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Black churches struggle with it (cont. page2)
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"We teach abstinence, but if plan A, abstinence, does not work, then we
have to move to plan B, prevention. We have to respond to the needs of the community,"
said Londro Wilson, a minister and the director of Second Providence's Health
and Wellness Ministry.
Responding to the needs of the community includes accepting homosexuality,
continued Wilson.
"You can't convince a person to become something they're not. Homosexuals
have always been present in our community - in the congregation, in the pulpit.
Regardless of who someone sleeps with, the church should offer love, compassion
and guidance."
Churches like the Second Providence Baptist Church have contributed to the
fight against AIDS in black communities, largely through the efforts of the Balm
in Gilead, an organization dedicated to enabling Black churches to fight the disease.
Pernessa Seele was inspired to found the Balm in Gilead 12 years ago while working
at Harlem Hospital, where she was shocked to see so many people dying of AIDS
who received no spiritual support and no help from their community.
"Once churches understand that people in their congregations do have AIDS,
people that they love, people that are part of their communities, they begin to
wake up and realize they must have a role in fighting this epidemic," said
Seele, who is still the CEO of the organization that helps more than 10,000 churches
around the country respond to AIDS in their communities.
Seele noted Black churches historically took the lead in battles against slavery,
discrimination and lynching, and should fight the AIDS crisis with the same determination.
The Balm in Gilead will convene its annual National Certification and Capacity
Building Conference for Engaging Black churches in HIV/AIDS Education and Service
on July 25-27 in Kingsport, Tenn.
Despite the Balm in Gilead's accomplishments, most Black churches are still
reluctant to address HIV/AIDS and many also frown upon homosexuality. Gay rights
activists point out that excluding gays from the church community and its educational
and spiritual resources can only exacerbate how disproportionately they are affected
by HIV and AIDS. In urban areas, the CDC estimates that one in every three young
black gay men has HIV, and 15 percent of black MSM's across the country become
infected each year.
"I still catch flak in the church for addressing issues of sexuality -
some people say that the pulpit is sacred, and these issues shouldn't be discussed
in the pulpit," said Ronald Weatherford, a pastor in North Carolina and co-author
of "Somebody's Knocking at Your Door: AIDS and the African-American Church."
"A lot of ministers are afraid of losing their jobs. If ministers talk
about social issues, they risk losing their pulpit," said Weatherford.
Mildred Delozia, the executive director of Human Services Network, a Balm in
Gilead affiliate in Texas, said "There's a great need for churches in the
Bible Belt to distance themselves from HIV and AIDS because it is seen as a gay
epidemic. They don't want to be seen as cooperating and condoning what they see
as a fallacy."
"I think that the attitude of churches is changing slowly," said
Delozia.
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