05569
Oct. 21, 2005

PC(USA)’s new mission initiative
battles HIV/AIDS as ‘a matter of faith’

by Jerry L. Van Marter, PNS
and Pat Cole, WMD communications officer

LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is stepping up its efforts to combat the worldwide spread of AIDS, launching a new campaign: “It’s a Matter of Faith.”

     The project was created after the 2004 General Assembly directed the Worldwide Ministries Division (WMD) to “make a concerted effort to lift up and publicize” opportunities to contribute to the response to the HIV/AIDS crisis around the world.

     “For our church partners in Africa and in other places, the AIDS crisis is a matter of faith and a call to action,” said Joy Raatz, the facilitator of the denomination’s international HIV/AIDS initiative. “Our church partners are confronting the crisis with courage, compassion and faith. They deserve our prayers and our support.”

     In the first phase of the effort, WMD is emphasizing AIDS ministries in sub-Saharan Africa, where the crisis is most desperate. “Sub-Saharan Africa is at risk of losing an entire generation,” Raatz said. “More than 25 million people there are infected with the HIV virus, and AIDS killed 2.3 million people in the region last year.”

     Raatz said she sees hope in the ministry of African churches.

     “Churches are educating their members and others about AIDS prevention, and they are leading efforts to establish community-based orphan care,” she said. “Thousands of African Christians are caring for AIDS patients as home-based-care volunteers. In these efforts they are bearing witness to the hope rooted in Jesus Christ.”

     Contributions for “It’s a Matter of Faith” can be made through regular PC(USA) giving channels or by mail to Individual Remittance Processing, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. Write ECO #862706 on your check.

     For more information or to donate online, visit www.pcusa.org/aids-international.     For a free booklet and congregational resource packet about international AIDS ministries, call (800) 524-2612 and ask for PDS 74330-05-002; or visit www.pcusa.org/marketplace. The booklet also was inserted into the September issue of Presbyterians Today magazine.