August 17, 2006

Sarah Adams, MCC AIDS Coordinator

We started the day early. Very early. Since we can only fit in so many sessions between the formal conference hours of 8:45am – 8:00pm, any extra sessions have to come before or after. So, by 7:00am this morning, we had settled in for our first meeting. The topic was the role of the church in HIV/AIDS, and the crowd seemed like old friends. The room was full of colleagues who had participated in last week’s Ecumenical Pre-Conference.

The role of the church. I think about this a lot. Today, I had the chance to join others engaged in the same thinking. The other day, Bill Clinton told us there are 1,500 HIV positive people for every one person at the conference. As I drew on my mental calculator today, I realized there are 75,000 Christians for every one person at the conference. What does that mean? It means that there are 50 times as many Christians as there are HIV positive people in the world. It means that as Christians around the globe, if 50 of us could band together to commit to meeting the needs of one person living with HIV/AIDS, we could go a long way toward addressing the AIDS crisis. I know that sounds too simplistic, and it is. But sometimes it’s encouraging to think of things simplistically. You and 49 of your friends could get together and commit to supporting one person. You and 49 of your family members could get together and commit to supporting one person. If all the Christians in the world committed to supporting 1/50 of the needs of one person, we could change the world of people living with HIV/AIDS. In the face of our blessings and our wealth, what’s 1/50 of the needs of one person? Surely, this is doable.

OK, let me be more realistic. I’m not suggesting we go it alone. Indeed, I think we need to do more to work hand in hand with other groups. The church may not have the power of governments to set policy. We may not have the technical and research expertise of scientists to develop medications. And, to be frank, we may not have the compassion to address the needs of everyone that needs support. (I think we have a long way to go as a church when it comes to overcoming stigma and reaching out to marginalized groups affected by this disease – drug users, homosexuals, commercial sex workers, etc... Even if, as a church, we don’t agree with people’s lifestyle choices, they are all people created in the image of God, and the global AIDS epidemic cannot be addressed unless we also address the epidemic within these communities.)

So, we may not have the political power, or the medical expertise, or the stigma-free attitude that the world needs to overcome AIDS. Instead, we have something different to offer. Our faith perspective has the ability to enhance any other work that is being done. Our trust in the fulfillment of God’s promises allow us to start from a position of hope. We know the challenge of AIDS will be overcome, and we can enter into our work with full faith in God’s promise of abundant life for all.

One very important point was made yesterday during the workshop. We get caught up in talking about the role of the church. But what about the role of Christians? Christian business people, Christian doctors and nurses, Christian researchers, Christian development workers, Christian counselors? All Christians have a role to play. Where we have been blessed with skills in a field outside of the traditional church structure, we still have an amazing ability to influence change and contribute to progress from a Christian perspective.

We have hope. We have faith. We have talents and skills to use toward the fulfillment of God’s promises to the world. And we have people. We have two billion people that are committed to living out the word of Christ. With those kinds of numbers, I think we can do more. I think we should do more. Certainly, with that kind of support and potential, we – as a church – have no reason not to be the leading institution in changing how HIV/AIDS defines our world. In changing how HIV/AIDS defines God’s world.