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Churches In Week Of Prayer
OAKLAND POST
Oakland, CA
03.14.01
San Mateo County churches joined thousands of others nationwide
for the 12th annual Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing
of AIDS starting last Sunday. Phelicia Jones, who runs the San Mateo
County Nia Mentoring Project for African American youth, said this
is the first time county churches will take part in the nationalevent
recognizing the toll AIDS and HIV have taken on the black community,
where AIDS is the leading cause of death for people ages 25-44.
"The AIDS epidemic has disproportionately affected the African
American residents of this county, during the past 20 years,"
she said. "One-fifth of all AIDS cases have been in the African
American community, which constitutes only 5 percent of the county's
population."
To launch the week, ministers of more than 20 churches agreed to
issue an altar call last Sunday- for -prayers - for the healing
of AIDS in African American communities.
In addition, eight designated "Ambassador Churches" devoted
their entire morning service to the event. These Ambassador Church
services will feature speakers infected with or affected by H1V
as well as county supervisors and other officials. Attendees will
be given red ribbons and what Jones described as "culturally
appropriate" HIV/AIDS education brochures.
Jones said AIDS education efforts have largely bypassed black communities
and ignored black culture, and she hopes the prayer week will help
remedy that problem."When (AIDS) first came on the scene, it
was dubbed as a white gay male disease and people felt they weren't
vulnerable," Jones said. "And then the education didn't
reach a lot of communities, like the black community, and dollars
have just not reached our community like they should have."
Jones said culturally sensitive education will help people pay
attention. The annual week of prayer began in New York with Balm
In Gilead, an organization devoted to working against AIDS in the
black community through black churches, and has spread across the
country. Jones is the first to bring the event to the Bay Area.
Sheencountered the New York group while organizing community conferences
on HIV/AIDS through her Belmont based non-profit organization called
Hope Preservation, Inc.
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