June 11, 2007
By Matthew Davies

Speaking to the Church about the importance of HIV/AIDS training and education, and eliminating the stigma associated with the disease is central to the work of the Standing Committee on HIV/AIDS and the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition (NEAC).

The primary focus of both groups is to provide support for HIV and AIDS ministries throughout the Episcopal Church, especially for caregivers and those who minister to people infected or affected by the disease.

NEAC – formed in 1988 and funded partly by General Convention – operates as an independent non-profit organization, and the Standing Committee is mandated by Executive Council. Both groups have a long history of collaborative work that raises awareness of the more than 1 million people living with HIV in the U.S. and the 40,000+ new infections reported each year, half of which occur among people aged 25 and younger.

Elton James, chair of the Standing Committee, explained that the two groups – which held joint meetings at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City May 9-11 – work closely to ensure the necessary information is being shared and that their work remains consistent. "Our primary focus is education," said James, a staff assistant in the office of the senior vice provost at Harvard University. "Some of the statistics of people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS in the U.S. are shocking and many people are not aware of them."

But it's more complicated than that. The HIV/AIDS pandemic, James noted, "is wrapped up in a myriad of social justice issues, such as homosexuality and poverty," so it is essential for people to be aware of the different contexts in which the disease is prevalent.

A global pandemic At its 75th General Convention in June 2006, the Episcopal Church adopted as its top mission priority the work of peace and justice ministries framed by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The sixth goal commits to halting and beginning to reverse the spread of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, a major killer in sub-Saharan Africa where more than 25 million people are living with the disease.

The convention also passed resolutions that support the elimination of stigma (Resolution A132), authorize a media campaign to raise awareness of the pandemic (Resolution A133), and call for a training curriculum to be developed in time for the 76th General Convention (Resolution A134).

The Episcopal Church has advocated for people living with HIV/AIDS and for their caregivers since its General Convention in 1985 when it was a leader among the mainline churches in addressing the pandemic.

Despite treatment breakthroughs, "the virus remains a major health threat for ever-changing population groups here at home, and is a devastating tragedy for many countries abroad," said the Rev. Canon Brian Grieves, director of Peace and Justice Ministries.

Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) runs comprehensive international HIV/AIDS care programs that provide prevention education, care for people suffering from the disease, and support for children left behind. ERD's programs are currently assisting communities hardest hit by the disease in countries such as Botswana, Burundi, Congo, Honduras, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zambia.

ERD recently announced it had been awarded a grant from the MAC AIDS Fund that will help launch the program, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), a partnership between ERD and the Zambian Anglican Council (ZAC).

Despite the critical demand for programs that address the global requirement of communities severely impacted by HIV/AIDS, James noted that "it is easy for people to use the guise of the international pandemic to ignore the staggering statistics in the U.S." Through the work of the Standing Committee and NEAC, he said, "we are bringing that to the forefront of the conversation."

Raising awareness Executive Council member Bruce Garner, a standing committee member from the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, said: "Both groups are committed to utilizing available venues and vehicles to fulfill the intent of the several General Convention resolutions on HIV/AIDS. Technology offers opportunities that create a very user friendly form of access to prevention education materials, pastoral care materials and the like. In a triennium when funds are limited, creativity becomes all the more important to carrying out mission, whether it is associated with HIV/AIDS or whether it is associated with the regular Sunday morning church school classes."

Responding to the General Convention resolution authorizing a media campaign to raise awareness, the groups met in New York with Episcopal Church communication director Robert Williams, who advised a collaborative approach involving strategic church agencies, dioceses and congregations. Williams said the Episcopal Church Center communication staff would assist in facilitating this initiative. "It will be important to develop resources that are multilingual and in every respect culturally competent," Williams said.

Grieves said NEAC receives $60,000 a year from the General Convention budget "to be the Church's primary voice on domestic HIV/AIDS issues and brings great expertise to carrying out the Church's longtime commitment to this ministry of compassion. We have agreed to review the partnership between the Episcopal Church Center and NEAC to be sure we have the most effective response to the pandemic possible."

Educating, empowering young people Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori joined part of the May 9-11 meeting and expressed her hope that the conversation regarding HIV/AIDS awareness could begin at a younger age.

