The global AIDS pandemic usually escapes mention in Adventist congregations. Perhaps in part because Adventists shy away from discussion of sexuality and sexually-transmitted diseases, or perhaps because affluent churches in North America and Europe do not feel the effects of AIDS first hand, Adventists often overlook HIV/AIDS.

One Southern California church hopes to change that.

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the Kansas Avenue Adventist Church , together with the Grove Community Church in Riverside, California, hosted two days of AIDS awareness and prevention.

On Saturday, November 29, Jeanne White-Ginder spoke in the Kansas Avenue church about her son, Ryan White, who died of AIDS. In 1984, Ryan’s struggle for acceptance and fair treatment made national headlines after Western Middle School (Russiaville, Indiana) barred him from attending. A lengthy legal battle eventually resulted in Congress passing the Ryan White CARE Act four months after Ryan’s death.

Saturday morning, Ryan’s mother shared stories and a video of Ryan, inspiring the nearly 120 attendees. A reporter from the Press-Enterprise attended Saturday's gathering and writes:

Ryan was 13 when he was diagnosed with AIDS. He contracted the disease through blood-based hemophilia treatments.

"Our life drastically changed overnight," White-Ginder said.

Classmates, parents and teachers did not want Ryan in their school. He and his mother fought to get him back in a school where he was not welcome.

People attending the summit watched a videotape that showed anti-Ryan protesters and included an interview with Ryan shot a year before his death in 1990. He did not blame the people for their reaction to the disease.

Read the full story.

On Monday (Dec. 1) Kansas Avenue observed World AIDS day with guest speakers, panel discussions and breakout sessions. In meetings from 9:00AM to 4:00 PM, health care professionals, clinical counselors, public health officials and clergy discussed AIDS and its impact on communities in Southern California.

Dr. Sharon Rabb, an educator, clinical psychologist, and licensed marriage, family therapist, shared a presentation titled “Breaking the Silence.” Dr. Rabb addressed the shame and stigma attached to HIV/AIDS, urging openness and public discussion. Noting that shame prevents people infected with AIDS from speaking out, Rabb said people must get help, not try to go it alone.

Dr. Ann Dew, a public health and preventative medicine expert, described the impact of AIDS on California communities. Riverside and San Bernardino Counties in Southern California rank among the nation’s highest in incidences of AIDS. Treatment of AIDS costs $10 million annually in those counties alone. Dr. Dew noted that HIV impacts African American and Latino communities disproportionately.

A panel discussion of pastors, physicians, and mental health professionals addressed the psychological issues that accompany AIDS, how to stop the AIDS pandemic, and how the community can help. The liveliest moments of discussion revolved around the question of whether abstinence or "safe sex" (i.e. using condoms) ought to be taught.

Afternoon breakout sessions featured three topics: HIV/AIDS 101, an informational presentation; Helping AIDS Survivors Heal, a look at the psychological aspects of AIDS care; and Mark McKay’s discussion of AIDS and death from a mortician’s perspective.

Bill Howe, who helped organize the AIDS Day activities on Saturday and Monday, notes that the Kansas Avenue Church has led Southern California’s Adventist communities in AIDS awareness and prevention for twelve years. In 1996 following the death of three church members, Kansas Avenue pastor Jesse Williams saw the need to address the disease as a congregation. Dozens of parishioners responded to the call for an AIDS ministry.

The result, Howe says, has been over a decade of advocacy and care for AIDS patients. The Church participates in and sponsors an annual AIDS walk fundraising event, provides a support group and resources for victims of HIV/AIDS, and hosts forums to raise awareness among Adventists.
Noting a smaller turnout than expected Monday, Bill Howe wonders why more Adventists have not taken up this cause. The church, he feels, should be at the forefront.

The Adventist Development & Relief Agency (ADRA) provides one step toward broader Adventist involvement. The Adventist News Network reports that ADRA commemorated World AIDS Day by providing an informative packet with statistics on AIDS, testimonies from people suffering from HIV/AIDS, informational posters, bulletin and magazine inserts and much more.

ADRA works in countries around the world to stop the spread of AIDS and invites Adventist participation.

