Tag Archives: AIDS

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The “C” in Church is for Controversy…(Shout out to Prince Rogers Nelson)

Hello World, 

Well, this week in church news has been a doozy…and it kind of reminds me of the lyrics in Prince’s song “Controversy.” Below is an excerpt of the lyrics…

I just can’t believe All the things people say, controversy Am I black or white? Am I straight or gay? Controversy…

And Prince even references “The Lord’s Prayer” in the rest of the song…And this verse also reminds me of a few verses in Matthew 10.

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

In this verse and the verses that follow, Jesus basically says that your faith in God will cause you to be involved in some controversy and with this in mind, a run-down of the controversial church news of the week…

1. We’ve all heard about the Chick-fil-A controversy…Here is one take on it…“Eat Mor ChiKin’: Black Church Group Comes Out to Support Chick-Fil-A” (Politics365)

2. Some church controversy is happening over in Jackson, Mississippi too…“Black Couple Says White Church Banned Wedding: Crystal Springs Mayor ‘Heartbroken'” (ClarionLedger.com)

3. All is not awry in Mississippi…The state’s first black bishop in the United Methodist Church has been named..“Methodists Laud 1st Black Bishop” (ClarionLedger.com)

4. Contraception controversy…“81 Percent of Blacks and Hispanics Say They Can Hold Different Opinion on Contraception Than Church and Be Considered Good Christians” (Huffington Post)

5. More controversy on the black church and AIDS…“Maker of film on the black church and AIDS probes tension between faith and knowledge” (Washington Post)

6. In more “first black” news, some racial controversy at Duke University…Well, this is not a controversial story, but it would have been years ago as Duke University named its first black dean of its chapel…“Duke Names New Dean of Chapel” (Newsobserver.com)

7. Church Kidnapping Controversy…“Fake Church Kidnapping: Pennsylvania Pastor, Church Charged With False Imprisonment” (Huffington Post)

Yes, it was definitely a controversial church news week…Let the church say amen!

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

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Pastors Rap to Invite People “Back to Church,” “Fifty Shades of Grey” replaces Bibles and other religious news…

Hello World,

I love it when churches of all sizes, cultures and denominations come together with innovative ideas to benefit the church nationwide and even worldwide! Churches all across the country are preparing for “National Back to Church Sunday,” on Sept. 16. “National Back to Church Sunday” is a community outreach program designed to invite the nation back to church! The program is supported by LifeWay Research, outreach.com, churchleaders.com and sermoncentral.com. Churches that participate receive tools and information to invite friends, family members and neighbors back to church. Also, churches are also encouraged to reach out to people who have never been to church before!

From backtochurch.com:

  • Although 83 percent of American adults identify themselves as Christians, only about 20 percent attend church on any given Sunday.
  • Studies show that 82% of unchurched people would attend if someone invited them! Yet fewer than 2% of Christians ever invite an unchurched person! National Back to Church Sunday was designed to change that.
  • Last year 7600 churches participated from 34 denominations and together gave millions of invitations to church. It’s amazing to hear the testimonies of record attendance and the number of people that came to Christ through this powerful weekend. Churches responding to a post-event survey welcomed an average of 34 new visitors and increase of 25.4 percent in attendance. Survey results also show that 96% of participating churches would take part in Back to Church Sunday again.
  • Since the initiative began in 2009, “National Back To Church Sunday” has seen increased success. Some 3,800 churches participated in 2010.
  • It’s free – You can sign up your church for free on the roster. There are optional resources available to help you plan and equip your members to invite your community.
  • “Our church almost broke the attendance record for the year and we beat Easter service. Definitely worth doing and pursuing.”–Northgate Wesleyan Church
  • “We broke all our previous attendance records with 145 people including 20-30 first time visitors. That’s an increase of 70% over our normal Sunday attendance. There were multiple commitments/renewals and several others who requested more information about the church. ‘Back to Church Sunday’ is one of the most successful outreach events we have ever hosted.”–Victory Christian Church

And I love this rap video with pastors inviting people back to church, and it’s not even corny  🙂 …It’s actually hilarious!

