Lost my wireless connection and didn't get to post part 2 of the blog from Friday morning. I've got a lot more to write about this but some more processing and now some rest are in order. We're back in Fresno...
During this morning’s session on the “Feminization of HIV”, a woman from Saddleback church shared her story about being assaulted and raped and consequently HIV positive and later developing AIDS. Her story was remarkable in that she has been able to survive and now has two grandchildren thanks to the ARV drugs. The most heartbreaking part of the story though was when she shared that she had been asked to step down from the choir at her church and her husband had to give up being a Royal Ranger commander. Not only was her story unbearably sad but that perked our ears up because she was clearly talking about an AG church discriminating against someone with AIDS. Horrible, unacceptable and disgusting behavior. No excuses for that and I’m embarrassed to be a part of an organization that would act that way. She did share that being diagnosed had led her into depression and alcohol abuse, so maybe that was related in some way. However, like I said, no excuse for that. I don’t often encounter situation where I feel compelled to claim the moral high ground and browbeat others. I fail people every day but that there has been a systemic failure on the part of churches, including our own assembly, to adequately love, support and care for those living with HIV/AIDS.
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