ELCA, Episcopal presiding bishops remember lives lost to HIV, AIDS

[<NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

Title: ELCA, Episcopal presiding bishops remember lives lost to HIV, AIDS
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

>November 30, 2011  

ELCA, Episcopal presiding bishops remember lives lost to HIV, AIDS
11-140-MRC

CHICAGO (ELCA) - Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Episcopal Primate Katharine
Jefferts Schori said World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 is "an opportunity for us
to remember the 30 million lives that have been lost to the deadly
pandemic."

In their first joint letter about the international observance, the
presiding bishops said, "The struggle against HIV and AIDS is our own
struggle as churches and, as the pandemic continues into its fourth
decade, the urgency in our work is born out of the intimacy with which we
know it."

"Together we are part of a global family of 150 million Anglicans
and Lutherans, most living in developing countries for whom the virus is
an ever-present daily reality," they wrote.

The ELCA and the Episcopal Church have been full communion partners
since 1999. The relationship allows both churches to keep their autonomy
and structures yet work together in mission, witness and the
interchangeability of members and clergy.

Most recently, both denominations began sharing a staff position
responsible for federal legislative and policy advocacy on international
issues in Washington, D.C., as part of a commitment to deepen cooperative
ministries.

According to the Rev. Andrew Genszler, ELCA director for advocacy in
Washington, D.C., working together in this way is "all the more credible."

"I am really pleased with the opportunity to work more closely with
our Episcopal counterparts," Genszler said. "We know that the shape of
effective faith-based advocacy has changed from resting on principle to
the marshaling and representation of global relationships, ministries and
commitments in the public square to speak for policy change. The witness
of both church bodies in this way will be all the more credible for their
combined representation."

In their letter, Hanson and Schori highlighted programs that
illustrate how both denominations address HIV and AIDS and "the systems
of poverty it permeates."

"Episcopalians and Lutherans are invested in prevention, treatment,
care and support, and alleviating stigma for all living with HIV and
AIDS," they wrote, adding that the global community has made significant
progress in working to end the pandemic.

Together ELCA members and Episcopalians continue to serve as key
leaders in helping to stop the "shaming of people living with HIV" and
providing care and support for those coping with the disease. Hanson and
Schori said members must increase these kinds of efforts and work toward
the goal of an "AIDS-free generation" recently set by U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton.

"Unfortunately, today we face the danger that our dream of an AIDS-
free generation will remain just that -- a dream. U.S. funding for these
life-saving global health programs continues to be targeted for
disproportionate cuts," they wrote.

"Through our shared witness in Washington, our churches are working
to ensure that our government allocates the highest funding levels
possible to address HIV and AIDS, including full funding for the
president's Global Health Initiative. The voice of every Episcopalian and
every ELCA member is vital to this work," wrote Hanson and Schori,
encouraging members to join both churches' advocacy efforts.

At the conclusion of their letter, the presiding bishops expressed
their hope to "cross from 30 years of death and loss to a future of
abundant life for all."

For the full text of their letter, along with a Spanish-language
version, visit:
http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Office-of-the-Presiding-Bishop/Messages-and-Statements/112911.aspx

>---

About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United
States, with 4.2 million members in 10,000 congregations across the 50
states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work.
Our hands," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in
Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's
roots are in the writings of the German church reformer, Martin Luther.

>For information contact:
>Melissa Ramirez Cooper
>773-380-2956 or Melissa.RamirezCooper@ELCA.org
>http://www.ELCA.org/news
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>Living Lutheran: http://www.livinglutheran.com