INSIDE: Kay and Rick Religious Making and

Warren con- leaders living keeping

front AIDS with HIV promises

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AIDS 2006:

Faith-based delegates demonstrate at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.
The AIDS pandemic breaks down barriers
by Claudia Carthaus
Only four years earlier at the International
AIDS Conference in Barcelona, faith groups
were marginalized and only beginning to
mobilize resources, said Dr. Peter Piot,
executive director, UNAIDS. He noted that
the Bangkok conference in 2004 was a turning
point where efforts really began to grow.
Looking forward to long-term strategies in
HIV and AIDS solutions, Piot joined the
Most Rev. Gunnar Stlsett, Bishop Emeritus
of Oslo, in opening the interfaith pre-confer-
ence, Aug. 12, on the eve of the 2006 Inter-
national AIDS Conference. An ecumenical
pre-conference was held Aug. 10-11.
FA IT H
in
ACTION
Promises have
been made that
give people
hope. ... These
words must be
of civil society at the UNGASS meeting in put into action.
June. This was not an easy task due to the Linda Hartke, Ecumenical
history of culture clashes between the faith Advocacy Alliance
community and the United Nations, he said.
Now the work is to figure out how to imple- Issue no. 1
ment solutions for the generations to come, Aug. 13, 2006
Piot said. He said that no technology is go-
Daily news and views on religious
ing to fix the pandemic; it is going to take responses to HIV and AIDS
social change by addressing social injustice. at the 16th International AIDS
To date the global response has been haphaz- Conference, Toronto, Canada. For
ard, acting in crisis mode. The time is now to more information and articles visit
www.e-alliance.ch/iac_2006.jsp
develop long-term sustainable strategies, he
said. Now is the time to focus on a common
purpose: saving lives and defeating AIDS.

In the beginning, faith-based organizations Stlsett, international co-president, Religions

engaged too slowly and in low numbers. for Peace, and co-chairperson, Leadership
But in the last four years the faith-based Program, International AIDS Conference,
organizations have contributed more than in noted that the faith-based
the previous 20 years, Piot said. community has the
opportunity to build
AIDS has broken down some taboos regard- upon centuries of
ing religion in the United Nations systems, religious wisdom
Piot said. He noted the critical role of the to do the work
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance in giving necessary to stop
faith-based organizations a voice as part (continued on page 2)
Take responsibility for the next generation
by Claudia Carthaus
Kay Warren was shocked when she at-
tended her first HIV and AIDS confer-
ence in Bangkok two years ago. As a
new advocate for people infected and
affected by HIV and AIDS, she was
shocked not only by how many people
she met that had different worldviews
and values than she did, she was shocked
by the despair at the conference.
Twenty-three years into the pandemic
there was not much hope expressed,
only a list of failures no vaccine, no
cure and millions of deaths and orphans.
Now, two years later, she says that her
participation at the ecumenical pre-con-
ference (Aug. 1011) has been an incred-
ible moment and blessing for her.
Kay Warren and her husband, Rick, do-
nate 90 percent of their income through
three foundations addressing HIV and
AIDS, poverty and church leadership
training. Rick Warren is a best-sell-
ing author and pastor at Saddleback
Church, a California congregation of
Kay and Rick Warren
more than 22,000 people. Kay Warren
is executive director of the HIV and
AIDS Initiative at Saddleback Church
and president of their Acts of Mercy
foundation.
Her wake-up call came four years ago
after reading an article about 12 mil-
lion AIDS orphans. It horrified her that
there could be that many orphans due
to anything. She began to learn about
HIV and AIDS and talk to experts. She
began talking to her husband, and her
passion became a passion for him as well.
Much of their focus is on strengthen-
ing local churches capacity to care for
those in need. Through their PEACE
Plan, they are hoping to mobilize a
billion Christians around the world
through local churches, to care and take
responsibility for those infected and af-
fected by HIV and AIDS. Our goal is
to figure out simple ways that everyone
can do something, Rick Warren said.
Every person has to care about HIV
and AIDS, Kay Warren said. If we
dont, it will just continue to gallop un-
impeded into the next generation.
(Read more online about the Warrens at
www.e-alliance.ch/iac_2006.jsp.)

Read more online Pandemic breaks down barriers

Visit http://iac.e-alliance.ch/ for full stories (site includes articles in (continued from page 1)
French, Spanish and German) the AIDS pandemic. All religions have
Visit http://iac.e-alliance.ch/gallery for photos ethical stories that can be referenced by
faith-based coalitions as models of in-
spiration, he said.
Develop plans to prevent HIV
Too little for children, 25 transmission after natural The crisis has brought us together. The
years on disasters, churches told AIDS pandemic is bringing every faith
The next generation needs Natural disasters can leave together, and it shall ignite a new era in
prevention, treatment and care now pockets of the population more vulner- religious history, Stlsett stated.
to block the spread of HIV into able to HIV. Prevention must be part of
the future. emergency response. Although a tragedy, the AIDS pan-
demic has actually been a blessing in
disguise as it has helped break down
For women, it is not as Theology is slowing churches boundaries and barriers, between reli-
simple as ABC response to HIV and AIDS gions, in order to serve, Stlsett said.
The impact of HIV and AIDS Does the church have to aban- He suggested that the faith community
on women ties into their social, po- don all its morals? We have a call to now needs to move from dialogue to
litical and economic circumstances. make the love of God a real and tan- practice through cooperation, coordi-
ABC is a black-and-white approach in gible presence today. nation and unity of purpose.
a grey world.

