November 15, 2011

SUKAMAKMUR, Indonesia/GENEVA – A three-day conference of youth from the dozen Lutheran churches in Indonesia have called upon church leadership to assign them a greater role in taking up the challenge of fighting the AIDS epidemic.

"We as the youth of the Lutheran churches are ready to be involved and take part in actions to prevent [the spread of] HIV and AIDS," said the declaration from the 6-8 November conference of the youth from the 12-member National Committee of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Indonesia.

The conference, which directly preceded a church leadership consultation on "Embracing Life: Our Common Responsibility" and "breaking the silence" on AIDS, was held at Sukamakmur in the Christian stronghold of North Sumatra province where the Lutheran churches are concentrated in the Muslim majority nation.

The statement summing up "aspirations and hopes" of the youth spelt out a seven-point action plan declaring that they were prepared to act as "volunteers and facilitators" to lead the church's campaign against HIV and AIDS.

For this effort, the conference, attended by 30 youth delegates including a dozen young pastors and theology students, also suggested concrete action plans including launching a youth communication network and a youth forum to spread AIDS awareness, collect funds and even take up preventive treatment and care for the stigmatized HIV-infected.

Potential While acknowledging that "young people are easily affected by HIV and AIDS," the youth also asserted that they also have the potential "to give solutions in handling HIV and AIDS."

Declaring their faith commitment to the cause, the youth conference stated that "when the congregations are suffering, it is also the suffering of the pastor, church elder and the parishes themselves."

Thus, after listening to several experts in the field of AIDS and theological reflections on the stigma and discrimination the epidemic carries, the youth called for a module of teaching about AIDS in all 12 LWF member churches in Indonesia.

"Moreover, the church needs to make a curriculum about sex and [the] HIV and AIDS epidemic," urged the youth conference while also recommending spreading awareness about the disease through worship services, confirmation classes and campaigns during specific church meetings.

"The stigma makes HIV and AIDS-infected people unwanted in the church. We must remove this fear of AIDS," said Alter Pernando Siahaan, a student at Pematang Siantar theological college. Siahaan had played the role of a person living with HIV in a skit during the conference, depicting discrimination against HIV-infected persons in the church.

Curriculum in Seminaries

"I had heard about HIV and AIDS. But I did not know much about it until this conference," said Rev. Ramayanti Simorangkir, a recently ordained pastor of The Indonesian Christian Church (HKI).

If HIV is included in the curriculum in seminaries, "pastors will be able to shake hands with HIV-infected and will not drive them away," said the HKI youth pastor.

The five-member drafting team of the youth delegates presented their declaration to the conference of the church leaders on 9 November holding posters of their demands and reading them out one by one.

Enthused by the commitment shown by the youth delegates, the conference of church leaders, attended by two dozen church officials including 10 bishops, adopted the youth resolution for follow-up action.

The LWF AIDS Desk at the Department for Mission and Development organized the 6-10 November meetings hosted by the LWF National Committee in Indonesia. They are a follow-up to the 2003 Asian region meeting under the LWF AIDS campaign, which produced the Batam Declaration committing the churches to prioritize response to the pandemic.

Lutheran World Information
Written for LWI by India-based correspondent Anto Akkara