Every October since 1989, our church has hosted an AIDS Healing Service. People living with HIV/AIDS, family and friends of people with HIV/AIDS, and caregivers of people with AIDS gather for comfort, healing, and worship.
I love this service because for me it is about confession and compassion. I don’t have HIV/AIDS but it is still an opportunity for me to face my own brokenness and to identify with the suffering of others. It’s a time for me to leave fear and judgment at the door and to be open to whatever healing I need and whatever service I might be called to do.
The AIDS Healing Service is a reminder of the ongoing affect of HIV/AIDS on the families of rich and poor, black and white, believers and non-believers…. It is also a call to love. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34 NIV)
For the month of October a huge, white muslin sculpture designed by David Johnson in 1989 hangs from the rafters of the church. It is a visual reminder to pray for people and families affected by the terrible disease of HIV/AIDS.
Photo: Andy MacBeth