Page 2
Global network of religious leaders to
be launched by Elly Wamari
The International Network of Religious
Leaders Living with or Personally Af-
fected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+)
will be officially unveiled Aug. 16 at the
XVI International AIDS Conference.
INERELA+ arises from a growing
need of a global platform for religious
leaders living with or personally af-
fected by HIV and AIDS to coordinate
activity for eliminating stigma and dis-
crimination, said the Rev. Jap Heath.
Rev. Jap Heath
INERELA+ will be an advocacy
agency working for the rights of people
living with HIV, and will move actively
towards breaking stigma and discrimi-
nation, and challenge action or inaction
around HIV and AIDS, Heath said.
We have a number of people around
the world who are already speaking of
themselves as INERELA+ members,
even though we havent launched it for-
mally, he revealed.
Heath is the General Secretary of the
African Network of Religious Leaders
Living with or Personally Affected by
HIV and AIDS (ANERELA+), from
which INERELA+ has been born.
Formed about three years ago and pri-
marily aimed at challenging stigma
and discrimination, ANERELA+ has
experienced a dramatic growth from
only three people to an active network
with more than 1,500 members and re-
gional representation in 13 countries
across the continent.
As we grew in Africa, we became
increasingly aware of religious lead-
ers around the world, who were in the
same position we were in, Heath said.
Later, there were open calls for us to
expand this concept more broadly than
Africa. That, really, is the concept from
which INERELA+ has developed.
Heath noted that one of the major stum-
bling blocks in fighting HIV and AIDS
around the world is still stigma and
discrimination, which has kept people
from knowing their status, from ac-
cessing treatment and care and from
adjusting their behavior.
If we are going to make any future in-
roads into HIV and AIDS it is spe-
cifically stigma and discrimination that
we are going to have to overcome as a
first step.
CHECK IT OUT
Interfaith prayer room
Sun. Aug. 13; 13:00-21:00
Mon. Aug. 14 - Thurs. Aug. 17;
08:00-19:00
Fri. Aug. 18; 08:00-14:00
North Building, Room 103A
Joint faith-based exhibit
Sun. Aug. 13; 12:00-16:30
Mon. Aug. 14 - Thurs. Aug. 18;
10:15-18:30
Exhibit area A, Booth number 475
Multifaith networking zone
Sun. Aug. 13; 08:30-18:00
Mon. Aug. 14 - Thurs. Aug 17;
08:30-20:30
Fri. Aug. 18; 08:30-12:00
Global Village, just inside the
entrance
Keep the promise - Letters to
the World exhibit
Ongoing
South Building, Level 600
Concurrent sessions - Religion
and new leadership: the challenge
to deliver
(World Conference of Religions
for Peace; Ecumenical Advocacy
Alliance)
Mon. Aug. 14; 10:45-12:15
South Building, Session Room 2,
Level 800
Page 3
Faith in action: Keeping the promise
by Frank Imhoff
Keeping promises is an attribute of faith that can and must
be applied as people respond to HIV and AIDS and their
many related issues. Speakers challenged the 500 partici-
pants of the ecumenical and interfaith pre-conferences,
Faith in Action: Keeping the Promise, to assess their
own work while advocating for people living with HIV and
AIDS.
If our generation does not step up to the plate and recog-
nize and act on the fact that we are sisters and brothers to
all who suffer, then we risk the loss of more than fortune,
culture and a way of life. We risk having our very human
identity slip between our fingers. Sister Patricia Talone,
Catholic Health Association, St. Louis, USA
We, the faith communities, are the people who are called by
God to be the caregivers, the hands, the heart, the ears, the
eyes, the feet of God in the world. The Rev. Jap Heath,
African Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Per-
sonally Affected by HIV and AIDS (ANERELA+), Johan-
nesburg, South Africa
Faith leaders should actively involve people living with HIV
in developing workplace policies, liturgies or working to
launch initiatives to tackle AIDS. Andy Seale, Joint Unit-
ed Nations Programme for HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS)
Davids biblical response to Goliath is like the response to
HIV and AIDS. God has already provided the resources,
and people of faith must reconfigure the battlefield and use
those resources to slay the giant. The Rev. Adam Taylor,
Sojourners, Washington, D.C.
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People of faith from all religions need to discern their com-
mon values and join hands for this common endeavor, to
eliminate stigma and discrimination, to stop the further
spread of HIV and to provide compassionate, non-judgmen-
tal care, support and treatment for all those affected by the
pandemic. Father Alex Vadakumthala, Catholic Bishops
Conference of India, New Delhi
I publicly promise to stand in solidarity with you and let
the commitments made here and articulated here shape my
leadership and my rhetoric. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Lu-
theran World Federation and Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America, Chicago, USA
We are responding to Tim and Freds lives. Bishop
Albert Frederick Mutti, United Methodist Church, Kansas
City, Missouri, USA, shared his experiences and those of
his wife, Etta Mae, as two of their sons died of AIDS-related
illnesses. Through the Global AIDS Fund, the couple is
working to keep their churchs promise and their personal
promise.
Before I was HIV positive, I stigmatized. I know that I can
say that the stigmatizer does not know when they are stig-
matizing. The Rev. Patricia Sawo, ANERELA+, Kitale,
Kenya, focused on the promise many churches have made to
do away with the stigma and discrimination linked to HIV
and AIDS.
Views expressed in this bulletin are not necessarily those of the
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance.
Produced by the Ecumenical Media Team, media@e-alliance.ch, Mobile: 1.416.825.2256
Photos, stories, audio and video available for free use with attribution at
www.e-alliance.ch/iac_2006.jsp.
The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is a broad international network of churches and
Christian organizations cooperating in advocacy on global trade and HIV and AIDS.
Cover photo Jedrzej Chelminski/EAA, remaining photos Melissa Engle/EAA
Interfaith AIDS ribbon logo donated by Andy Marino / Marinodesign LLC