ahora.

 

**Song:

Wa wa wa emimimo

 

We gather as [people of faith] just before the International AIDS Conference

To hear God’s word,

To feel the Spirit blow over us

So we gain courage and support from one another.

We gather here Mexico City, with a variety of gifts,

A host of projects and proposals,

An astounding array of possibilities,

And souls full of hope

Ready for us to work for God and God’s people.

We rise and sing.

 

***Mientra haya aliento en mi.

Mien-tras ha-ya a-lien-to en mí, en la reu-nión de los fie-les, tu a-la-ban-za en-to-na-ré con un nue-vo can-tar.  Mien-tras ha-ya que a-mar a mi her-ma-no ca-í-do en do-lor, yo can-ta-ré u-na pa-la-bra de paz, de consueloa, de fe, u-na luz a se-guir…Mientras ha-ya a-lien-to en mí en la reu-nión de los fie-les tu a-la-ban-za en-to-na-ré con un nue-vo can-tar con un cán-ti-co nue - - - vo.

 

Prayer

 

We are all affected by HIV and AIDS;

We are the body of Christ.

We have lost close relatives;

Heal our bodies.

We have lost close friends and neighbors,

Church and work mates;

Heal our hearts.

We have been rejected and despised by ones

We thought we could count on;

Heal our spirits.

We have lost our hope.

Heal our minds.

 

El VIH y SIDA nos afecta a todos

Somos el cuerpo do Cristo

Hemos perdido amigos y familiars

San nuestros cuerpos

Hemos perdido vecinos y conocidos,

Hermanos y hermanas de iglesia y de trabajo

Sana nuestros corazones

Hemos sido rechazados y despreciados por

Aquellos en quienes habíamons pensado que

Podíamos contra.

Sana nuestros espíritus

Hemos perdido nuestra esperanza,

Sana nuestras mentes

 

We put our trust in you;

You are Emmanuel,

You are God With Us.

You will never leave us or forsake us;

You will be with us to the end of the ages.

 

Ponemos nuestra confianza en ti,

Tú eres Emmanuel,

Tú eres Dios Con Nosotros,

Nunca nos dejarás ni abandonarás,

Estarás junto a nosotros hasta el fin del

Mundo.

 

(Fulata L. Moyo Malawi and Musa W. Dube Botswana.  Source AfricaPraying: A Handbook on HIV/AIDS Sensitive Sermon Guidelines and Liturgy edited by Duba, World Council of Churches, p. 4)

 

Alleluia

 

Gospel Reading - Matthew 9:35-10:1

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”  Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.

 

Alleluia

 

Response to the Word

 

“The laborers are few,” Jesus says.  He must have known about the AIDS pandemic.  More is being done than ever before.  But when confronted with the magnitude of this disease, there are not enough laborers who have compassion on the crowds, harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Jesus tells us, “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”  The old version said, “Pray the Lord of the harvest.”  Jesus advocates prayer and then quickly appoints workers, gives them power and sets them going. 

 

We have 4500 small stones around the room, one stone for ten thousand people, 1200 white stones for the twelve million children who are orphans because of AIDS, 450 colored stones for the approximately 4 and a half million people infected with HIV but receiving medication, and 2870 gray stones for the estimated 28.7 million people who are infected, without medication, some because they do not yet know they are infected, but many because they have no access to medicine. 

 

You are invited to take one of these stones.

 

How do we pray to the Lord of the harvest in the face of AIDS?  Each stone represents ten thousand people.  You couldn’t even say that many names in you had the rest of the day to pray for them. 

 

Silence

 

We listen again to the Gospel: Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. 

 

What summons do you hear from Jesus?

What power do you need to receive from meeting one another in his name,

What power to confront injustice,

What power to heal?

What power do you need from Jesus for your leadership in the face of AIDS?

 

Silence

 

Hymn – Spirit of Gentleness (verse 1 and 3)

 

Spirit, Spirit of gentleness, blow through the wilderness calling and free,

Spirit, Spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness, Wind, Wind on the sea.

 

You moved on the waters you called to the deep, then you

Coaxed up the mountains from the valleys of sleep; and

Over the aeons you called to each thing: then you

Wake from your slumbers and rise on your wings.

 

© 1978 James K. Manley. Canada

 

Reading from Martin Luther King

From “Beyond Vietnam” a speech delivered at New York’s Riverside Church on April 4, 1967

 

We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today.  We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.  In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late.  Procrastination is still the thief of time.  Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity.  The “tide of affairs of men” does not remain at the flood; it ebbs.  We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on.  Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: “Too late.”  There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect.  “The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on…”

 

We must move past indecision to action.  If we do no act we shall surely be dragged down the long dark and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.

 

Now let us begin.  Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter – but beautiful – struggle for a new world.  This is the calling of the [children] of God, and our [sisters and] brothers wait eagerly for our response.  Shall we say the odds are too great? Shall we tell the struggle is too hard?  They choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise we must choose in this crucial moment of human history. 

 

Hymn – Spirit of Gentleness (verse 4)

 

Prayer

 

Faithful God,

Faithfully calling us to act,

Acting in us and through us at this moment,

As we meet together during the next few days

Fill us with your power

To lead in love

And to love enough to lead boldly

So that the sheep no longer lack a shepherd

No longer wander harassed or helpless

But live,

No,

Through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 

The Prayer Jesus Taught Us (in our many languages)

 

Benediction