Extreme Poverty and AIDS Issues—Loving in Truth and Action
[Mainline, Evangelical, or Catholic]
Praise & Worship Music: During this time of worship, teach the congregants a song or two that people from other countries may sing.
Multi-Media Presentation: If your church has access to a screen and DVD/VHS, request the DATA videos of Bono, Michael W. Smith, Max Lucado, and/or Christian Music Artists (separately- 3 min each) talking about the importance of the church to take action in the HIV/AIDS crisis.
A Time for Prayer: To engage congregations in theological reflection, we have collected prayers in response to the global AIDS crisis. These prayers include the following: A Prayer for Africa, Prayers of Confession, A Call to Action prayer, A Prayer for Someone who has just learned s/he is HIV+, and A Prayer for a Funeral for someone who has died of AIDS.
Speaker: Invite someone in your congregation that either is or has a loved one currently suffering with HIV/AIDS to speak about their experience; or ask someone in the congregation that is from, lived in, or traveled to Africa and witnessed the pandemic. Both have powerful stories to share. See The Story of Agnes for a powerful portrayal of life with AIDS in Uganda.
Sermon: To talk about extreme poverty and AIDS, there is no better Scripture than the second greatest commandment, to love our neighbor, and our neighbors are all over the world. America needs to recast her vision as to what it means to love our neighbor. John calls us to “love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action (I Jn 3:16 NRSV). We so often talk about loving our neighbors around the world, but we neglect to move beyond our speech to advocacy efforts to actually alleviate their suffering. It is time for the church to awake, arise, and act on behalf of our love for Africans. We have found that when given the facts, people’s hearts and minds are changed. We encourage pastors to give congregations the statistics, and then follow with stories to put a face on the statistics. For more information on facts, see these info sheets.
Closing: Have ready ONE Materials at back of church in lobby. Encourage congregants to sign The ONE Declaration. For more information about how to take part in combating the AIDS pandemic, you can distribute these info sheets. Direct congregants to ONE.org for more information about how they can join The ONE Campaign today!
