This issue of INTERaction and those for the remainder of this year are supported by a grant from the Hoffman-LaRoche Company. This company has been a generous supporter of many AIDS-related organizations and has also helped with sponsorship of the U.S. Conference on AIDS.
Board of Directors: ANIN is governed by a dedicated and enthusiastic board of directors who represent the variety of AIDS ministries we serve as well as diversity of religious backgrounds. Each year the board conducts its Annual Meeting in conjunction with the national conference. This year the meeting was held Sept. 20 at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. Sara Brown, Scott Alexander and Holly McAlpen received awards for the six years of board service each had completed. In addition, the board chose its officers for 1998. Rabbi Marc Blumenthal was elected president; Rev. Pat O'Hara, vice president; Fr. Robert Vitillo, treasurer, and Rev. Rosetta DuBois Gadson, secretary.
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The board conducted its bi-annual business meeting August 10-12 in Washington, DC. The highlight of the meeting was the discussion of ANIN's partnership with the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention to support their new campaign, Recreating Our Future. Alexander Robinson, president of the National Task Force board, gave an impressive presentation to the ANIN board. He reminded the group that the campaign's goal is to reduce by 50% the incidence of HIV infection in gay and bisexual men of color by the year 2002. ANIN's board voted to support the campaign as a national sponsor.
AIDS & Religion in America: Under the very capable leadership of Mrs. Sarah Naylor, ANIN's consultant on this project, and through the support of the Ford Foundation, plans continue for this historic event, an invitational convocation which will bring together three groups which can impact the course of HIV/AIDS in this country. The current sponsors of the convocation are the Interfaith Health Project of the Carter Center, the American Academy of Religion and ANIN. On Sept. 8 and 9, the program planning committee met at ANIN's offices to round out the elements of the event; these will include plenary sessions, round table discussions, fish bowl experiences, and panels.
The convocation will take place at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Nov. 8-11. Its mission statement says in part that the convocation "will bring together, for the first time, a diverse group of national religious leaders, respected theologians, and members of the AIDS ministry movement to discuss the impact of AIDS on society, to explore the theological basis for action, and to consider how to mobilize more effectively America's faith community in the battle against HIV/AIDS."
The Academic Committee met Nov. 14 to begin the faculty selection process. This by-invitation-only event is limited to 250 guests for sessions during the day at the Carter Center; however, dinner events, to be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Atlanta on each of the three evenings of the convocation, will be open to the public.
The first national "think tank" event for Recreating Our Future took place at the Barcelo Hotel in Washington, DC, Nov. 6-8. Over 300 AIDS activists and public health experts from a variety of disciplines met for two intensive days of evaluation and strategy-planning. Focus groups gathered around the issues of HIV Evaluation, Surveillance, Research, Public/Private Partnerships, Prevention and Health Promotion. ROF will continue in a five-step process throughout the year, taking the recommendations of the "think tank" participants to the next level. The Recreating Our Future Campaign empowers communities hardest hit by HIV to find strength in one another and renewed resources to overcome the fear and devastation wrought by HIV. The mission of the campaign is to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic among gay and bisexual men of color, cutting by 50% the number of new infections in that group by the year 2002. ANIN is one of five founding members of the campaign.
ANIN commemorated World AIDS Day 97 by supporting four different events: an Interfaith Service of Celebration and Healing, the World AIDS Day Resource Book, the 17 Bells Program, and a forum and press conference at the National Press Club. All are described in detail in a separate article in this issue.
Intern from Across the Globe: Between July and late September 1997, ANIN was fortunate in having as visiting staff member Alison Foose, who directs the HIV/AIDS program for the Council of Churches in Durban, South Africa. Here in the U.S. on a 3-month sabbatical, Alison asked to spend the time with ANIN, and we gained greatly by her hard work, her experience in AIDS ministry, and especially by her presence among us. Shortly after helping out at the United States Conference on AIDS, Alison left ANIN to return to her job and family in South Africa.
Fellowship to Start: The Rev. Scott Alexander, pastor of the Church of the Larger Fellowship of the Unitarian Universalist Association and former ANIN board member, will be donating his services to ANIN from March to July. His responsibilities during this fellowship will include working with our policy advocate , Marco Grimaldo, our AIDS & Religion in America consultant, Sarah Nayloor, and our development consultant, John Cooper.
Council of National Religious AIDS Networks meeting August 9, 1997
AIDS National Interfaith Network is more than just an office in Washington, DC
by Scott Harrison
Scott Harrison
ANIN provides a wide range of practical assistance to people working in AIDS ministries around the country. Every day I receive calls from people looking for funding and networking suggestions; printed material, information and resources; and volunteer opportunities and hands-on involvement. Often, the caller feels isolated and is simply seeking an empathetic ear.
