ONE Sabbath
Yesterday, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sent a letter to members of the House regarding the budget. Here’s an excerpt of their letter:
“The federal budget should protect human life and dignity, make the poor a top priority and promote the common good of all during tough economic times…
“A just framework for future budgets cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor persons. It requires shared sacrifice by all, including raising adequate revenues, eliminating unnecessary military and other spending and addressing the long-term costs of health insurance and retirement programs fairly.”
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Here’s a cool bit of news — our faith relations manager, Rev. Adam Phillips, was interviewed by CBN yesterday on Lazarus Sunday’s role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. CBN is one of the largest television ministries in the world, so we were honored to get some face time with them and help draw attention to our big event. Read the interview here and watch the clip:
Lazarus Sunday (which is taking place this Sunday, April 10) is a day to recognize the powerful story in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Churches all across the country will screen the HBO documentary “The Lazarus Effect” for their congregations in an effort to convey the monumental importance of antiretroviral treatments in the fight against AIDS. It’s not too late for your faith community to join — resources for Lazarus Sunday (including sample sermons, video clips, and handouts) are available at one.org/faith.
Last week, the band Third Day posted ONE’s petition on the budget to their Facebook page. The post prompted more than 200 comments, but Tai Anderson, bassist for Third Day, noted that these posts “drew huge criticism, some healthy dialogue, and some flared tempers.” In a post on the Third Day blog, Tai attempted to answer some of the critique and offered his own perspective. — Mark Brinkmoeller
Tai Anderson. Photo courtesy of Third Day
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Justin Fung, who works on our Lazarus Sunday campaign, gives you 10 great reasons why you should sign up for Lazarus Sunday, a nationwide event to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in faith communities on April 10th, today.
A panel discussion on HIV/AIDS is held at a church after a screening of the Lazarus Effect
1. For churches following the lectionary, the Gospel reading on Lazarus Sunday (April 10) is the story of Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life, in John 11. This is a perfect opportunity to speak about the parallel Lazarus Effect, the millions of people who have been brought back to health and wholeness thanks to anti-retroviral treatments.
2. You get to be one of more than 1,100 churches who’ll be joining together on Lazarus Sunday to speak up about AIDS in Africa and the Lazarus Effect.
3.These churches are from across the Christian tradition: non-denominational, Lutheran, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal, Evangelical Covenant Church, United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, Mennonite, Baptist, Southern Baptist, Greek Orthodox and many more.
4. This is also a great chance to be a voice for the voiceless—to share the stories those who are living with AIDS, and to advocate on their behalf.
5. There are all sorts of ways to get involved, from sharing about it in your church bulletin to showing “The Lazarus Effect” clip to discussing “The Lazarus Effect” documentary in your Sunday school class or small group to preaching about AIDS in Africa.
6. We’ve already provided the free resources that you can use: video, slideshow, sermon materials, bulletin insert, and more.
7. Or you can let your creativity run wild! We already have one church getting its kids involved in doing a drama.
8. If you get involved and share your story with us, we might be able to put it up on the blog so you can encourage and inspire others to action! To find out what one of our pastors in Ohio is doing for Lazarus Sunday, and why he’s doing it, check out this Q&A blog post from last week.
9. Sign up to get involved with Lazarus Sunday now, then shoot us an email, and we’ll send you a free copy of “The Lazarus Effect” DVD (while supplies last).
10. And finally, if you show “The Lazarus Effect” documentary, produced by HBO and (RED), it may be the only time you can show an HBO product in its entirety at church…
Also, there’s still time to sign up: head to one.org/faith. And follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Lazarus Sunday is a nationwide event aimed at raising awareness among churches and people of faith about the realities of AIDS in Africa and the tremendous progress that has been made in the fight against this preventable, treatable disease. From bulletin inserts and prayer points to Sunday school lessons, small group video screenings and sermon illustrations, faith communities all over the country are joining the Lazarus Sunday campaign — we’ve had more than 800 people, churches and groups sign up already, and we’re aiming for 1,000 now!
