By Elizabeth Harris
I Choose Life Health and Wellness Center (ICL) collaborated with Faithful Central Bible Church’s (FCBC) Champion Men’s Ministry for the National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. The Champion Men’s Ministry engages men as they grow in worship, the word of God, their work, as well as their walk with Christ. Champion Men is a group of men all ages, living out their discipleship in the home, at work and in the community. One of the goals of Champion Men, is to transform the lives of men who are no longer satisfied with who they are but strives to be who God says they can be; and addressing social conditions and issues is a good start.
“Every Thursday night at 7 PM, in FCBC Tabernacle, West Wing North, Pastor Bob Gay opens the church for men from all over the city of Los Angeles, to come together and address spiritual as well as social issues that affect self, society and the world. On this Thursday, Pastor Gay allowed Tony Wafford of ICL, to come and share with the men the need–as men, to step-up and join in the fight to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in their community as well as in the church. “I can’t tell you just how happy it made me to see a room filled with more than 60 black men coming together to talk–not about sports, but issues that affect them as well as their community.” said Tony Wafford.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African Americans account for a higher proportion of new HIV diagnosis, those living with HIV, and those who have ever received an AIDS diagnosis, compared to other races. In 2016, African Americans accounted for 44% of HIV diagnosis, though they comprise 13% of the U.S. population. In 2016: 17,528 African Americans received an HIV diagnosis in the United States (12,890 men and 4,560 women). More than 58% of African Americans with diagnosed HIV were gay or bisexual men. Among African American gay and bisexual men who received an HIV diagnosis, 39% were young men aged 25 to 34. Forty-seven percent of those who received an AIDS diagnosis in the United States were African American. Tony went on to say, “For a Mega Black church like FCBC to step-up like this; only proves what I’ve been saying for years. The Black church isn’t homophobic, we just need to meet the church where it is and build on what they know and together, build the good world we all want and deserve to live in.
Tony believes that it’s because of the CDC’s Partnering and Communicating Together to Act Against AIDS (PACT) project–partnerships with some of the nation’s leading organizations representing the populations hardest hit by HIV and AIDS, that a difference is being made. Through these collaborative approaches, PACT members like ICL work to achieve the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States (NHAS) by reducing new HIV infections, improving health outcomes for individuals living with HIV, and reducing HIV related disparities. As a PACT member, ICL utilizes distinct viewpoints in creating a wide range of communication, mobilization, and outreach activities.
I see this as one of the first steps toward building a social movement that is concerned with the health, wholeness, and well-being of the church community. This is especially important, for it is clear the problem of HIV/AIDS is not an isolated health issue, but one interrelated with other health issues as well as social issues. Central to the strategy and struggle for dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis in the Black community is the building of a United Front. It would be a front which recognizes diversity within the Black community and yet focuses on common ground issues and initiatives in this crisis. It would recognize that all communities are diverse, but find common ground in issues of self-determination, defense, and development. Clearly, the HIV/AIDS crisis is such a common ground issue requiring self-determination, defense, and development.
“As Dr. Cornel West once said, ‘If the churches don’t move, much of the community won’t move. We’ve got a situation in which a black church is still a major institution in the black community where 55 percent of the black folk attend and over 75 pass through its doors.’ So, during this National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS, let us all do our part to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS.” said Tony Wafford of I Choose Life Health and Wellness Center.
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