Most recently, ANIN provided a number of organizations with sample service programs and litanies as they planned community interfaith services to commemorate World AIDS Day. Several communities had never planned an interfaith service before, and so had no community standard or history to follow. I was able to give suggestions and material to committee members and leaders seeking to put together an interfaith experience for service participants. The fax machine was very busy during the two weeks prior to World AIDS Day!
One morning several weeks ago, I received a call from someone in AIDS ministry in rural Maine. Working alone, she served an area the size of the state of Connecticut. She called looking for other people in AIDS ministry, as well as for printed material. This call from a person feeling isolated in AIDS ministry is typical of many from individuals who work in both rural and urban areas and seek camaraderie, encouragement and spiritual nourishment.
The AIDS ministry staff members who write, email and call us at ANIN all have a story to tell about the effects of the ever-changing status of the epidemic on their organizations: staff shuffling, funding cuts, the effect of the new medications on their clients. Often, I refer callers to other AIDS ministries which are experiencing similar situations, as a means of gaining basic support and understanding as well as tried-and-true ideas from people in other areas who are also experiencing the present ever-changing environment. This whole sequence is an example of networking and its benefits.
Another way ANIN reaches out is through collaborating with other organizations in planning conferences, meetings and other events. Last summer ANIN was one of the collaborating partners in planning the first United States Conference on AIDS, held in Miami last September. This involvement followed six years of acting as one of three primary sponsors of the National Skills Building Conference.
Every spring, ANIN serves as sponsor of the annual AIDS Watch day on Capitol Hill, when over 700 participants converge on Washington from all over the country to lobby members of Congress on AIDS policy and appropriations. Last fall, ANIN worked with the American Association for World Health to secure funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to pay for printing and mailing the Association's annual World AIDS Day resource book.
Additionally, ANIN secures CDC funding for its National AIDS Ministry Capacity Building for Prevention Project, which supports ANIN's ability to fund members of the Council of NATIONAL RELIGIOUS AIDS NETWORKS (CNRAN). As you may know, the Council is an inter-religious coalition dedicated to improving HIV/AIDS care and prevention within faith communities. Interested persons convened a first meeting at ANIN's office in March of 1993; ANIN continues to host the Council, which now meets twice a year.
Since my arrival at ANIN last April, I have met a number of remarkable people from all over the country who are involved in AIDS ministry and put their faith into action on a daily basis. I am amazed at the dedication and commitment of these people out in the field, who do real hands-on work with limited resources. Their spirit and determination to get the job done despite obstacles conquer the odds and set a standard which is truly amazing. My thanks to all of them -- to all of you -- for teaching me the meaning of ministry.
AIDS National Interfaith Network Promotes Varied Observances of World AIDS Day
by Rev. Ken South
17 Bells Project: Each year ANIN supports the idea of ringing bells to commemorate the years of the epidemic. This year we printed and mailed out 2,000 flyers to AIDS ministries, dioceses, conferences, associations and synods, and to individual congregations as well, encouraging them to ring bells 17 times at 2:00 PM on Dec. 1. Many communities have now included the ringing of bells as part of their annual World AIDS Day services.
For the first time, the United States Capitol joined in ANIN's bell- ringing project. Representative Nancy Pelosi responded to our request to approach the Architect of the capitol, Mr. Alan H. Hangman, for permission to ring the Taft Memorial Carillon on World AIDS Day At 2:00 PM the bells of the carillon rang 17 times in commemoration of the 17 years of the epidemic. We hope that, like the dimming of lights at the White House on World AIDS Day, this action too will become a Washington tradition.
Interfaith Service: The Interfaith Service of Celebration and Healing took place on Nov. 30, the eve of World AIDS Day, at the Church of the Epiphany in downtown Washington. ANIN served as one of the event's four primary sponsors along with the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition, the Episcopal Caring Response to AIDS, and the White House Office on National AIDS Policy. NEAC and ECRA have collaborated on a Christian-based service each October at the Washington National Cathedral. This year, given the overwhelming success of the interfaith service held in October 1996 at the Cathedral during the Quilt Weekend, the two groups decided to move the service to World AIDS Day and continue its interfaith character.
Even though the celebration fell on the Sunday night of the Thanksgiving weekend, over 500 persons attended the candlelight service. Participants in the service included the Rev. Randolph Charles, Rector of the Church of the Epiphany; Sandra Thurman, Director of the White House Office on National AIDS Policy; the Youth choir of St. Augustine's Church, and Cantor Alan Amus from Congregation Bet Mishpachah. The Rev. Kwabena Rainey Cheeks, pastor of Inner Light Fellowship and long-time HIV survivor, brought people to their feet, touched their hearts with laughter, and moved them to tears with his message, "Where Do I Find my Hope?" Hart Roussel, executive director of Episcopal Caring Response to AIDS, introduced the offering, which was used to support local AIDS ministries. The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington performed three anthems appropriate to the occasion, as did the well-known a cappella women's group Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Young people were represented by candle lighters who lit 17 candles in the course of the event, and by Amanda Blumberg, who spoke of her experience as peer educator with Metro Teen AIDS. We were reminded of the perilous status of too many of our children by Mrs. Marian Wright Edelman, Director of the Children's Defense Fund.
