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Program Clusters: Special Programs: Congress of Asian
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WORLD AIDS DAY LITURGY
1 December 2012
World AIDS Day (2011-15)
Getting to
zero:
Zero new
HIV infections.
Zero
discrimination.
Zero AIDS related deathsWorship Service for World AIDS Day 2012: Towards the “three zeros” in faith, commitment and love
Introduction
There has been a lot of progress in the response to
HIV since AIDS was identified some three decades ago. Global infection rates have
begun to decline, fewer babies are being born with HIV and 8 million people in
low- and middle-income countries are now on life-saving anti-retroviral
medicines.
However, much more remains to be done. The number of
people newly infected is still higher than the number of people starting on
treatment. And there remain 7 million people who need treatment but who do not
have access to it, including2 million children.[1]
In addition, people living with or vulnerable to HIV
continue to face stigma, discrimination and violations of their human rights
and dignity, which thwart prevention and treatment efforts and deny them access
to comprehensive care and support.
We are at a critical moment in the response to HIV.
Progress has been made but it is not enough. Indeed, the only acceptable
statistics here are “Zero AIDS-related deaths, Zero new HIV infections and Zero
discrimination”. Therefore, this World AIDS Day, we not only come together to
give thanks for what has been achieved but to commit ourselves anew to doing
all we can to make the UNAIDS vision of the “three zeros” a reality.[2]
Worship Service for World AIDS Day 2012: Towards the “three zeros” in faith, commitment and love
Preparatory Music
Words of Welcome
Welcome to our
World AIDS Day service.
Much has been
achieved in the past 30 years of the AIDS pandemic but if we are to see a day
of “Zero AIDS-related deaths, Zero new HIV infections and Zero discrimination”,
we must work together to ensure that political will and financial commitments
continue.
What’s more,
we, as faith communities, must strengthen and expand our work and partnerships
to ensure that we too are playing a leading role in the HIV response.
Call to Worship
Leader:
Therefore, we gather before our
God of promises with faith, commitment and hope. Hear the promise of the one
seated on the throne:
All: “See, I am making all things
new.”
Leader: Hear the promise of the resurrected
one:
All: “I am with you always, to the
end of the age.”
Leader: Hear the promise borne on the wind:
All: “The Spirit
bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God; and if children,
then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”
Leader:
We come to worship a faithful
God, who keeps these promises of love. In the name of the Blessed Trinity, one
God, now and forever, Amen.
Song CantaiaoSenhor/Oh sing to the Lord (The International
Ecumenical Hymnbook,Thuma Mina#3)
Other suggestions include; Joyful, joyful we adore thee (Text: Henry Van Dyke; Tune: Hymn to Joy);
Laudateomnesgentes (Taizé, Thuma Mina #134);
Reading: Jeremiah 31: 10-14
Hear the word of the Lord, O
nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.’ For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again.
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
says
the Lord.
Congregational Response
All: What will it take, O God…
Left: for us to see a day of no more AIDS-related
deaths, no more new HIV infections and no more discrimination in the land of
the living?
All: What will it take, O God…
Right: for change to come in our community, in our
lives?
All: What will it take, O God…
Left: for the scattered to be gathered that all may
praise and dance together?
All: What will it take, O God…
Right: for us to see the end of AIDS?
All: What will it take, O
God…
Left: for us, your church, to be free from
ignorance and fear?
All: What will it take, O God…
Right: for us to recognize your Word become flesh
and living among us with HIV?
All: What will it take, O God, for the dance to begin and the deaths to end?
Video
This video provides reflections from people of faith who attended the
International AIDS Conference held in Washington DC in July this year. In
particular it challenges us as faith communities to do more to address HIV and
points to key contributions that we can make as part of the global movement
working to achieve the “three zeros”.
Reading: Revelation 21: 1-7
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw
the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying:
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’
And
the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’
Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he
said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the
end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of
life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and
they will be my children.’
Silent Reflection
Sit in silent meditation, consider the
following questions, and write any words or phrases of promise that come to
mind on strips of paper given to you as you arrived:
§
What
comes to mind as you contemplate the new heaven and new earth?
§
What
promise does God have for you?
§
What is
God’s promise for your neighbour?
§
What is
God’s promise for the world?
§
What is
God’s promise in relation to HIV and AIDS?
§
What is
being made new?
§
What peace
do you notice within you?
