Churches opening to realities of AIDS
EDITOR S NOTE: For people with AIDS,
faith is no less important tium medicine
And yet for years, religions institutions
turned away from the sick and from their
loved ones In the first of a three part
series, "AIDS — A Test of Faith." AIDS
advocates say the churches have come a
long way.
HOUSTON (AP) — A giant cross hovers
over the front lawn of the sprawling first
Baptist Church complex — the howling
alley, the restaurants, the sanctuaries nes
tled amid hundreds of yards of rod carpet.
This is an ultra-ultra-ultra conservative
church, "and you can add another ultra to
that." says the Rev. Bill Heston.
But when a popular choir member
work in Washington, D C
And ns Easter l‘to:t approaches. some
observe remarkable parallels in the reli
gious response to AIDS in the United
Slates with events 2,000 years ago
"That's exactly the storv of Jesus Christ
— suffering, misjudged, dying young and
coming back from the dead." said the Kev,
David (anger, coordinator of AIDS ministry
for the Catholic Archdux ese of Seattle
No one is saying the process of m i ep
tam e has been easy , or complete
"I don't care if it's a liberal congregation
or a conservative congregation People
aren't solely religious." said ethicist Ctrl
Shelp "If they only had on their religious
hat. they would look at this one way
named I roy came
down with AIDS, 1
even the "old < oots"
had to think twice.
Today. First Baptist
and its nearly 20,000
members offer six
AIDS care teams,
helping people with
the disease,
"When AIDS took
on a face at First Bap
tist. then it could no
lonuer he avoided."
It’s touching us where
we live. It’s now our
brothers, our sisters, our
mothers, our fathers, our
daughters, our sons.’
— Rev. Winton Hill.
pastor of Bethel Church
I III! I\»JV . .H UH
Alien. the son of for
mer Southern Bap
tist Convention
President limmie
Allen, was an ideal
istu voting minister
at the First Christian
Church in Colorado
Springs, Colo.,
when he learned his
wife and two chil
dren had been
infected via a blood
Huston said. "It became 11 person that we
care about, that we loved, and AIDS is sts -
ondary."
Slowly, over the last couple of years —
as worshipers find the courage to reveal
their struggles with tin? great disease of our
age — a new awareness is growing in the
churches. AIDS advocates say.
In the early years of AIDS, many of these
same churches had succumbed to apathy,
or fear, or disgust, and had turned their
backs to the disease anil its sufferers The
doctrine of unconditional love did not
seem to apply to the homosexuals and drug
abusers vviio were most often infected.
Hut now. some 1,800 churches have
AIDS relief and education programs, mak
ing the religious community the second
largest provider of services to people with
AIDS ouiside of the government, accord
ing to the National AIDS Interfaith Net
transfusion at her first pregnancy.
Devastated. Allen went to his pastor for
support and was asked for Ins resignation
Bock in their hometown in Dallas. Allen
says six churt hes turned the family away
before he finally turned his hac k on the
church.
"What I had seen is the churches reflect
society more than the Gospel." he said "I
just had to walk away."
And many people with AIDS, and their
families, still suffer in silence.
"My son lived and diet! with AIDS and
I didn’t feel I could toll my church." one
congregant told the Rev. Howard Warren,
a member of the advisory board of the Pres
byterian AIDS Network, when he visited
a church in Graydon. Ind He hears the
same plaint each time he visits a church
in the Midwest
Warren, who himself waited two years
before disclosing lit* had lh«* virus, said the
fear extends throughout the chun h
"Even people in our system are afraid
that if it is found out in our system or in
our i hurtJi. they would |ust lie anathema."
Warren stud "The silent e of the t hurt h is
devastating."
Hut slowly the Iwirners of fear and prey
udice are breaking down as people with
AIDS and their loved ones come forward
It's tout hing us where we live," said
the Kev. Wintori lidl. pastor of Bethel
African Methodist Episcopal (’.hurt h in .111
inner-city neighborhood m Stamford.
Conn. "It's now our brothers, our sisters,
our mothers, our fathers, our daughters
our sons."
And 1.hurt hes .ire beginning to respond
At the Church of the Intercession in
Harlem. Canon Frederick Mdi hell un it
etl 45 close colleagues to a professional
meeting on AIDS eight years ago II
showed up Boday. all ol the heads ol hlai k
denominations endorsed the National
Blai k Chun h Day ol Healing Braver for
People with AIDS March 17
And the Kev Molly McCreevv of S!
I.uke in the Fields Fpiscop.il Church 111
New York is no longer "jokingly referred
to as the funeral queen of Creenwh h Vil
lage" - churches that had refused to bury
l»eople with AIDS an1 now relenting
In Houston, religious communities of
every denomination have become among
the most active 111 dealing with AIDS
Under the 1 oordination of the Founda
tion for inlerhith Keseart fi and Ministrv.
more than Ii5 i hurt lies have established
care teams that have helped 1.100 men.
women and children with the virus
The Kev Ray llighfield of Christian
Tabernacle Churi h sold Ins house and
moved into an apartment aliove a garage
next to a residence for homeless people
with AIDS started by the Pentecostal
church
"We (eel this is where Christ would lie
involved." the stocky llighfield s.ivs as he
takes a break from sawing to finish a hack
room "It's hard not to have pride (he raps
one hand on wood) to look out and see two
pews of HIV people “
Watchdogs
scold NPR
for content
NKVV YORK (AF) National Fub
In Radio, long a target of i.onserva
11v*< until ism. is being s< olded In a
liberal medio wait hdog grout) for
being loo white, loo male anti too
r.o/.v with Washington insiders
In a rt'|>ort biting issued Monday.
Fairness and At t uratv in Reporting,
said an analysis of four months of
NFK programming found that
• Only ~l pert ent of NFR s utnvs
sources were women.
• All blit one of tilt1 .fT regular
t ommentators were white ant) J:f
were men
• Twenl\ oighl porciMit of donuts
ti< •.turn's wort* r»>p<»rt»*t! from Wash
ington. .uni f»n |>«*r« «<nt from thn
Northeast rugum
Tlw sluilv also i:ritii i/.ml Nl’K's
mti-matioii.il lou’rugu lor lining ovor
ly dumm.ili’il tiy Ktiropoan nows
A spokeswoman lor NI'K, Mary
Morgan, snitl tint wall Inlog group's
statistii s nppi'jrmi to ho a< i.uralu.
and slm i iim i'doil sotn« sltorti oin
mgs at lint public radio nut work. Hut
in gttnitral, slm ili'fitilili'tl tint pro
gramming and said tin* group's inter
pri’tations of tint statistii s roll is toil
its own littoral Inns
"You know, yvu got hit on all sidits
iihout this stufl.’’ slm said "FAIR
thinks we’re too right-wing and tint
poopli’ on tlm right think we’re too
mm h to tlm Udt
NPK. yyliu h is (nnditd largely In
corporate donations and its own
mrmlter stations, serves 4UM stations
with ni-yys programs rim rvporl yvas
based on an analysis of 2,2‘H> storms
huurd.
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