Rev. Ken South led the congregation in the lighting of candles and the recessional, as the congregation sang "We Shall Not Keep Silent."
World AIDS Day Resource Booklet: For the past five years, ANIN has played a significant part on the National Advisory Committee of the American Association for World Health, as it publishes the World AIDS Day Resource Book. This year over 50,000 books were distributed across the United States to help communities plan World AIDS Day events. All of ANIN's constituency of 1,400 AIDS ministries received booklets. The resource contains "AIDS 101" information, specific updates on issues relating to AIDS and children, and national resources including web pages.
International Forum & Press Conference: ANIN was asked to join a coalition of international organizations in a forum on the international status of the epidemic and its effect on the children of the world, held on World AIDS Day at the National Press Club.
The half-day event featured Sandra Thurman of the White House Office on AIDS Policy; Dr. Peter Piot of UNAIDS; Lyn Squire, of the World Bank; Carol Bellamy, director of UNICEF; and Brian Atwood, director of USAID. The event's sponsors included the National Council for International Health, the American Association for World Health, the Pan American Health Association, the World Bank, AIDSCAP, USAID, and UNAIDS.
A major feature of the forum was the release of the USAID report on the status of HIV orphans: 8 million children under 14 have lost one or both parents since the beginning of the pandemic.
Attention, Please!
Want to tell others about something that has worked well in your ministry? Got a question or idea you want to discuss? A response to an article in INTERaction? An HIV/AIDS conference, book or video to recommend? Write us at ANIN, 1400 I St. NW Ste. 1220, Washington DC 20005 or email the editor: mkshcj@aol.com
You may appear in print!
First-ever Conference Supports Care Teams
by Rev. Phil Jamison
Last November 7-9 1997, the Presbyterian AIDS Network and the Office of Health Ministries, Presbyterian Church (USA) teamed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to offer a three-day Interfaith Care Team Conference in Atlanta. The purpose of the conference was twofold: to assist those just beginning a Care Team ministry, and to enable existing Care Team programs to exchange successful strategies. Over 220 individuals from various faith communities and from 36 states came together to share their strengths and needs in making Care Teams a ministry of love and practical help to persons affected by HIV/AIDS. Workshop leaders and speakers from Care Team programs throughout the country, denominational leaders and health care professionals offered concrete suggestions for organizing and maintaining Care Team ministries. Question and answer sessions allowed participants to exchange ideas and creative responses to the ongoing challenges of Care Team ministry.
Trudy James opened the conference by describing her experience as executive director of the Arkansas Regional AIDS Interfaith Network (RAIN). Trudy shared stories of family members isolated by AIDS, like the mother who could find no one in her community or church with whom to share her pain when her son came home to die. RAIN was able to bring God's loving presence as well as practical help to her and to many others affected by AIDS. Dr. Jimmy Allen, a former leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, shared the pain of not only losing a daughter-in-law and two grandsons to AIDS-related illnesses, but also of suffering with his son, a minister, forced to leave his church when the senior minister discovered their HIV status, and with another son, also HIV+. Participants were deeply moved by Dr. Allen's account of releasing the ashes of loved ones into the waters of San Francisco Bay.
Conference participants were also touched by the testimony of a Care Partner who sang his message, accompanying himself on his guitar. As he told how his Care Team had become his family, with him through his ups and downs, he bore further witness to how Care Team members convey God's love to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Care Teams are a response to HIV/AIDS by compassionate volunteers who offer unconditional practical, emotional and spiritual support to persons and families living with HIV/AIDS. The Care Team model allows flexibility for volunteers to bring different gifts in caring for those with AIDS. Care Teams train and support their members to enable them to handle varied tasks, so that no one is overburdened with long-term care. Care Teams do not provide medical or financial help, but rather a loving, compassionate ministry exercised through practical and spiritual support.
For more information, contact:
Phil Jamison
Co-Moderator,
Presbyterian AIDS Network
412-766-7761
Dealing with "New" Issues in HIV/AIDS Ministry
Since the early days of the epidemic, there have been health professionals and caregivers who recognized the importance of psychosocial and spiritual issues for persons living with HIV/AIDS. Within the last several years, new discoveries and understandings about HIV and the disease, and corresponding innovations such as combination therapies, protease inhibitors, and earlier treatment have upped the ante. They have brought renewed health and better quality of life to many persons living with HIV/AIDS; but they have also complicated the issues that PWAs -- and often their caregivers -- must deal with.