§
As you
breathe, allow your breath to reach this place of peace.
§
Breathe
out the old, breathe in the new.
§
Give
thanks to God for this time of reflection.
Declaration of Commitment
Leader: Church, we are the Body of Christ
All:
The Body of Christ, living with HIV
Leader: If we choose, we can make a difference
All:
If we choose, we can help bring newness, hope and peace
Leader: In our homes, in our church, in our community,
in our nation, in our world
All: In
our bodies, in our minds, in our spirits
Leader: Our sisters and brothers, our parents and
children are infected with HIV
All:
We are living and dying with AIDS
Leader: If we choose, the blockages to healing can be
removed
All:
We choose compassion. We choose to respond
Leader: Will you respond with your money, with your
time, with your love?
All:
We are the Body of Christ. We choose to respond until the day of the
“last one”:
-the day of the last new HIV infection and
the last child born with HIV;
-the day of the last time that someone is
stigmatized or bullied because of HIV and AIDS;
-the day of the last time that someone dies
from this disease.
We pray and act for the day of the last one!
Intercessions
God of Hope
All of us are affected by
HIV and AIDS.
At this time of Advent
Hope,
As we prepare for the
coming of your Son into this world
We give thanks for signs of
hope.
For growing understanding
For medical advances
For changing attitudes and behaviour
For greater awareness and
concern in your church.
All:
Lord hear us, Lord Graciously hear us
God of Unity
Bind us together with
strong ties of love
That all churches will be
places whereeveryone can find acceptance,
May our churches provide a
welcome for all affected byHIV and AIDS.
May they be places where
care is given and received,
Especiallyfor affected
children and youth,
Where stories are told and
heard,
Where fear is overcome by
love,
Where you are to be found.
All:
Lord hear us, Lord Graciously hear us
God of Promise
The
end of AIDS is in sight!
Give
us courage to run the race set before us.
We
look to you in prayer and in action
For
a day when all will have access to education and information
For
a day when all who need it can get affordable and good quality treatment
For a day when all
are accepted, included and given care and support
Let
us shedour cynicism,denial, selfishness and laziness.
May
we surprise you, as you surprise us!
All:
Lord hear us, Lord Graciously hear us
Song Yarabbassalami (Agape
Songs of Hope and Reconciliation #110);
Other song suggestions include:O God, who gives us life (Text: Carl Daw); God of our life (Text: Hugh Kerr); Word of justice (Agape #107); ThumaMina
(Agape # 91); Enviado soy de Dios/Sent by the Lord am I (Iona Community, “Sent
by the Lord”, p.18); Senzenina (Iona Community, “Sent by the Lord”, p.46)
Sending Forth
All congregants stand and
hold aloft the strips of paper used in the silent reflection.
Leader: In Genesis 9, God said to Noah …‘I
establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by
the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the
earth… I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a
sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen
in the clouds, I will remember my
covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and
the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and
remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all
flesh that is on the earth.’
All: We claim the promise of our God for all, in our hearts, minds and actions.
Leader: Then go
forth, confident in the trustworthiness of the One who placed the rainbow in
the heavens - that we may see, remember and do.
All: We claim the promise of our God for all, in our hearts, minds and actions.
Leader: Go forth, strengthened by hope from the One
who sent Jesus the Christ, knowing that this hope will not disappoint us.
All: We claim the promise of our God for all, in our hearts, minds and actions.
Leader: Go forth by faith. The One who placed the
rainbow and sent the Christ has sent the Spirit, so we know that God is with us
always.
Recessional Music
(Please see more on HIV and AIDS on EGY and CCA NEWS pages)
Credits: This liturgy was written and compiled by Ruth Foley,
with input from Andrew Donaldson, Karen Plater and Sara Speicher, unless
otherwise indicated.Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, ©
1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches
of Christ in the USA and are used by permission. All rights reserved.The Call to Worship is based on a prayer developed for the Interfaith Pre-Conference
to AIDS 2006 by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance.The texts for the Congregational Response, the Declaration of Commitment
and the Sending Forth are all adapted from resources produced by the Balm in
Gilead for the National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS:
http://www.nationalweekofprayerforthehealingofaids.org/downloads/2012%20NWPHA%20E-Worship%20Book%20Final-fnl.pdf.
The final response in the Declaration of Commitment draws from the
Prayer of Commitment written for an Interfaith Service of Hope and Commitment
held at the time of the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt Memorial display in Washington
National Cathedral in July 2012.