Learn more about ADRA’s initiatives to fight AIDS and find out how you can participate at: http://www.adra.org/site/PageServer?pagename=work_aids_resources

During this month The Spectrum Website will be conducting a fund-raising campaign where we will be more explicit in explaining our financial needs and asking you for assistance. If visitation numbers alone were to equate with success we would certainly consider this a successful year: 140,000 visitors, 302,000 visits, 850,000 page views. And the readership growth curve is moving upward. For Adventist news and commentary oriented websites we presently are second behind the Adventist Review in page views. However, the reasons for this readership – while impossible to infer from raw numbers alone – we believe correlate to the value delivered here. Value to you, our readers and participants. And value we think most of you would like to see maintained and growing.

So, what do we judge that value to be comprised of?

First, and foremost, we want to provide a place where the difficult issues confronting Adventism can be examined, in a thoughtful, respectful but unflinching manner. There is far more diversity of thought within our church than many recognize or perhaps would even wish to admit. Some of those perspectives need to push the church toward change. Others need to ultimately be rejected as mistakes. But there needs to be a safe, open place for this dialog. And this is, practically speaking, nearly impossible to pursue within the communication vehicles of official Adventism. Not because the church, or those vehicles are somehow bad. But they serve a broad constituency that has other needs and sometimes a low tolerance for ‘pushing the envelope’. The Spectrum Website gives service to the church in ways analogous to how a free press serves its city and country.

Second, this website continually speaks to the intersection of Adventism and a broader world culture. We are not unique in this but where else would you go to find the quantity, range and depth of material that has been provided here in the past year? Some has been highly controversial, such as issues surrounding homosexuality, faith and science, and abortion. Others, while more theological, still speak to how an Adventist Christian thinks and lives within the wider culture. We’ve discussed, among others, the role of public evangelism, Open Theism, and God’s character.

Third, a major component of the website is to provide mechanism and opportunity for reader interaction – with the authors, and with each other. Sparks fly at times, to be sure. But there is also community that is alive and growing. Site editors are not always perfect arbitrators but have to provide and enforce a safe yet open environment. At times postings have had to be deleted and a few participants have even been banned. But mostly the level of discourse, while often passionate, is articulate, respectful and open to new ideas.

Finally, this website is free. You do not have to pay a subscription fee to obtain content. This has been a carefully considered decision at the Adventist Forum Board level. We recognize people have radically disparate economic capabilities and we do not wish to impose a monetary ‘firewall’. We are persuaded that this model is right for an internet presence, but of course it also means funding must be raised in other ways. In subsequent articles this month we will talk frankly and in-depth about expenses and future plans. We hope you value what is available here and will consider giving us your support. We truly need your contributions.

Rich Hannon

Chairman - Adventist Forum Revenue/Finance Committee

Loma Linda preps for new hospital.

Hobbes' Place reports on Adventists at the American Academy of Religion meetings in Chicago.

Some questions are being raised about Adventist Health's accounting practices. More on that here.

Local Oregon paper notes Adventist help for the hungry.

Adventist youth hold AIDS panel discussion. More on Adventists and AIDS here:

“Irrespective of the religions, the HIV/AIDS challenge has to be tackled using the help of all partners whether Government, private, NGOs and religious bodies,” said Pastor Matthew Bediako, Secretary of the Seventh Day Adventist Church General Conference, on an official visit to Mauritius last week.

Bloomberg reports the growing unrest in the Congo:

“It was Tutsis who attacked us then and it’s Tutsis who are attacking us now,” he said.

Nkunda, who is also a Seventh-Day Adventist lay preacher, led his forces to within 10 kilometers of Goma by Oct. 29. His fighters overwhelmed Congo’s army despite the presence of over 5,000 United Nations peacekeepers in North Kivu. Nkunda, who said in the past that his National Congress for the Defense of the People, or CNDP, was essentially trying to protect his Tutsi minority, now speaks of the “total liberation” of Congo.

“I have national ambitions,” Nkunda, dressed in army fatigues and wielding a cane capped with a silver eagle’s head, said in a Nov. 13 interview near the border with Uganda. “Where we are is the safest in Congo. If we can do that, we are capable of doing it on a national level.”

New York-based Human Rights Watch and witnesses such as Sinamenye dispute Nkunda’s contention and say his soldiers executed tens of civilians in Kiwanja in November.