A person with a simple faith in the popular media could believe that the fight against HIV/AIDS is virtually over, everything smooth sailing from now on. But though some persons are greatly helped by PIs, some are not, or suffer a drastic downturn after a brief improvement. But whether or not these newer therapies are medically helpful, one effect they can have is an intensified awareness of the tentativeness and fragility of any plans for the future, in the PWA and caregivers. As the brochure material for one of the reflection weekends listed in this issue's Resources puts it, the current situation has brought "more options and lots of questions. Return to work? Start a relationship? How long?"
Further questions arise if a person who a few months earlier was in the terminal stages of the disease is now able to resume many activities s/he had long since been forced to abandon. What happens to the funeral plans -- and expectations -- of everyone concerned? What happens when the relationship of total caregiving is overturned? How will the caregiver(s) act and feel? Family members, partners, spouses, friends? And the former recipient of care, now virtually or completely independent? All will experience to some degree the need to re-imagine and re-negotiate their roles and relationships.
Then there are the people whom the newer therapies do not help, or to whom they give only short-lived relief before failing. Both the PWA and his/her caregivers and loved ones face the emotional effect of expectations raised, then dashed -- different in every case, but often a mixture of anger, sadness and confusion.
The newer therapies raise many other questions and issues as well. These "new" issues can be challenging and painful for persons living with HIV/AIDS, family and friends, caregivers. For all of us in faith-based HIV/AIDS ministry, they are issues which, though we must deal with them, can at the same time lead us to a new level of trust and understanding with the persons whom we accompany.
Other developments related to HIV are deeply troubling. Only a week after reporting the first-time decrease in deaths due to AIDS, the CDC announced in its Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR): "Among men who have sex with men (MSM), gonorrhea trends may reflect changes in sexual behaviors that also reflect risk for...HIV infection." The report documented a dramatic rise in the incidence of gonorrhea among MSM in surveillance clinics in six U.S. cities, linking the increase with a rise in unprotected sex. On Oct. 15, the CDC released figures showing a five-fold increase in herpes prevalence among young whites aged 12 to 19, and a doubled prevalence in young people 20-29, since the completion in 1980 of an earlier survey.The lesions often associated with STDs, and the greater number of CD-4 cells in STD-infected women, increase vulnerability to HIV infection. Further, HIV+ men with gonorrhea shed five times as much HIV in their semen as those without gonorrhea.
These factors of increases in unprotected sex and in STDs present a formidable challenge: the need to create prevention programs that go beyond providing information to dealing with the causes of risky behaviors. "It's Not Over," the title of Marco Grimaldo's article in the last issue of INTERaction, referred to the political struggle to get adequate congressional provision for HIV prevention and care. It applies also to HIV/AIDS itself, and particularly to the psychosocial implications of the disease, both emotional and behavioral.
For issues related to newer therapies, see Carol Reese, "Protease Inhibitors and Caregivers: What Do We Do Now?" in The Spirit (newsletter of AIDS Pastoral Care Network, Chicago), Winter 1997; and Mark G. Winiarski (editor), "Afterword," in HIV Mental Health for the 21st Century, New York University Press, 1997, pp. 325-334.
For the STD-HIV link, see the CDC's MMWR, Sept. 26, 1997; HHS News (U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services), Oct. 15, 1997; Joanne Kenen, "New Links Between AIDS and STDs," Alive & Kicking (monthly newspaper of We the People Living with AIDS/HIV of the Delaware Valley; FAX 215-545-8437), June 1997, p. 33.
Further, Project Inform of San Francisco explains in a recent issue (#23) of its newsletter, PI Perspectives, how to interpret the "failure" and "success" reports about protease inhibitors. For a copy of this long and thoughtful article, contact the Project Inform office (415-558-8669; FAX 415-558-0684), or get it from their website, http://www.projinf.org.
Two Ways to Both Give and Get
Many religious traditions place emphasis on giving to others, particularly those who are poor or in affliction of any kind. That being said, most of us don't exactly object to receiving some kind of benefit in return for a donation.
In the last issue of INTERaction, we described Call & Care, a way in which individuals and small businesses can contribute both to their local HIV/AIDS ministries and to ANIN by simply switching their long distance provider, without incurring any increase in their long distance telephone bill. In addition, subscribers receive a Call & Care newsletter with their monthly telephone bill. It's not too late to join the program, by the way!
Now, a second vehicle for helping oneself as well as HIV/AIDS services has just increased its benefits. The Elton John AIDS Foundation VISA Card program has announced the program's expansion in two important directions:
Airline miles: At each use of the VISA Card, the cardholder can earn points toward airline travel. Trips earned in this way can be booked through a 24-hour travel agent, and will not be subject to blackout periods.
