Churches urged to mark World AIDS Day

An Asian Worship Service for World AIDS Day has been commended for use in churches across Britain.

The background to the liturgy endorsed by the Christian Conference of Asia highlights the fact that someone dies of an AIDS-related illness every 15 seconds, often because of a lack of medicine.

Rev Stephen Penrose said: “As the Director of the London Ecumenical AIDS Trust and also as a Methodist Minister, I would commend this liturgy to be used around World Aids Day by our churches. I particularly like the sermon notes; they not only give the facts, setting them in a theological context, but hopefully will stir people into action.”

The information from the Ministry of Health Indonesia 2006 points out that all people are at risk from HIV and AIDS and everyone can make a contribution to reducing that risk.

Statistics also illustrate the problem of the HIV epidemic in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Pakistan, China and India.

A copy of the sermon is attached along with this press release and is available online at http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentogod.content&cmid=1523 .

Source: Methodist News Service 21/11/2008

RECOGNITION OF CHURCH-LED RESPONSE TO AIDS

International recognition for church-based programmes caring for people with HIV and Aids came this week. In the US, Senator Hilary Clinton and other presidential contenders joined a thousand Christians for a Global Summit on AIDS, held by the church of author and pastor Rick Warren. Warren, Author of The Purpose-Driven Church, and his wife Kay called this third summit as part of a plan to mobilise a billion Christians in humanitarian action and to deliver Aids care through local churches. In the UK, the Archbishop of Canterbury pays tribute to church-run local programmes in his message for World Aids Day (Saturday). Dr Williams challenges governments to work effectively with faith-based organisations, but admits that churches themselves have not always treated HIV positive people with the ‘dignity, liberty and freedom’ they deserve. In Uganda last week, the Queen made her first ever visit to a specialist AIDS centre set up by the UK-based Christian charity Mildmay.

Sources: Christian Today (30/11) ; Methodist Recorder (29/11)