World Aids Day

“Where you live in the world should not determine whether you live in the world."

Musician and activist Bono stated this about 14 years during a TED talk. While most of us do not have a connection with Bono, besides the time his album appeared on everyone's iPhone in the mid-2000's (sorry U2 Fans), this is a profoundly true statement. Many of the life outcomes of those living in our world can be determined based off of where someone lives. Access to resources, support, and safety are often a toss-up based off the location of your birth. This is not how God designed the world, this is not how God desires for the world to exist! Every human has the infinite value of being a child of God; every part of creation is beloved and known by God. Yet, many of the systems of our world lack the capacity to see all lives having value and mattering. It is the revolutionary way of Jesus that calls us to live in such a way where we flip that system in favor of the Kingdom of God.

As a church we have a history of putting ourselves in a position to do this, whether it be supporting vision partners across the globe, supporting adoptive families, or pursuing racial equity. The mission of reconciliation is not new to us. Now a new opportunity comes before us, one that requires little to no effort for us to use our God-given tools and positions to advocate for change. On December 2nd we will honor World AIDS Day, a day of remembrance and solidarity with those afflicted with the AID/HIV disease. For years countries have banned together to fight this disease specifically in Africa, many of those years with the United States leading the charge. However, the leadership of the United States is deciding to no longer commit to supporting the fight against AIDS.

This is where we come in! We have a voice, influence, and power along with tens of thousands of other believers to stand up and call our leaders to support the effort to eradicate AIDS. We simply ask you would sign the petitions we will have provided on December 2nd which asks for support for PREPFAR, a bipartisan-supported fund that has been used to save literally millions of lives. Let's stand in the gap for the marginalized and in just a small way help bring the Kingdom that much closer to our reality.

Josh Riddick

Director of Intercultural Engagement