Platinum Plus: MBNA American Bank, which issues the Elton John AIDS Foundation VISA Card, has added a Platinum Plus VISA Card to the program. Like the original Elton John VISA Card, the Platinum Plus has no annual fee. Unlike the original card, this one has a line of credit that can extend to $100,000; further, the card allows for $1,000,000 travel accident insurance, and has a variable interest rate.
The volume of usage of the Elton John Credit Card generates profits for the MBNA American Bank, from which it donates to the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Since the program's inauguration in 1996, MBNA has already contributed over $40,000 to the Foundation. Through the National AIDS Fund, in 1997 the Elton John AIDS Foundation granted $1.6 million to communities for HIV/AIDS prevention and care.
Between Call & Care and one or other of the Elton John AIDS Foundation VISA Cards, you can be part of making significant contributions to the battle against HIV/AIDS while yourself reaping substantial benefits. Can you pass up this opportunity?
Source:National AIDS Fund Newsletter, November 1997.
AIDS National Interfaith Network Board Profile
Wayne Thrash
New to the ANIN board in 1997, Wayne Thrash is a native of Akron, OH, now residing in Denver, CO.
Mr. Thrash works at University Hospital in Denver as a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist in the psychiatric emergency room and crisis service. He also has a private psychotherapy practice specializing in persons living with HIV, men dealing with sexuality issues, same-sex male couples and survivors of trauma and abuse. He also acts as a consultant with organizations and health care teams which provide HIV-related services, and conducts training sessions on HIV and mental health.
Wayne Thrash
Receiving a bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Akron School of Nursing, Mr. Thrash later earned a Master of Science degree in psychiatric mental health nursing from the nursing school of the University of Colorado. In addition to his certifications in advanced practice and adult psychiatric nursing, he maintains certification as a diabetes educator.
Besides his involvement with ANIN'S board, Mr. Thrash serves on the steering committee of the Colorado AIDS Interfaith Coalition and is active with AIDS Medicine and Miracles. He also holds affiliation with a number of nursing and mental health organizations.
Among the affiliations listed by Mr. Thrash, the one he maintains with Soka Gakkai Buddhism holds a special place in his life. Of it he says:
"Buddhist philosophy and my Buddhist practice have completely transformed my life. I have realized that I have the ability and responsibility to manifest the greatest good in my life, in our shared life, and in the physical world we live in. I have learned that every moment is truly a new beginning, that every difficulty offers tremendous possibilities, and that even the smallest caring changes everything. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity, with the other members of the ANIN board of directors, to impact our country's spiritual response to AIDS. This opportunity and challenge are an answer to my prayers."
Rev. Alexander Joins AIDS National Interfaith Network Staff During Sabbatical
Rev. Scott Alexander
The Rev. Scott W. Alexander, minister of the largest Unitarian Universalist church in the world (2,800 adult members), will be spending a sabbatical working as a senior program consultant in ANIN's offices in Washington, DC , from March 1 to July 1, 1998.
Rev. Alexander, who served on ANIN's board of directors from 1991 to 1997 -- and as board secretary during the 1996-1997 year-is Senior Minister of the Church of the Larger Fellowship, a "church without walls" for religious liberals scattered around the world. "We have members in all 50 states, in all Canadian provinces and territories and in 86 other countries; we reach out to them by letters, publications, phone, fax, and the Internet," reports Rev. Alexander. "Because HIV/AIDS is a pandemic that affects every corner of the globe, ANIN'S mission and work is of particular importance to the widely scattered congregation I serve. I am really excited about becoming a part of the ANIN staff for this period, as this is an effective organization whose mission I strongly support. I look forward to a rewarding and meaningful four months."
While a part of the ANIN staff team, Rev. Alexander will be working on a wide variety of projects, including public policy, development, publications and planning for the AIDS & Religion in America Convocation to be held in Atlanta in November. He will be in the ANIN offices on a full-time basis; so if you call ANIN during this time-frame, Rev. Alexander may be the one who answers the phone.
The author of The Relational Pulpit, Rev. Alexander has edited four volumes. These are AIDS and Your Religious Community: A Hands-on Guide to Local Programming; The Welcoming Congregation: Resources for Affirming Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Persons; Salted With Fire: Unitarian Universalist Strategies for Sharing Faith; and his latest, due out in 1998, Everyday Spiritual Practice.
Rev. Ken South, Executive Director of ANIN, says, "I know Scott will bring a great deal of energy and expertise to the staff while he is here in Washington with us. Perhaps other supporters of ANIN will think about the possibility of spending a sabbatical period helping us with this important work."
Of Interest Around and About
The entire first half of the December newsletter of NASTAD (National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors) was devoted to the organization's relationship with faith communities. In other words, the issue's first six pages focused on ANIN, on the Council of National Religious AIDS Networks, and on CDC's HIV Prevention Faith Initiative, in which both ANIN and CNRAN are major players. And NASTAD's emphasis was on the aspect of ministry in AIDS care, rather than primarily on service delivery per se. Let's hear it for the faith community!
