Faith groups prepare for International AIDS Conference

Maurice Bloem of CWS Indonesia addressing a workshop on the combined impact of emergency situations and HIV/AIDS, at an ecumenical and interfaith gathering preceding the International AIDS Conference. Photo: K. McNeely/CWS

August 14, 2006

Faith groups gathered in Toronto, Canada, prior to the 16th International AIDS Conference which is due to start there Sunday.

Kathleen McNeely of the Church World Service’s Education and Advocacy Program, as well as Maurice Bloem and Yasmin Kapitan of the Church World Service Indonesia are attending.

The ecumenical and interfaith “Faith in Action: Keeping the Promise” gathering began August 10 with a warm welcome to the “turtle island” from Richard Brewer, a member of the Sagkeeng First Nation, an indigenous Ojibway community in northwest Canada.

The opening panel focused on the notions of convening and promise and the ways in which people of faith are being called to respond in this moment in history. Subsequent workshops focused on a variety of responses and challenges.

Church World Service presented a workshop on the particular vulnerability of people in emergency situations, with specific examples from the Tsunami relief effort as well as the response to the recent earthquake in Pakistan. Recognizing the vulnerability of people in these situations, CWS is giving people the knowledge needed to protect themselves from infection under conditions of extreme duress.

The opening day ended with a liturgy that enabled participants to feel the devastating impact of broken promises.