PRNewswire - December 28, 2006

Nearly 200 faith, civic, and public leaders from Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, and beyond, shouted "Amen!" as the Rt. Reverend Dr. Vashti Murray McKenzie redefined bravery in the age of HIV/AIDS.

McKenzie, the first female bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, told her colleagues that "brave" used to be walking into your kindergarten class for the first time by yourself, trying out for a team, or going on a job interview. But brave in the era of HIV has a new meaning.

"Brave today is getting tested for AIDS. Brave is getting someone you love to be tested before entering into a sexual commitment with them. Brave is continuing to live when everyone expects you to die."

And brave is tackling the difficult subject of HIV/AIDS in African American churches -- the spiritual home to many of those most at risk of getting HIV.

Quoting from "the Gospel of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes," Bishop McKenzie urged the crowd to be brave and bring the fight against HIV home to their congregations: "Wake up, everybody, no more sleepin' in bed. No more backward thinking, time for thinking ahead!"

Just like the definition of "brave," the face of AIDS has changed dramatically in the 25 years since the first cases were reported. As Assistant U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Deborah Parham Hopson told the crowd, "AIDS has created an unholy alliance with the poor and with people of color."

In particular, HIV/AIDS poses a major threat to young Black women. In 2002, AIDS was the leading cause of death among African American women between the ages of 25-34.

Vivian Berryhill, President and Founder of the NCPS, and lead organizer for the Memphis event, said "The church is the obvious choice to carry messages about HIV prevention, testing, and treatment to young African American women, who are at growing risk for infection. Women are the backbone of the church and it is our responsibility to give them the information they need to protect themselves and those they love."

The Reverend Dr. Kenneth Robinson, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health and pastor of St. Andrew AME Church in Memphis, TN, echoed both McKenzie and Berryhill. "We have to get our heads out of the sand and overcome a sense of helplessness when it comes to this disease, even if that means reconciling our own theological beliefs."

A number of pastors said they planned to take an HIV test as a way of fighting the stigma of the virus and encouraging their parishioners to get tested themselves.

"HIV is a disease, not a sin," Michele Daniels, a patient advocate for a local AIDS service organization, told the crowd. She was met with another hearty "Amen!"

For more information about this event and HIV/AIDS in the Tri-State Region, please visit http://www.worldaidsday2006.org or call the National Coalition of Pastors' Spouses at (901) 683-8136.

SOURCE National Coalition of Pastors' Spouses

http://www.worldaidsday2006.org

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PR061244

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