And speaking of ministry -- did you know that of 1,200 residences entirely or partially dedicated to caring for people living with HIV/AIDS in the US, 281-as near to a quarter as makes no differenceÑare operated by faith-based ministries?
And did you know that
of the 775,000 persons in the US estimated by the CDC to be HIV-infected, 1/3 are estimated to be unaware of their status? The good news is that 2/3 are aware; the bad, that 275,000 people are not even conscious of their need to protect potential partners and themselves.
according to the CDC, AIDS cases among women increased 65% between 1991 and 1995?
RAIN Arkansas has developed a strategic vision called Project Millenium: Living With AIDS in the Twenty-first Century. In its expression of this vision, RAIN states: "In the next five years the organization will develop and maintain a comprehensive statewide organization of compassionate care for persons living with HIV/AIDS and educational programs on HIV/AIDS, with the twofold purpose of nurturing the current success and accomplishments of RAIN and expanding RAIN to those regions of Arkansas that are presently undeveloped or underdeveloped." It's great to see this long-time model of care team and AIDS retreat ministry still looking to the future with energy and creativity.
Beth Chayim Chadashim, a Los Angeles synagogue of gay, lesbian and bisexual Jews and, like RAIN, one of ANIN's partners, is celebrating an important anniversary this year. The synagogue was born 25 years ago in the basement of the Metropolitan Community Church, at the invitation of MCC's founder, the Rev. Troy Perry. Happy anniversary and mazel tov, BCC!
Elsewhere in this issue, Scott Harrison writes about the calls he receives from AIDS ministries around the country. One such was from Shari Lowenthal, of the AIDS/HIV Services Group in Charlottesville, VA. New at the organization, Shari was responsible for World AIDS Day activities and needed models and suggestions for interfaith services. The mail system being what it is, Scott's response arrived on Dec. 2, postmarked two weeks earlier. Left to her own devices, Shari used them, and wound up with a World AIDS Week, starting with a service on the theme of the children's story "The Giving Tree." An 11-year-old boy read the story; other participants in the service were a rabbi, a Baptist minister, a Buddhist, Episcopal and Catholic priests, a Hindu swami and the director of the Infectious Disease Clinic of the University of Virginia Health Systems, who talked on pediatric AIDS. The service was followed during the week by the "First Annual AIDS in Education Award Ceremony," talks and panel discussions, a food drive, a poster contest, and the distribution of "grab bags" of HIV information and condoms on the campus of the University of Virginia. All of this organized or at least orchestrated by a newcomer to the area, with lots of volunteer help from U. Va. nursing students and interns.
A version of this scenario, producing HIV/AIDS programs and services despite various kinds of odds, is played out throughout every year, across the country and the world -- but at each repetition it's still pretty amazing.
AIDS National Interfaith Network Board of Directors, 1997-98
Rabbi Marc Blumenthal (Reform Judaism)
President
Los Angeles, CA
Ms. Holly McAlpen (Episcopal Church)
Immediate Past president
San Francisco, CA
Rev. Pat O'Hara (Buddhist)
Vice President
New York, NY
Rev. Rosetta DuBois Gadson (African Methodist Episcopal Church)
Secretary
New York, NY
Rev. Robert J. Vitillo (Roman Catholic)
Secretary
Washington, DC
Rev. Dr. Beth Boyer-Kollas (United Church of Christ)
Danville, PA
Rev. Dr. Juan G. Feliciano-Valera (Methodist Church)
Arecibo, PR
Rev. Sherman G. Hicks (Lutheran Church in America)
Washington, DC
Rev. Sharon Keating (American Baptist Church)
New York, NY
Rev. Edward R. Kilianski (Roman Catholic)
Occidental, CA
Rev. A. Steven Pieters (Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches)
Los Angeles, CA
Krysten Winter-Green, Ph.D. (Roman Catholic)
Fall River, MA
HIV/AIDS Ministry Resources
AIDS Medicine & Miracles 1998 Retreat Conference Schedule. June 4-7, Mt. Madonna Retreat Center near Gilroy, CA (1 1/2 hr. south of San Francisco). August 27-30, at the Pathwork Center in Phoenicia, NY in the Catskills, 2-hr. drive from Manhattan). November 19-22, Dallas-Fort Worth Lakes Hilton Resort Center near DFW airport. For information, registration: AM&M, P.O. Box 20650, Boulder CO 800-875-8770.
Innovations and Sharing: Strategies in HIV Prevention for Latinos. Sponsored by Latino Commission on AIDS. April 2-3, Adams Mark Hotel, Philadelphia, PA. For information: Latino Commission on AIDS, 80 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1501, New York NY 10011. 212-675-3288.
