Greetings to the Black Church Family:

We are looking forward to seeing you!

With great excitement and expectation, all of us at The Balm In Gilead are looking forward to our time together at The Black Church Institute on HIV/AIDS and Other Health Disparities October 24-27, 2006 at the Charleston Riverview Hotel in Charleston, SC.

With conviction, open hearts and open minds, we will, once again, gather to share the progress Black churches are making in developing HIV prevention, testing and care programs. This year, we will also broaden our discussions to include how African American congregations are responding to the challenges of other diseases that are devastating our families and communities.

I am personally inviting pastors, deacons, missionaries, church school educators, youth ministry leaders, church nurses and other auxiliary church leaders to make attending this conference a serious priority.

The overall health status of African Americans is poor. One in every Black men and one in
every 160 Black women are living with the virus that causes AIDS. In some communities within
the US, the AIDS epidemic among African Americans is comparable to the AIDS epidemic in
poor African villages—Out of Control!

Here in the United States, other diseases, such as cervical cancer, hepatitis C, and, renal disease, are also killing our loved ones, including our children, at rates that can be compared to those of third world countries. We must stop the killing of African Americans from a multitude of diseases that are 100% preventable.

The Black Church Institute on HIV/AIDS and Other Health Disparities is exclusively designed
for leaders of Black churches who strive to increase their knowledge about HIV/AIDS and other
diseases and to strengthen their commitment to education and supporting those
who suffer.

The Balm In Gilead seeks to create an environment of knowledge, support, care, compassion
and unconditional love to overcome the barriers of ignorance, stigma, homophobia, denial and
hate. These are the explosive fuels for the fire of AIDS and other diseases in our community.
The role of leadership is critical at this time in our lives. Our elders and children are struggling
to survive the torment of diseases that are preventable and curable. History has already
recorded the role of the church in the survival of African Americans through the ages. Today, we
must recommit ourselves as congregations and as individuals to the tremendous work that it will
take to stop the widening gap of health disparities in our community, especially the destruction
of HIV/AIDS.

As Always, I AM yours in the Consciousness of Abiding Faith!

Pernessa C. Seele
Founder/CEO