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Black Church Week Of Prayer For The Healing 0f AIDS Rally Churches
To Stop AIDS In African American Communities
Monroe Dispatch
Monroe, LA
03.01.01
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The AIDS epidemic continues to paralyze Black America. Statistics
continue to rise among Black Americans at a faster rate than in
other ethnic groups. The rate of reported AIDS cases among African
Americans is more than 2 times greater than the rate for Hispanics
and 8 times greater than that for whites today, 50% of new infections
occur within the African American community. In response to this
horrendous epidemic, the Black church is taking an increasingly
greater role in AIDS prevention and education. This year more churches
than ever before will participate in the 12th Annual Black Church
Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS, beginning Sunday, March
4 -10, 2001.
Supporting this year's effort as spokespersons are Dr. Bobby Jones,
BET Gospel host; Rev. Gardner Taylor, renowned Baptist minister
and Jessye Norman: opera artist. Churches are participating through
sermons, prayer, music and distribution of HIV/AIDS prevention and
treatment information. Churches who want to participate in the Black
Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS can call toll-free
1-888-225-6243 to request a free African American HIV/AIDS Resource
Kit for Churches.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
one in every 50 Black men is living with HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS. For Black women, the rate is one in 160. The disproportionate
impact of HIV/AIDS in Black communities indicates that much more
attention and resources must be given to stopping the spread of
AIDS and ensuring that African Americans infected with HIV access
treatment and quality health care.
"Churches are beginning to understand their unique strength
and force in stopping the spread of AIDS in the Black community,"
says Dr. Bobby Jones, "The most significant partner in the
African American community in AIDS prevention and treatment education
is the Black church."
The Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS seeks to
mobilize churches to become community centers for AIDS education
and compassion. The program has grown over the years to become the
largest AIDS awareness program targeting African Americans in the
United States. "The success of the Black Church Week of Prayer
for the Healing of AIDS in mobilizing churches to address HIV/AIDS
is rooted in the cultural appropriateness of the program,"
says Pernessa Seele, Founder/CEO of The Balm In Gilead, "The
program is based on traditional church revivals and community relationships
when people come together for a week of worship and to support each
other in their life's challenges regardless of what those trials
are."
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