National AIDS Fundraising Conference, April 24-26. For information: NAFC, c/o HPM, Inc., 521 Fifth Ave., 35th Floor, New York, NY 10175-3598. 212-332-0755.
New Horizons, New Directions. Four focus weekends for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS:
Thursday evening, May 14 through Sunday, May 17, Oakwood Farm, Selma, IN: HIV: How Do We Live With It? New therapies have brought about more options and lots of questions. Return to work? Start a relationship? How long? This weekend is for those infected with HIV.
Friday evening, July 17 through Sunday, July 19, Waycross Center, Morgantown, IN: Relationships and HIV/AIDS: Family, spouse, partner, friends, community, church, and self. This weekend is for those infected and affected with HIV.
Friday evening, Sept. 11 through Sunday, Sept. 13, Oakwood Farm: Spirituality...and disease; developing my own; finding a sense of inner peace. This weekend is for those infected and affected by HIV.
Friday evening, Nov. 6 through Nov. 8, Mt. St. Francis Center, Mt. St. Francis, IN: Where Do We Go From Here? New directions, opportunities, fears, risks. This weekend is for those infected by HIV.
Though all four focus weekends are sponsored by the Office of HIV/AIDS Ministry of the Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, they are for people of all faiths and spiritually diverse backgrounds.
SCUPE Congress on Urban Ministry. April 14-17, at the Ramada Congress Hotel, Chicago. The congress will include workshops on HIV/AIDS in the urban situation. For information, contact SCUPE: 312-726-1200; FAX 312-726-0425.
The Twenty-eighth Annual Interfaith Public Policy Briefing '98. March 29-Apri 1, 1998. Holiday Inn on the Hill, 415 New Jersey Ave. NW, Washington, DC. Conference fees are $175.00, payable to Briefing Ô98. Room rates at the host hotel, Holiday Inn, per night: single, $115.00; double, $126.00. To make reservations: 800-638-1116. Identify your reservation for group rates: Briefing '98. For more information and conference registration, contact Fr. Paul Ojibway, SA, Briefing '98, 119 Maryland Ave. NE, Washington DC 20002. Tel: 202-543-2800. FAX: 202-547-8107.
Watershed Workshop for People With AIDS. Two 8-day residency programs for 10 people each session, exploring images of personal and collective healing through clay, drawing, painting, movement and mask-making. The sessions (one early summer, one late summer/early fall) will be held at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, ME. No previous experience of the arts necessary. $425 fee for the workshop may be paid by the individual or a sponsoring person or organization; limited scholarship funds may also be available. "Those interested should apply regardless of their access to funds" (program brochure). For more information/application forms, contact Lynn Gipson, director, at 207-882-6075. Application deadline for both sessions is April 15.
Books, Manuals & Periodicals About AIDS
AIDS and Immigrants: a Manual for AIDS Service Providers, 1997 edition. Enables providers to understand more clearly the problems and options facing noncitizens in the light of recent changes in immigration law and the availability of public benefits. A separate "warning" sheet (for distribution to clients of an AIDS service organization who one suspects may not be citizens) and a public benefits chart accompany the manual. For a copy of the manual and updated information on public benefits available to noncitizens, contact: The National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, 14 Beacon St., Suite 602, Boston, MA 02108. Phone: 617-227-9727; fax: 617-227-5495; email: nip@igc.apc.org
The September issue (Vol. 6, No. 1) of Infopack, the newsletter of Community Prescription Service, includes (pp. 10-12) a review of selected HIV-related newsletters and magazines. To be placed on the CPS mailing list, call 800-842-0502.
AIDS 201: Survival Tips for Symptomatic PWAs, by "Bobby Positive." 54 survival tips, with explanations of each from a long-term survivor of AIDS. Available at 3 for $4 from Best D Clinic, 1240 E. Brady St., Milwaukee WI 53202. 414-272-2144.
Faith & AIDS: American Faith Communities Respond to the AIDS Epidemic. A special report by the Public Media Center and AIDS National Interfaith Network. For information or orders, contact the Public Media Center, 466 Green St., San Francisco CA 94133. 415-434-1403; FAX 415-986-6779.
Knowledge, Action, Health: A Woman's Guide to HIV Treatment. Comprehensive 85-page manual on HIV/AIDS treatment for women. Free from the national organization Women Alive. To order: 800-554-4876.
WOMANCARE NEWS. A newsletter for women living with HIV/AIDS and their advocates. Published three times a year by the Metro DC Collaborative for Women With HIV/AIDS, a project of the Center for Women Policy Studies in Washington, DC. The newsletter is geared to the Washington area but provides information which can help all HIV+ women improve the quality of their lives. For a free subscription, send your name, organization, mailing address, phone, fax and email to WOMANCARE NEWS, Metro DC Collaborative for Women With HIV/AIDS, Center for Women Policy Studies, 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 312, Washington DC 20006.