So if you have stopped going to church, why? And would you come if someone invited you? If you have never been to church, would you come if someone invited you?

In other religious news, seems like folk in the U.K. are losing their religion as a hotel in England is replacing the Bible with “Fifty Shades of Grey!” (Clutching my faux pearls! If you haven’t heard of the book, it’s a trilogy of erotic books that have been referred to as “mommy porn.”) I wonder what the Gideons (the organization responsible for putting Bibles in hotel rooms nationwide and even in other parts of the world) have to say about this! Read the story on msn.com.

Finally, the NAACP has developed a manual to help black church leaders speak with their congregants about HIV and AIDS, which haven’t been a topic for open discussion in the black church. According to “The Washington Post,” “African-Americans make up almost half of all new HIV infections, and blacks are less likely to get treatment and more likely to die of complications from AIDS than any other race.” Read the entire article at “The Washington Post.”

Any thoughts?

 

 

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Act Against AIDS appears at FSO (For Sisters Only)

Hello World,

From left to right, Melyssa Ford, Shanebrae Price, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Robert E. Bailey II & Dr. Kathleen Green Ruth

Yesterday, I attended the 20th year celebration of “For Sisters Only,” which is hosted by V-103 and WAOK radio stations. It’s hard to believe that I started going to this event( a cornucopia of businesses, exhibits, concerts, celebrities and more directed toward women) as a recent college graduate, and it is still going strong! I remember being so excited when one year I literally ran into Dré of OutKast, and he took a picture with me. Back then, he could freely walk around without too much of a ruckus…but that was back in the day when I was young, I’m not a kid anymore…don’t act…you know the lyrics 🙂

And since I have grown up since then, I’m not as drawn to the celebrity/concert component of FSO….I’m more drawn to the activism component of this great event now. So I decided to attend a HIV/AIDS panel discussion moderated by Robert E. Bailey II of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The panel discussion was held as a part of Act Against AIDS, a five-year national communication campaign launched by the CDC and the White House to combat complacency about the HIV/ AIDS crisis in the United States.

Robert E. Bailey II speaking with the audience.

The panel discussion included actor and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph, who is an AIDS activist in her own right and my soror; model Melyssa Ford, Shanebrae Price, an HIV Prevention outreach specialist with SisterLove Inc. and Dr. Kathleen Green Ruth with the CDC. The discussion was held on the main stage just before the concerts kicked off so many younger people had started congregating –  a prime opportunity to have a real discussion about HIV/AIDS prevention.

Some of the startling statistics revealed in the panel discussion:

  • Although the annual number of new HIV infections has remained stable overall from 2006 to 2009, there was an estimated 21 percent increase in HIV incidence for people aged 13-29 years old.
  • About a million people are living with HIV, and one in five of them don’t even know they are affected.
  • About half of the million of people living with HIV are black.

Some of the helpful initiatives and tools revealed in the discussion:

Price told the audience about Healthy Love parties the organization hosts with small groups of women in various settings to discuss HIV/AIDS prevention. Price said she helps the women to learn their ABCs. A is for Abstinence as complete abstinence from sex is a surefire way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. And if you cannot be abstinent, she advocates choosing option B which stands for being faithful or monagamous in a committed relationship. And if you choose option B, you must also choose C for constant, consistent and correct condom use.

Ford said she carries around her status papers with her and has launched a non-profit organization LESS (Literacy, Etiquette, Strength, Self) is More to educate young women formally and informally abour various issues such as HIV/AIDs prevention.

Ralph said that although the AIDS Memorial Quilt, a quilt which includes the names of

Of course, I had to get the soror shot in...lol...Sorors Holness & Lee Ralph on deck...

those who have lost their lives to AIDS, is 55 miles long, only a half of a mile of the quilt is dedicated to people of color. She advised audience members to go to aidsquilt.org to have the names of their loved ones added.

For more information, please go to Act Against AIDS.

Any thoughts?