The intercessions
are adapted
from prayers prepared by The Diakonia Council of Churches in South Africa.
Annex: Video- Reflections
from people of faith attending the International AIDS Conference held in
Washington DC in July 2012.
The video is available online at http://iac.ecumenicaladvocacy.org/in-the-rush-for-a-cure-lessons-we-cannot-forget, or can be
downloaded as a standalone file from http://www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/hivaids/world-aids-day/.
If you are unable to show a video in your place of worship, you could
read some of the main points made by people in the video that have been
transcribed below.
Video
Transcription
Peter Prove, Executive Director, Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance
There is a lot of excitement here at the International
AIDS Conference 2012 about new science and new developments that might hold out
promise for a vaccine or a cure. But, as much as we must celebrate and pursue
these opportunities, we must not lose sight of the ‘software’ of the HIV
response - the crucial enablers, the
community based programming - that enablescommunities to engage in the response
and deal with issues like stigma and discrimination that are obstacles to any
delivery of that sort of scientific advance. We will not win this struggle against
HIV with pharmaceuticals alone. It has to be dealt with at the community level,
at the level of attitudes and at the level of empowermentof those communities
most affected. And in that regard the faith-based community has a key responsibility
and a key potential.
Rev Michael Schuenemeyer, Executive Director, United Church of Christ
HIV and AIDS Network
One of the things that the faith-community has learned is that we work
better when we work together; that the networking of relationships across all
sectors of the response is really critical to being effective in responding to
this disease.
ErlindaSenturias, Former Consultant, Christian Conference of Asia
If we want to turn the tide, everybody must be invited
to the table, everyone must be included. We cannot exclude anyone.
Faghmeda Miller,
Positive Muslims, South Africa
Although some of us are working together, not all of us are working
together. This is the biggest problem. Some communities still have this notion
that ‘it’s not affecting us’. It’s always “out there”. It’s in your religion,
not in my religion. We really must work hard to change this and work together
100%.
Canon Gideon
Byamugisha, Goodwill Ambassador on HIV & AIDS, Christian Aid UK
Communities still need to learn that having the right language is the
first step. This means having the right language to reduce stigma and shame, to
multiply safe practises and access to testing, treatment and empowerment.
PernessaSeele, CEO and Founder, The Balm in Gilead
Today, the AIDS epidemic is teaching us about the
commonalities between the African Americans and Africans. Todayin Raleigh Durham,
North Carolina, the rate of HIV among black women is now higher than the rate
of HIV among women in the Republic of the Congo. So, we are learning about the
commonalitiesamongblack women, men who have sex with men – and the phobias
around that - and youth. We have so many commonalities. One commonality that is
central is the role of faith. For black people worldwide, faith is central to
how they address everything in their lives.
Asavari Herwadkar, Coordinator for
the Asian Interfaith Network on HIV/AIDS(AINA) and the International Network of
Religious Leaders living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+)
in Asia Pacific
Communities have realised that they have to help much
more that they have been up to now; that when it comes to health issues that
include elements of stigma anddiscrimination; it cannot be left solely to a few
people, to the health professionals or politicians. The impact that they could
have as faith communities means that they have to play a bigger role if we
really want to properly address these issues.
Rev Michael Schuenemeyer, Executive Director, United Church of Christ
HIV and AIDS Network
So often we are quick to jump to judgemental positions about how HIV is
transmitted, and we forget that we really need to ground ourselves in the value
that as a child of God every person is endowed with worth and dignity that human
judgement cannot set aside. And we always need to be engaging in our response
to HIV or any other issue from the values of worth and dignity.
[1] These statistics are
taken from the UNAIDS report ‘Together we will end AIDS’ published in July
2012: http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/20120718_togetherwewillendaids_en.pdf.
[2]UNAIDS is the Joint
United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Its ‘three zeros’ vision is part of its
2012-2016 strategy:http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2010/JC2034_UNAIDS_Strategy_en.pdf.
[3] The video is
available at www.e-alliance.ch. See Annex for a
direct link, a transcription and more details.
[4]Alternatively,
you could ask someone, perhaps someone living with HIV, to prepare a spoken
reflection on these questions, and then invite people to write their own thoughts
and ideas on their strips of paper in response.
posted by communications on Saturday, December 01, 2012 |
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