The Mt. Orab Church of Christ in Mt. Orab, Ohio is one of the churches that will be participating on Lazarus Sunday, and we’re excited to bring you this interview with Associate Minister Mike Whittymore. We hope this will help to inspire and encourage you. If you haven’t gotten involved, there’s still time to join in by signing up at one.org/faith; and if you or your church is already planning to be involved, please feel free to share what you’re doing by emailing us at faith@one.org.
![Photo on 2011-03-09 at 15.06 #3[1]](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5055/5515309573_1614b507e5.jpg)
Mike, tell us a little bit more about your church.
MW: We are a 125-year-old non-denominational church, located in Mt. Orab, OH, which is small rural community. Socially and economically, Mt. Orab is pretty diverse, from ‘old money’ families to blue collar workers, farming families, and the working poor. Locally, our church tries to offer a lot of assistance to those who are in need: we have a busy food pantry, a pregnancy resource center, a student counseling program, and we set aside funds to help families who might need help covering their utility bills.
What makes you interested in this issue of advocacy and AIDS in Africa?
MW: I grew up and went to school in the city, and so was exposed to these kinds of social issues from early on. The stigmas surrounding AIDS are very different depending on where you live. Living now in a more rural environment has made me more aware of the need to advocate for those in need. Nevertheless, Jesus calls each of us to a place of awareness. How can we sit idly by and watch millions die and say and do nothing? These families, these men and women and children—they are God’s workmanship. He loves them! And so do I.
In addition to that, my wife and I are the adoptive parents of two amazing children and we are currently exploring the possibility of adopting children with HIV/AIDS.
How did you first hear about Lazarus Sunday/ONE?
MW: I’ve known about ONE for a few years now. I was attending a conference at Willow Creek Church in Chicago, and was introduced to this organization. So from time to time I check in on ONE to see what’s new. However, I discovered Lazarus Sunday because of a Facebook ad. Which proves that all the time I spend cyber stalking my friends is time well spent!
What is your church planning to do on Lazarus Sunday?
MW: I am stoked about our Lazarus Sunday: we’re bringing our children and student ministries together for this cause. We’ll be opening with the ‘Amazing Grace’ video that was made available by ONE. After that we are showing the promo video for the Lazarus Effect.
Then we’ll have all of our children and students take their place around the church, each one wearing a shirt that says, “I have HIV/AIDS.” In a pre-planned drama, we will call the name of different children and students to leave their post and come to the stage. These young people will represent the thousands that die each day in Africa from AIDS.
We want our church to connect to the fact that the kids on our stage are your children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. Likewise, the children that are dying of AIDS are someone’s child, grandchild, brother, sister, niece, and nephew.
Any closing thoughts?
MW: We know this is just a start and a simple approach to providing awareness, but we believe it will be powerful. We are seeking to challenge the stigma of AIDS in our community. On Lazarus Sunday our church will pray … as if the future of a child’s life depends on it. Because it does!
Yesterday, we got a chance to hang out with Christian rockers Sanctus Real (that’s pronounced “reel,” not “re-al,” as we found out!) at ONE’s DC office. The Toledo, Ohio and Nashville, Tennessee-based band is in town to perform at the International Justice Mission’s annual gala -– and learn how they can get involved in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, too.
Band members Mark, Dan and Pete took a moment out of their busy schedule to answer a few questions for their fellow ONE members. Here’s what they had to say:
So, you guys are here in Washington – that’s a big deal if you want to make some moves in the world of global poverty! What do you hope to get out of this trip?
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Dec 3rd, 2010 5:09 PM UTC
By Field
“Lives on the Line” campaign display at the event
On World AIDS Day, we had the privilege of hosting a documentary screening of “The Lazarus Effect” at Northpark Community Church in Santa Clarita, California. We combined the event with a special prayer service based around World Vision Acts: “Lives on the Line” campaign against HIV/AIDS.
One thing that I appreciated about the film is that it explains the progress that patients on ARVs experience in vivid detail. Those of us who are activists know that it can be hard to explain to people why we are constantly lobbying for more money to be allocated to the Global Fund or PEPFAR.
“The Lazarus Effect” is a great resource that movingly depicts the living proof that the medicine saves lives! Everyone who attended left with renewed enthusiasm to continue the fight for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. One mom in our group said that the film has inspired her to share the success stories with people in her small group the following night!
-Ryan Townsend, young adults pastor and ONE member