Videos:
Mothers With HIV: the Journey. Looks at each of an ethnically varied group of women who are HIV+ or living with AIDS. The "journey" in question is their steps of disclosure to, time with and provision for their children, documented with a view to helping other women in the same situation. Those who order the video can also order a Parent's Planning guide, Because You Love Them, prepared by the Child Welfare League of America for use with parents with a terminal disease. Compatible with though planned separately from the video, the Guide is really a workbook, with spaces for parents to answer questions. The book contains such sections as the following: Parents' and Children's Feelings and Needs; Telling Your Children, Family Members, and Friends; Planning for Your Children's Future Care; Financial Assistance Programs; Wills, Power of Attorney, Insurance, and Other Matters; and Sharing Your Family History. Video $15; with parent planning guide, $20. Order from the St. Paul Area American Red Cross, 612-291-3860.
Positive Women. Four HIV+ women of diverse cultures and backgrounds create a performance piece based on their experiences. The video documents their discussions, rehearsals and performances, with personal interviews where the women tell their stories. 28 minutes; $50 for non-profit organizations (includes shipping/handling). Order from Ann Hershey, Videographer, 4084 Lambert Rd., El Sobranie, CA 94803; 510-222-6931.
The Positive Workplace. A comprehensive HIV/AIDS-in-the-workplace training video with user's guide designed to provide employees and managers with information on how HIV is transmitted and not transmitted; the effects of HIV on immune function; concerns of coworkers and managers; the need for confidentiality, and other HIV-related issues. 30 minutes. For information on obtaining the video and scheduling facilitator training opportunities, contact Melaina Eller at the National AIDS Fund Workplace Resource Center. 202-408-4848, Email: info@aidsfund.org.
AIDS National Interfaith Network Undertakes Ministry Survey
For the past ten years, ANIN has worked on the national scene to make the role of AIDS ministries more visible to funders, to the federal government, and to the media. While this activity has accomplished a great deal, much remains to be done. ANIN can document to the nation that the religious role in combatting the epidemic is in fact the largest single non-governmental response, and that AIDS ministries represent a wide range both in religious traditions and in diversity of mission. What has been harder to document is the extent of the actual services offered by AIDS ministries.
For this reason, ANIN has been surveying the field, conducting telephone interviews to answer questionnaires previously mailed to a random sample of 240 AIDS ministries drawn from our data base. Questions cover such topics as area and size of the population served, services provided, religious traditions represented, educational materials used, and range and sources of funds.
The questionnaire should provide ANIN with helpful information. Watch this space for a report in our spring issue.
To support ANIN, please print out the following form and return to: AIDS National Interfaith Network
1400 Eye St, N.W. Rm 1220
Washington, DC 20005
202-842-0010 tel.
202-842-3323 fax
YES! Our organization would like to support the ministry of AIDS National Interfaith Network.
NAME OF ORGANIZATION: ______________________
ADDRESS: _______________
CITY: ________ STATE: _______ ZIP: ___________
PHONE: _________________ FAX: _____________
EMAIL: _________________
CONTACT PERSON: ____________________
CHECK ONE:
National Member: $500 -- National divisions of congregations/denominations, national agencies, ministries, networks, coalitions, etc.
Regional Member: $100 -- Presbyteries, synods, dioceses, conferences of congregations/denominations; agencies and ministries serving a region/state or large population
Local Member: $50 -- Congregations, agencies, ministries limited to a particular locality.
Membership is open to organizations only, but I would like to make an individual contribution.
All contributions to AIDS National Interfaith Network are tax deductible and will help us continue our mission of supporting all those affected by and infected with HIV/AIDS.
CHECK ONE:
Regular Membership
Associate Membership
Affiliate Membership
Please see ANIN membership information and Membership Statement of Principles for description.
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Another way ANIN reaches out is through collaborating with other organizations in planning conferences, meetings and other events. Last summer ANIN was one of the collaborating partners in planning the first United States Conference on AIDS, held in Miami last September. This involvement followed six years of acting as one of three primary sponsors of the National Skills Building Conference.
Last November 7-9 1997, the Presbyterian AIDS Network and the Office of Health Ministries, Presbyterian Church (USA) teamed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to offer a three-day Interfaith Care Team Conference in Atlanta. The purpose of the conference was twofold: to assist those just beginning a Care Team ministry, and to enable existing Care Team programs to exchange successful strategies. Over 220 individuals from various faith communities and from 36 states came together to share their strengths and needs in making Care Teams a ministry of love and practical help to persons affected by HIV/AIDS. Workshop leaders and speakers from Care Team programs throughout the country, denominational leaders and health care professionals offered concrete suggestions for organizing and maintaining Care Team ministries. Question and answer sessions allowed participants to exchange ideas and creative responses to the ongoing challenges of Care Team ministry.