"Given that the age of sexual debut is on average earlier today than a generation ago, frank conversation and education with young people about appropriate use of their sexuality is increasingly important," she said. "The Episcopal Church has a vital role to play, especially as we understand that sexuality is part of what it means to be a whole human being, and its right use part of holy living."

Dr. Elizabethe Payne, a consultant to the Episcopal Church's Ministries with Young People cluster and education sociologist at Syracuse University in New York, noted that 50 percent of HIV/AIDS cases are in young people. "It is clear that we have a calling to continue to work with young people on how they can educate themselves to live in their baptismal covenant, respecting themselves and one another," she said. "Young people need a safe place to discuss these issues and their bodies."

Payne worked with Ministries with Young People to develop "Youth Ministry in the Age of AIDS 2," a resource published in 2004 that Christian educators and youth leaders can use in their gatherings with young people. The resource is based upon the Baptismal Covenant and offers lessons and activities to introduce young people to the connections between their faith, their sexuality and their relationships with others.

"It has been my experience that the church is one place we should be talking about HIV/AIDS, sex and relationships," said Betsy Boyd, staff officer for Youth Ministries in the Episcopal Church, who helped coordinate the production of the 2004 resource. "The church is where we can discuss more than the scientific facts of contracting the disease. We can be with young people as they make choices in their relationships."

Payne and the Ministries with Young People cluster are currently revising the Episcopal Guide to TAP, the Teens for AIDS Prevention Program, a secular resource developed by Advocates for Youth and was first adopted by the Episcopal Church in 1994. Also based on the Baptismal Covenant, TAP differs from Youth Ministry in the Age of AIDS 2 in its emphasis on peer-to-peer-based ministry that not only gives young people the necessary education but encourages them to share their knowledge with their contemporaries. The Revised Episcopal Guide to TAP is planned for release in 2008.

Such training helps to emphasize the "incredible foundational document in the Episcopal Church, the Baptismal Covenant...which asks us to respect the dignity of every human being," Boyd noted.

Loving your neighbor When Garner recently taught a senior high school church class about HIV/AIDS using Youth Ministry in the Age of AIDS 2, he emphasized the vows of the baptismal covenant by pointing out to the teens that "seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself" applies to all relationships, including those that may lead to a sexual relationship. He noted that, at their ages, avoiding sexual activity is the healthier path for them to take. "But if they find themselves unable to maintain that path," he said, "they need to keep both their baptismal vows and appropriate prevention mechanisms in mind."

He shared with them his own story of living with HIV for 25 years. "My primary goal with HIV prevention education is to help all, and particularly young people, avoid becoming infected," he said. "When ‘saying no' is not effective, there must be alternatives to prevent infection." Garner explained to the class the cost of living with HIV, "not just the enormous cost for medications and medical treatment, but the cost of losing friends to a disease that is preventable."

The training includes sharing important facts regarding HIV infection, how it can and cannot be transmitted, and discussing forms of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. But it also provides an environment that helps younger people to speak freely, ask questions and share the knowledge that might just help to save lives.

Members of NEAC and the Standing Committee were encouraged to hear Jefferts Schori say that the conversation regarding HIV/AIDS awareness needs to begin even younger.

"It's a dialogue that needs to equip children with the information so that when they enter into adolescence they are aware of the issues and not afraid to discuss them in a safe environment," said the Rev. Helen Havens, a director of NEAC and former rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas. "Children are really exposed to these issues and the Church is in a strategic position to lead the way and has a golden opportunity to make children more comfortable in sharing a common background."

Payne said that assumptions cannot be made about what young people know or don't know about the pandemic. "Many schools are not providing adequate sex education," she said. "We know that our young people are engaging in behavior that puts them and others at risk, so having conversations about how to respect your bodies and other people needed to be happening yesterday."

To order a copy of Youth Ministry in the Age of AIDS 2, e-mail gwilliams@episcopalchurch.org and include a mailing address. The first copy is free; each additional copy is $6.

Episcopal News Service
Matthew Davies is editor of Episcopal Life Online and international correspondent for the Episcopal News Service.