African-American HIV/AIDS Resource Center: HIV & Black Churches

Rev. Alberta Ware

Rev. Ware is the former director of church and community mobilization at the pioneering Balm in Gilead. Founded in New York City in 1989 by Pernessa Seele, the Balm in Gilead has done more than any other organization to open the doors of African-American churches to HIV education and prevention as well as acceptance and care for people with AIDS. Its annual Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS has grown into a globe-spanning event, encouraging Christian institutions to offer services ranging from sermons on compassion for PWAs to HIV testing of congregations.
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Bishop Kwabena Rainey Cheeks

Many black religious figures have been slow to address the growing HIV epidemic among African Americans, but Bishop Cheeks is not one of them. The onetime steam fitter and tae kwon do expert joined the ministry in 1982; when he was diagnosed with HIV several years later, AIDS advocacy became a natural fit. His unique background has put him in a position to do a world of good: Helping turn the church into a desperately needed source of support and compassion for HIV-positive African Americans, as well as a source of education and understanding for African Americans at risk.
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An ever-growing number of churches in African-American communities are making an effort to embrace HIV-positive people and become part of the HIV prevention effort. Every year, more churches create AIDS ministries and make certain their doors are wide open to people with HIV; more pastors make HIV a vital part of their gospel; more congregations get involved in prevention and testing in order to stop the spread of HIV in their communities; and more church members challenge one another to question, and dismiss, their prejudices.

Are you HIV positive and looking for a church where you can feel at home? Are you a member of a church and would like to set up an AIDS ministry, or get your place of worship more involved in the fight against HIV? Use the tools on this page to find the answers you're looking for. Also be sure to read our one-on-one interviews with African-American religious figures at the forefront of the U.S. fight against HIV.

Tools | Resources | Interviews

Tools

For the Healing of AIDS: 52 Week Church Bulletin Meditation (1st Quarter) (PDF)
Meditations from the Balm in Gilead that can be used in church bulletins or during service readings throughout the year to "heighten" the awareness of HIV, and to start and/or continue the life-saving conversation about HIV/AIDS

We Will Break The Silence! - PrayerBook - A Collection of Liturgical Resources for the Healing of AIDS (PDF)

The Faith in Prevention Training Manual:
Tools For Your HIV/AIDS Ministry
To read PDF, click here.

Resources

Balm in Gilead
One excellent place to find a friendly church is Balm in Gilead. For 19 years, this organization has mobilized The Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS, which engages Black churches to become centers for education, compassion and care in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS is taking place this year March 2-8, 2008. For more on this, click here.

To find a church in Balm in Gilead's HIV/AIDS Network, click here. Or use this map.

Council of Religious AIDS Networks, AIDS Ministries

Recommendations for Churches Building HIV Ministries

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2008:
"Faith Communities of Chicago Respond to AIDS"
Call to Commitment (PDF)

Interviews

Rev. Alberta Ware

Bishop Kwabena Rainey Cheeks

Rev. Jimmy Myers

Got comments? Want to share your story? Tell us what you think!