ATLANTA (ABP) — Although Baptists and other Christians responded slowly and poorly 25 years ago to the advent of AIDS, God has been in the trenches from the start, said David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World.
“God is in the midst of this,” Beckmann told more than 400 people gathered in Atlanta June 21-22 for an HIV/AIDS summit, dubbed “Breaking the Silence: Compassion for an HIV-Positive World.”
“We know it may have taken some time to break the silence, but God has not been waiting 25 years,” said Beckmann, whose organization is a CBF partner.
Held in conjunction with CBF's annual general assembly, the summit engaged participants in learning how to formulate personal, congregational and Fellowship-wide responses to this growing health crisis.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has changed the world. With an estimated 40 million people worldwide currently living with AIDS and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, it is considered an international health crisis. It's too big to ignore, and yet so big that it can be overwhelming to know how to respond, summit leaders said.
“The things we're uncomfortable with we don't want to talk about,” said musician Kate Campbell during a conference session.
What makes HIV/AIDS unsettling, Beckmann said, varies from lack of awareness about the disease to stereotypes and stigmas, particularly in the United States, where the first cases of the disease were spread mainly by sex between gay men.
“God is not put off by the sexual character of this disease,” he said. “There are more important things at stake than that.”
Beckmann pointed to the connection between HIV/AIDS and poverty, arguing that fighting to alleviate global poverty can make a difference in curbing further spread of HIV/AIDS. Poor access to health care, lack of education about the disease, and a sense of not being in control of one's life are all byproducts of poverty that affect the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
Part of the challenge of responding to HIV/AIDS is combating ignorance or lack of awareness about the disease.
Thus, summit workshops ranged in focus from basic scientific information about the disease to listening to stories from people who live with HIV/AIDS.
To increase personal awareness, participants were urged to form relationships with people living with the disease. These relationships would also allow participants to be a supportive presence to those who may face some of the psycho-social consequences of the illness, including social isolation and fear.
“We need to reach out to the invisible and make them visible,” said workshop panelist Gretchen McDaniel, a Samford University nursing professor. “They want somebody to listen to them.”
One female speaker, who asked to remain anonymous, has lived with HIV for 10 years. She told participants about the importance of support from friends and family — from whom she once hid her diagnosis because of fear of their response. “They chose education over ignorance,” she said. “No one has ever turned their back on me.”
As one workshop discussed, spreading awareness could happen at seminaries, where future church leaders could be educated about the disease and the need for a local church response. It wouldn't be a new idea, according to Sam Nixon of the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention, an African-American Baptist group. An HIV/AIDS class is required for students at a seminary in Zimbabwe, where the disease has a daily impact on the sub-Saharan African country, he said.
Responses to the HIV/AIDS crisis can come on several levels, participants learned. There is a spiritual response, where Baptists can pray for those infected and affected by the disease. Beckmann also challenged participants to get involved in their communities by working to prevent further HIV contraction among at-risk groups and by ensuring that those with HIV have access to adequate medical treatment.
Beckmann also said personal response involves changing laws and systems that may limit the ability of governments or non-profit groups to respond effectively to the AIDS crisis. For example, individuals can lobby for increased government spending on groups combating HIV/AIDS, he said. Engaging in Bread for the World's targeted advocacy campaigns for global poverty alleviation can also have an impact, he said.
“Right now God is achieving a great liberation in our world … and we can be part of it,” Beckmann said.
CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal said Baptists have a spiritual duty to use their resources to address the crisis. “What we do with human suffering and pain … is really the acid test of the Christian faith,” he said.
“The emphasis for this event was dialogue, discussion and listening,” said summit co-chair, John Derrick, a CBF official who deals with training for missionary personnel. “From the questions, concerns and ideas that were generated, we can encourage each other and work together to develop individual, church and Fellowship responses.”
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— Photo available from CBF or ABP.
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