December 1, 2008, the 20th World AIDS Day, is an ideal occasion for The Coalition to shift toward speaking more forcefully about the risks of HIV/AIDS and the needs of people affected by HIV. This year’s theme is Leadership.

U.S. society has become complacent about AIDS in the last several years. As treatment for HIV/AIDS has improved, the rates of death for people who have HIV have declined, making attention to HIV/AIDS seem less urgent.

AIDS still has a stigma. We have reacted to the stereotype that all gay people have AIDS by being less attentive to the people among us who are HIV-positive. If we ignore that there are connections between gay people and AIDS, we reinforce a prevalent notion that AIDS is no longer a problem.

Among men who have sex with men—whether or not they identify as gay or bisexual—the rate of HIV infection continues to increase. The Centers for Disease Control reports that, in 2005, 71% of new infections were among men who have sex with men. Addressing the rate of AIDS infection is essential. Although treatments for HIV have improved, AIDS is not yet curable.

For many years, The Coalition, as members and as a whole body, mourned the HIV/AIDS-related deaths of so many of our friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. The Coalition responded to our grief and outrage by speaking out.  In recent years, we have been quieter. I want to be more active in the fight against AIDS, and I invite The Coalition to speak and act in order to increase AIDS education and prevention.

To the extent that we maintain silence about HIV, we reinforce its stigma. The consequence of our being quiet is that more people become infected, fewer people get tested and treated, fewer people infected and affected by AIDS receive pastoral care, and fewer people participate in fighting HIV. Through education and advocacy, we can save lives. I have hope about saving lives because I believe in God’s power to heal and in God’s power to call us to action.

The Coalition’s members, both individuals and congregations, have opportunities to encourage our church communities to reduce the infection rates of HIV by starting education programs in our churches, and by talking about HIV as easily as we do about other illnesses. We can learn about local resources for testing and treatment, and use our relationships with the people in our churches in to make others aware of their own roles in reducing HIV infection.

We take action about AIDS without losing awareness of other public health issues. We care about breast cancer, women’s gynecological health, and health conditions where early treatment makes a huge difference in survival rates. Doing what we can do to prevent AIDS does not mean that the other issues are less important. Supporting our whole community includes encouraging all people to get the tests they need to be aware of their health conditions—breast exams, blood pressure testing, screening for cervical cancer. We know that lesbians are less likely than heterosexual women to have regular tests for their gynecological health. Our advocacy for AIDS education also supports the advocacy for other health issues.

One action The Coalition has taken is to commit to collaborate with the United Church AIDS Network (UCAN), which allows The Coalition to both connect with a wider range of resources and to promote our own churches as vehicles for education. For information about UCAN, go to http://www.ucc.org/ucan/ 

Working with UCAN gives The Coalition expanded access to resources for HIV prevention and education, as well as additional partners in public policy change. I challenge you to join me in renewed advocacy, education and activism in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Ruth Garwood
Executive Director