wfn.org | Ministry Resources For World AIDS Day 2003: 1 December 2003

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A MINISTRY RESOURCE KIT
Prepared by Metropolitan Community Churches

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__________________________________________

Ministry Resources For World AIDS Day 2003: 1 December 2003

INDEX:
1.  Introduction and Background Information
2.  Litany for World AIDS Day 2003
3.  Selected Hymns For World AIDS Day Services
4.  Resources For Support and Information
5.  HIV & AIDS Resources By Country

1.  Introduction and Background Information

1 December 2003 will mark the 15th annual World AIDS Day campaign, a one-day
international event to increase awareness of HIV-related stigma and
discrimination

Stigma and discrimination are major factors contributing to the global HIV
epidemic, creating an atmosphere of fear and ignorance around the world, and
an
unwillingness to confront rising infection rates.

World AIDS Day, originally founded by Metropolitan Community Church of San
Diego under the leadership of Rev. David Farrell, has grown into an annual,
international observance.

While HIV/AIDS is seen by many as an epidemic that has been brought under
control with the development of new drugs and treatments, this is far from the
truth.  AIDS claimed the lives of approximately 3 million people worldwide in
2002 alone. That's over 8,000 deaths every day... and it doesn't stop there!

Today, there are 14,000 new cases of HIV infection occurring daily as well.
Every minute of every day, five more people die of AIDS-related
complications.

Unfortunately, the majority of all AIDS cases (about 95%) occur in the
world's poorest countries.  These countries are not only devastated by the
high
levels of infection, but worse yet, by the inability to provide proper care
and
drug treatments which are easily affordable in wealthier countries.

It's time to take a stand.  Educate yourself about HIV.  Make donations.
Wear a red ribbon.  Learn more about HIV in your local community by contacting
the organizations listed below.

And to find out more about World AIDS Day, visit the website:
www.worldaidsday.org.

Change starts with you!

2.  Litany for World AIDS Day 2003

One:     We praise you, Holy One, for the gift of life,
precious, stubborn, fragile and beautiful;
We are grateful for the time we have to live upon the earth,
to love, to grow, to be.
Many:   We give thanks for the will to live
and for our capacity to live fully
all of the days that we are given;
One:     and for those who have taken
from the devastation of AIDS
the opportunity to build lives of wholeness.
Many:   We give you thanks for the partners,
friends, caregivers and families
who have been steadfast in their love;
for the people who have devoted their lifebs work
to the prevention, treatment and healing of HIV
with passion and commitment,
One:     For the diligent science,
brilliant ideas and insights
that have led to new, life-giving treatments,
For the governments who have acted
to provide health care
for people living with HIV.
Many:   We give thanks for those whose prejudice and judgment
have yielded to understanding,
For those who have overcome fear,
indifference or burnout
to embrace a life of caring compassion,
One:     We praise you, Eternal One,
for those who have loved enough
that their hearts have broken,
who cherish the memories of those we have lost,
and for those who console the grieving.
Many:   God, grant us the love, courage, tenacity, and will
to continue to make a difference in a world with HIV;
One:     Inspire us to challenge the forces
that allow the needless spread of AIDS to continue --
prejudice, unjust laws, repression, prudery, stigma and fear.
Many:   Into your care we trust and lift up the 60 million souls who have
contracted HIV
One:     We lift up to you our dreams of a world where all are cared for,
Many:   our dreams of wholeness,
One:     our dreams of a world without AIDS,
Many:   a dream we know you share.

3.  Selected Hymns For World AIDS Day Services

Listed below are some hymnals that might form the core of a minister or
musicianbs collection; it is not a comprehensive list. Hymn choices have
been
divided into three possible categories, each addressing a different aspect of
World
AIDS Day observances which MCC might sponsor or in which MCC might be
involved.  Some are appropriate for church use only, some appropriate for
interfaith
or public settings.

African American Heritage Hymnal (AAHH) (Chicago:GIA Publications, 2003)
(Roman Catholic)
Chalice Hymnal (CH) (St. Louis, Chalice Press, 1995) (Disciples of Christ)
English Hymnal, The (TEH) (London: Oxford, 1933 with tunes) (Church of
England)
Flor Y Canto (FYC) (Portland, Oregon: OCP Publications, 2001) (Roman
Catholic)
Gather Comprehensive (GC) (Chicago: GIA Publications, 1994) (Roman Catholic)
Hymnal Project (UFMCC)
New Century Hymnal, the (NCH) (Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press, 1995) (United
Church of Christ)
Renew! Songs and Hymns for Blended Worship (R) (Carol Streams, Illinois:
Hope, 1995) (Evangelical)
Singing the Living Tradition (SLT) (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993) (Unitarian
Universalist Association)
Together in Song : Australian Hymn Book II (TIS) (Australia: HarperCollins,
1999) (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Uniting Church, Churches of Christ,
Presbyterian, Lutheran)
United Methodist Hymnal, the  (UMH) (Nashville: United Methodist Publishing
House, 1989) (United Methodist)
Voices United : the Hymn and Worshipbook of the United Church of Canada (VU)
(Etobicoke, Ontario: United Church Publishing House, 1996)
Wonder, Love and Praise (WLP) (New York: Church Pension Fund, 1997)
(Episcopal)

Social Justice
All the Sleepy Should Have A Place to Sleep (TIS 697)
Beauty for Brokenness, Hope for Despair (TIS 690)
*Break Not the Circle (SLT 323)
For the Healing of the Nations Westminster Abbey: (NCH 576; VU 678) Cwm
Rhondda: (UMH 428; CH 668) St. Thomas: (GC 719)
God of Grace and God of Glory Rhuddlan (VU 686) Cwm Rhondda:  (CH 464; NCH
436; UMH 577; *SLT 115) Bryn Calfaria: (TIS 611)
In the Midst of New Dimensions (NCH 391 [preferred version]; CH 458)
*Lead Us from Death to Life (NCH 581; GC 732 [listed here as World Peace
Prayer])
*Lift Every Voice and Sing (AAHH 540; NCH 593; CH 631; UMH 519; SLT 149)
Like A Mother Who Has Borne Us (NCH 583)
Lord, Hear My Praying, Listen to Me (TIS 689)
*Oh,  Freedom (SLT 156; AAHH 545)
O God of Earth and Altar  Llangloffan: (NCH 582; CH 724) Kings Lynn: (TEH
562)
*O Liberating Rose (SLT 130)
*O Light of Life  (SLT 117)
Sois La Semilla (NCH 528;  FYC 703; UMH 583; CH 478)
The Screams of Police Car Sirens (TIS 694)
*This Little Light of Mine (AAHH 549; SLT 118; NCH 524,525; GC 513; UMH 585)
Voices that Challenge (GC 721) (note: only hymn to use the word bAIDSb)
Walk Together Children (AAHH 541)
*We Are a Gentle, Angry People  (SLT 170)
*Webll Build A Land  (SLT  121)
*We Shall Not Give Up the Fight  (NCH 437)
*We Shall Overcome (SLT 169;  AAHH 542; GC 724; UMH 533; CH 630; NCH 570)
When Israel Was in Egyptbs Land (AAHH 543; SLT 104; CH 663;UMH 448; GC 715;
NCH 572)

Healing
*A Promise through the Ages Rings (SLT 344)
At Even When the Sun Was Set (TEH 266)