Thinking about AIDS

I’m a bit behind on my blog reading, and thus this is a belated note to mark the 30th anniversary of the naming of AIDS. Here’s a beautiful blog post that captures some of that time. I had just graduated from high school and was in my first year of college. I remember the stories coming into the Chaplain’s Office at Yale — there we were hearing about the prostitutes, first, and then eventually stories from the gay community. I remember my HIV-positive friends who wept just because I was willing to hug them — it seemed such a very small thing to me, but in the midst of the panics and the fear-mongering, they were so isolated.

Nowadays HIV is not the certain death sentence it used to be (at least, not for people with health insurance in the US). But it's still a dangerous disease, and it continue to hit certain parts of our community -- and certain communities around the world -- with a devastating strength. Communities of faith have often lagged behind the rest of the world in engaging HIV/AIDS constructively, and that's one reason why I'm so grateful for the e-alliance and their resources (which include bulletin inserts, prayers, liturgical pieces, etc.)