United Church of Christ launches online comprehensive HIV curriculum

From Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>
Date Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:09:13 -0800

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gregg Brekke



United Church of Christ



Phone: (216) 736-2177



E-Mail: BrekkeG@ucc.org



Monday, March 07, 2011


United Church of Christ launches online comprehensive HIV curriculum

Press conference announces free online curriculum
dealing with the complex issues of HIV and AIDS.

Cleveland, OH ? The United Church of Christ, in
conjunction with the National Week of Prayer for
the Healing of AIDS (March 6-12, 2011),  is
holding a press conference to announce the online
release of ?Affirming Persons, Saving Lives?, its
faith-based comprehensive HIV prevention
curriculum, as a free digital download.

Scheduled for 2:00pm in the Amistad Chapel of the
UCC's national headquarters at 700 Prospect Ave E
in Cleveland, the press conference will feature
Pernessa Seele, founder and CEO of the Balm In
Gilead, Inc. ? a Richmond, Va.-based health
advocacy group, the press conference will
demonstrate Cleveland?s participation in the 2011
National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS
and launch ?Affirming Persons, Saving Lives? as a digital resource.

The National Week of Prayer for the Healing of
AIDS is the inclusive, expansion of the highly
successful Black Church Week of Prayer for the
Healing of AIDS, which concluded its 20th year anniversary in 2009.

?As we march into the second decade of this
extraordinary millennium, our country continues
to be at war with a virus,? Seele said in a
letter to supporters. ?Right now in this moment,
I invite all believers to step forward beyond the
walls that divide us into the circle of conscious
prayer for the healing of AIDS.?

Cuyahoga County reports 4,176 persons living with
HIV (December 2008) and the epidemic is growing,
especially among young people and disproportionately among people of color.

?Education is a vital component of stopping HIV
and caring for those affected,? said the Rev.
Mike Schuenemeyer, Executive Director of UCAN,
the United Church of Christ HIV and AIDS Network,
which provided significant support to the
project. ?During this week when faith communities
around the country are praying for the healing of
AIDS, we want to share information and a very
practical resource that people can use to help stop this epidemic now.?

The curriculum deals forthrightly with the many
complex issues that must be addressed to save
lives, responding to the real concerns of real
people facing the realities of HIV and AIDS.
Designed for multi-cultural Christian education
settings, the resource can be adapted for use by
health and human service institutions, schools,
health departments and community based
organizations.  People of every age can use this
curriculum to get the information they need to
make healthy and responsible decisions about
their lives and their relationships.

Please contact the Rev. Gregg Brekke, UCC news
director, for details of this press conference
and to arrange interviews with Seele and/or Schuenemeyer.


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