WASHINGTON (ABP) — AIDS asks one question: Are you human? That's what Genie Hargrove told participants in a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship panel discussion on HIV/AIDS. Churches must see the humanity behind the crisis, she said.
Hargrove, pastor of Beulah Baptist Church in Devereux, Ga., said she gained that perspective when she saw the AIDS memorial quilt. The quilt, an ongoing community art project, is a series of 12-foot “blocks” made of three-foot-by-eight-foot panels. Each panel memorializes the life of someone who died of AIDS.
“This panel is a person,” Hargrove said. “We need to go into the world and let people see this is a human thing. They are all people — God's children.”
Hargrove emphasizes that her church is in a small town, but a lack of resources hasn't stopped the church from being active in the lives of those with HIV/AIDS. The church supports various organizations financially, including the Samaritan Ministry, based in Tennessee. The church also provides phone cards to a local prison when prisoners with HIV/AIDS are released. The phone cards allow people to reconnect with their families or secure a job.
“It is simple but necessary,” she said.
Mike Bergman, worship pastor at Hope Community Church in Belton, Texas, said his local HIV/AIDS support center was skeptical of his church's interest. At the time, no other churches had provided help.
After consistent urging, his new church, with a total of 40 members, produced 26 people interested in beginning a pals program, a one-on-one connection between a member of the church and a person with HIV/AIDS. At this point, only 3 clients are part of the program.
“They [the support center] have been reserved about pushing it because they weren't sure how the church would handle it,” Bergman said.
Bergman's interest in HIV/AIDS ministry began a year ago at CBF's HIV/AIDS summit. While a woman introduced as “Ann” was speaking, Bergman felt an urge to give her a hug. According to Bergman, this is an unusual experience for him. “I'm a hugger of people I know, but I never hug strangers,” he said.
Ann left the session early, but Bergman ran into her again during a panel discussion the next day. He tried to talk himself out of approaching her, assuming others would want to talk to her. But after the panel, he approached her and asked if he could give her a hug.
During the hug, he broke into tears. “It was the first time I knowingly touched someone who had AIDS,” he said. “It was like getting over a fear I didn't know I had.”
Karen Estle never planned to do HIV ministry. “The good Lord had different plans,” she said. Estle works on a palliative care team for a hospital in Indianapolis. Palliative care is a service to help individuals and families deal with a terminal disease before hospice care is necessary.
Estle began seeing a need for HIV ministry while working at the Baptist center. She started an HIV group but noticed the “Baptist” sign kept people away. With some encouragement, she moved the group to a local 24-unit housing building full of people with HIV/AIDS.
Instead of limiting religious discussion, the move actually increased the conversation. People began asking to meet with her one-on-one, so she decided to attend seminary.
“I've had people tell me ‘I never understood unconditional love, but you've kept coming. I know what unconditional love is because you never gave up,'” she said.
Estle began inviting her church to help. A ladies' group holds dinner once a week. The church also sponsors monthly birthday parties, where each person is given a gift from the dollar store. For some of these people, this gift is the only thing they receive.
-30-