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For Immediate Release
Contact:Teresa Lyles Holmes
914-282-5317
tlhcomm@aol.com
The Balm In Gilead, Inc. Mobilizes the 18th Annual Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS
March 4-10, 2007
Bishop Preston Warren Williams, II, Bishop George W. C. Walker, Bishop William
H. Graves, Sr., Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr., Rev. Dr. William J. Shaw, Rev.
Stephen John Thurston, Rev. T. DeWitt Smith and Other Prominent Ministers Announce
Call to Action to Fight HIV/AIDS
NEW YORK, NY—January 29, 2007 — Black interdenominational
religious leaders have formed a historic union to denounce stigma and to encourage
testing, preventive education and compassion to help eradicate HIV/AIDS in
the Black community. These leaders have joined with the Balm In Gilead in support
of its 18th annual Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS,
March 4-10, 2007 as well as programs throughout the year designed to support the
engagement of African American congregations in HIV/AIDS education and services.
These leaders and representatives of their organizations will converge in
Washington DC February 20 for a national press conference to announce a call
to action
to fight HIV/AIDS and to kick off the Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing
of AIDS — which is today, the largest AIDS awareness campaign targeting
the African American faith community.
Mobilized by The Balm In Gilead, The Black Church Week of Prayer for the
Healing
of AIDS is the organization’s flagship campaign, which mobilizes thousands
of faith institutions and millions of church goers to champion AIDS education,
testing and compassionate care in the African American community. This is the
organization’s second straight year of bringing together the leadership
of the historical Black church denominations along with other national denominations
and caucuses.
“This is another historic moment for the Black community,” says
Pernessa C. Seele, founder and CEO, The Balm In Gilead. “For far too
many years, the question has been asked, where is the Black church during this HIV/AIDS pandemic? The uniting of these leaders is
a testament that the Black Church is standing up and embracing its critical
role in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS within the African American community.
Congregations, led by these leaders, are formalizing strategies that include
confronting stigma, HIV testing, treatment education and support for persons
living with HIV/AIDS. The foundation of these strategies is prayer, which is
central to the life of the church and to all people of faith.”
Seele adds, “The
Balm In Gilead, along with its national spokespersons, is announcing a call to
action for all congregations to join the crusade for
AIDS education, prevention, testing and compassionate care and services. Stand
Up! ACT Now!”
The spokespeople for the 18th annual Black Church Week of Prayer for the
Healing of AIDS are: Bishop Preston Warren Williams, II, president,
Council of Bishops,
African Methodist Episcopal Church; Bishop George W. C. Walker,
senior bishop, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; Bishop William
H. Graves, Sr, senior
bishop, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; Bishop Paul S. Morton,
Sr.international presiding bishop, Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship
International;
Rev.
Dr. William J. Shaw, president, National Baptist Convention, USA; Rev.
Stephen John Thurston, president; National Baptist Convention of
America; Rev.
Dr. T. DeWitt Smith, Jr. president, Progressive National Baptist
Convention, Inc. Bishop Horace E. Smith, M.D., presiding
prelate, Pentecostal Assemblies of the
World, Inc. Rev. Dr. Arlee Griffin, president, American
Baptist Churches, USA; Rev. Canon Nelson Pinder, president, Union of Black
Episcopalians, The
Episcopal
Church; Rev. Michael E. Livingston, president, National Council of Churches;
Archbishop Carl Bean, archbishop, Unity Fellowship of Christ Church; and,
Graylan S. Hagler, president The Ministers for Racial, Social, and Economic
Justice
(MRSEJ), The United Church of Christ.
Since its inception in 1989, The Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing
of AIDS has engaged Black Churches to become centers for education, compassion
and care in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The organization is encouraging
Black churches across the United States to host educational workshops, seminars,
prayer vigils, or simply distribute information
during the Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. The Balm In
Gilead’s Faith-Based HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Model has resulted in
the development of many congregational-based HIV/AIDS programs. These congregational
programmatic responses range from consistent distribution of brochures during
Sunday Morning worship to full-scale direct HIV service programs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of
Black Americans living with AIDS increased by 33% between 2001 and 2005 and
although Black Americans represent only 12% of the U.S. population, they account
for half of AIDS cases. Black women account for the vast majority of new AIDS
cases among women and while Black teens (aged 13-19) represent only 15% of
U.S. teenagers, they account
for more than 70% of new AIDS cases reported among teens.
The Balm In Gilead
is a 501(c) (3), not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve the
health status of people of the African Diaspora by building
the capacity of faith communities to address life-threatening diseases, especially
HIV/AIDS. As The Balm In Gilead continues its work in the African American
faith community, including the recently launched African American Denominational
Leadership Health Initiative partnership with the women’s missionary
societies and council of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, The African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church,
it continues its international mission of building the capacity of faith communities
in African countries including Nigeria and Tanzania.
To find out how your church can get involved in The Black Church Week of
Prayer for the Healing of AIDS, click
here.
About The Balm In Gilead
The Balm In Gilead is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization
whose mission is to improve the health status of people of the
African Diaspora by building the capacity of faith communities
to address life-threatening diseases, especially HIV/AIDS. For
18 years, The Balm In Gilead has mobilized The Black Church Week
of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS, which engages Black churches
to become centers for education, compassion and care in the fight
against HIV/AIDS.
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