August 3, 2012

CHICAGO – Leaders from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) attended the 2012 International AIDS Conference July 22-27 in Washington, D.C., as advocates of the ELCA Strategy on HIV and AIDS."

We are at a critical moment in the response to HIV," according to Dennis Frado, who directs the Lutheran Office for World Community and serves as the primary ELCA representative at the United Nations in New York.

"Progress has been made, but it is not enough and will be lost if political will and financial commitments are reduced now. Faith communities are therefore committed to strengthening ongoing work and partnerships to ensure a strategic, sustainable and effective HIV response," said Frado, who attended an inter-faith pre-conference July 20- 21. The inter-faith pre-conference met under the theme "Taking Action for Health, Dignity and Justice."

Ten ELCA representatives attended the International AIDS conference, the primary meeting for those working in the field of HIV and AIDS that included policy makers, people living with the virus and others who have dedicated their lives to building a strategic response. About 25,000 participants from 200 countries attended the conference, including representatives from The Lutheran World Federation, a global communion of 145 churches in 79 countries worldwide. The ELCA is the federation's only church member from the United States.

The HIV and AIDS crisis has claimed the lives of nearly 30 million people worldwide. The goals of the ELCA Strategy on HIV and AIDS include efforts to help halt the spread of HIV, reduce the conditions of poverty that contribute to the spread, and eliminate the stigma and discrimination experienced by those who are HIV-positive.

"I'm actually quite pleased and proud to be part of our church," said Sarah Dreier, program director of international policy and advocacy for ELCA churchwide ministries.

"In addition to hosting an informative and poignant panel and reception at the pre-conference, we [hosted] international visitors to represent their voice and experiences and informed a leader's roundtable with the Obama administration on a comprehensive approach to addressing HIV and AIDS," said Dreier.

A group from the ELCA Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod participated at the conference's Global Village, also open to the general public. Members of the synod took part in the Lutheran GRACE booth where prayers cards were being created to share with people affected by HIV and AIDS. Participants of the ELCA Multicultural Youth Leadership Event, an event that preceded the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering this summer in New Orleans, created prayers cards.

"The ELCA was able to intersect these concurrent events . which allowed [ELCA] teenage-members to be compassionately informed," said Dr.

Ulysses Burley, an ELCA member who served in leadership roles at both the ELCA's youth leadership event and the International AIDS Conference.

Burley led "Faith and Stigma: Best practices for building a stigma- free faith community," a workshop at the pre-conference where panelists shared personal stories of faith and hope and stories about how the ELCA is a church of inclusivity.

According to Christine Mangale, chair of the ELCA planning team for the conference, the ELCA and The Lutheran World Federation representatives were "proud to be involved" in the overall conference experience. Mangale is assistant to the director at the Lutheran Office for World Community.

In 2009 the ELCA Church Council adopted the ELCA Strategy on HIV and AIDS, encouraging ELCA congregations, synods and church-related social ministry organizations to welcome, support, and advocate with individuals living with and affected by HIV and AIDS in their communities. The strategy also calls for resource sharing with trusted global partners and companion churches that will enable them to expand their service to the most vulnerable through effective ministries of HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care and advocacy.

Information about the ELCA Strategy on HIV and AIDS is available at http://www.ELCA.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Poverty-Ministries/HIV-and- AIDS/About-the-Strategy.aspx.

ELCA News Service