Chicago Tribune (CT) - THURSDAY, May 2, 1996 Edition: MCHENRY COUNTY Section: MCHENRY COUNTY Page: 1 Word Count: 872
Patricia Tennison, Tribune Staff Writer

Her husband, Roger, took care of Jan while running their daughter Rachel, now 10, to piano lessons and drama practice. He squeezed in chores like grocery shopping after his daily commute to work in Chicago and dealt quietly with the pending death of his wife.

"The people at the church were stunned that we didn't share this and go to the church for help," Roger said.

Now, four months after Jan died at age 45, her church is taking a leadership role in McHenry County to reach out to those who are HIV-positive or have AIDS.

"In working with (the Schillers) and others, I discovered that families who are dealing with AIDS didn't feel welcome in churches. They felt that people would assume that the victim was gay or (church members) would have a general fear of AIDS," said Rev. Dan Larson, pastor of the Congregational Unitarian Church in Woodstock.

"We thought that it is important to make a public statement that people with AIDS are welcome and have access to regular services and programs," Larson said.

The public statement includes a list of churches under the heading of "HIV/AIDS pastoral support." The single sheet, which can be picked up in health-care service facilities with other literature on AIDS, last year had only four of the approximately 150 churches in the county listed. Now there are a dozen.

Grace Lutheran Church in Richmond doesn't have an active program on AIDS, but its pastor, Rev. Terry A. Dufur, added his church to the new list.

"It's a start," Dufur said. "And a good start."

In 1995, McHenry County had 111 cases of HIV-positive or AIDS. This may seem small compared with DuPage County (416 cases), Kane County (594) or Lake County (599). But the figures likely are deceptively low, officials say.

"There are problems with reporting," said Kathleen Michalak, chairman of the McHenry County Health Department's AIDS Task Force. "I may send someone with AIDS to a doctor, and I never get that name reported back."

Doctors don't want to breach any confidentiality, and people with concerns about AIDS typically want anonymity, Michalak said.

"I've had to meet people in a restaurant to hand them literature on AIDS. It's like doing a drug bust. They hide," she said.

Michalak will work with the McHenry County churches to develop an AIDS volunteer network.

"It's exciting to have a minister in a church working with us," she said.

"I think it's useful for the churches to say: 'It's OK. We're not going to turn you away,' " Michalak said.

That kind of acceptance is crucial to those who have AIDS, said Jackie Bulczak, 33, of Woodstock. Bulczak was diagnosed with AIDS three years ago and has been an active speaker in schools and at her church, St. Paul Episcopal Church in McHenry.

"AIDS is a moral issue," Bulczak said. "People make moral decisions about people who have AIDS. If the victim is a girl, they assume she's been sleeping around. If it's a guy, he's gay or on drugs. It's stereotyping."

"We need the churches to help debunk the myths," Bulczak said.

In some cases, the reception at the churches may be quiet, particularly if that's what the AIDS victim wants.

"Confidentiality is really important," said Rev. Mabel Rice, pastor of Hebron United Methodist Church in Hebron, which is listed as a source for HIV/AIDS pastoral support.

"When you reach out, you want to feel comfortable that you've reached out where it's safe," she said.

Pastor Dufur agrees that many people may choose a quiet reception. "There's no question that there is still a stigma attached to AIDS," he said.

But talking to people and acknowledging AIDS is vital to dealing with the problem, Bulczak said.

Bulczak discovered she was HIV-positive when she had a blood test for an insurance policy. She's still not sure how she got the disease.

"It took me five months to be able to tell my family. Then it progressed to friends and working associates," she said.

"I don't think I met someone else who was HIV-positive until a year after I was diagnosed," she said. "It was really scary and really lonely."

Roger Schiller honored his wife Jan's request to keep quiet about her AIDS illness, which traced back to a blood transfusion. "A lot of the time, if you tell people you have a terminal illness, they kind of write you off," he said.

Jan also was concerned that people would shun their daughter, Rachel, even though she and her father are not HIV-positive, he said.

But Rachel has found no problems from friends since her mother died in December. "People know more about the disease now," the 10-year-old said. "People aren't as scared about it now."

CAPTION: PHOTO: Roger Schiller and daughter Rachel, 10, of Algonquin, are adjusting to life without his wife and her mother, Jan, who died of AIDS-related complications. Her illness was traced back to a blood transfusion. Tribune photo by Milbert Orlando Brown.

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