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Placards carried in the walk were placed at the altar rail in honor of those living with HIV-AIDS or in memory of those having died from AIDS.

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Baltimore-Washington Conference 
HIV-AIDS committee: 
    The Rev. Stephanie Vader 
      (410) 867-2048, 
    The Rev. Terri Rae Chattin 
      (410) 974-1276.

To learn more about World AIDS Day:
    www.unaids.org
     www.worldaidsday.org
     www.gbgm-umc.org 

To financially support AIDS ministries:

• Advance Special #982215-6, 
  for HIV-AIDS Ministries
• UMCOR Advance #982345-7,Global HIV-AIDS Program Development
• UMCOR Advance #982842-6, 
  AIDS Orphan Trust in Zimbabwe

 World AIDS Day: Everyone lives with AIDS

BY KATHRYN LEIGHT
UMCONNECTION CORRESPONDENT

Those living and dying with HIV-AIDS were remembered with prayers during a candlelight march in Annapolis on Dec. 1. 

As approximately 100 marchers walked silently along the narrow sidewalks from the city dock to Asbury UMC on West Street, many bystanders watched. Almost every one stopped, stepped aside, and stared at the procession. Some whispered and some stood silent. One man dropped his head as if to say a prayer. 

A walker commented that even though she didnt have the disease, she was beginning to understand that she lived with AIDS. That became the message of the event: Everyone in todays world lives with AIDS in one way or another.

World AIDS Day is observed globally each year on Dec. 1. The Annapolis observance was sponsored in part by the HIV-AIDS Committee of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. According to the Rev. Stephanie Vader, a member of the committee, the comittee is dedicated to providing resources and funding to HIV-AIDS ministries within the conference. 

At the march, participants with AIDS expressed gratitude for the turnout. One man, who was diagnosed in 1994, said it made him feel like people cared. A woman, diagnosed in 1991, said, If we shake hands, if we hug, they (the participants in the march) are not going to get it. Its nice to know they are not afraid of us.

The World AIDS Day service at Asbury UMC, attended by about 130 people, opened with words of gathering from many traditions, including Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian. The theme of this years observance was AIDS: I Care

Do You? 

Speakers read words from their own faith tradition, expressing what they saw as fundamental reasons to care about AIDS and its impact on the people of this world. 

The Rev. Mamie A. Williams, Annapolis District superintendent, who was the events keynote speaker, confessed her recent lack of involvement in AIDS ministries. She said that her rationalizations for not being involved were merely excuses for not doing what needs to be done.

It (AIDS) has not left us, said Williams. Ten million people ages 15 to 24 are living with HIV-AIDS, she said, adding that Vaders invitation helped her realize that she must recommit herself to this ministry.

Williams said that at one time she was very active in HIV and AIDS ministries. She recalled a couple who were trying to cope with their sons illness, and his eventual death due to AIDS complications. 

We prayed. We cried. We were there for one another, she said, telling those gathered that serving in AIDS ministry honors the memory of those who have died from the disease.

Following Williams remarks, those present at the service were invited to bring to the altar wooden plaques with the names of loved ones who have died from AIDS written on the back. Men, women and children streamed toward the altar to place their plaques.

Their message seemed unmistakable we all live with AIDS.