DALLAS, Texas –– UM Men are encouraged to "lighten the burden" of men and women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Joe Boatman, president of UM Men in the Central Texas Annual Conference, was one of the 170 participants in “Lighten the Burden III,” the third international AIDS conference held Oct. 14-16 in Dallas.

The stigma

“One of the problems highlighted by the conference was the stigma issue in both the U.S. and other parts of the world,” said Boatman.

To illustrate the reluctance of churches to accept persons affected by HIV/AIDS, Minerva G. Carcaño, bishop of the Phoenix Area, told the assembly about a New Mexico woman who after years of service stopped coming to church. After visiting the woman, Bishop Carcaño found out that the woman’s grandson was dying with HIV/AIDS.

“I love my church, but I know [church members].  I know what they think of him, although they never met him,” she told the bishop.

“The bishop asked us the same question she was asked by friends of the woman’s son who eventually lost his life to HIV/AIDS: ‘Do you think the church will ever accept us?’” reported Boatman. "

Need for education

Many churches accept that HIV/AIDS exists in places like Sub-Saharan Africa, but are not willing to see or accept HIV/AIDS in their local church communities.

“We need to provide age-appropriate sex education,” said Boatman. “Many people think we have developed a cure for AIDS. We have developed drugs to help people live longer, but there is no cure, and a lot of people are not using any protection so the rate of infection is now the same as it was in the 1980s.”

The Rev. Dr. Donald E. Messer, executive director of the Center for the Church and Global AIDS and chair of the UM Global AIDS Fund Committee, is encouraging United Methodists to participate in “20/20: Visioning an AIDS-Free World.”  The financial campaign encourages every United Methodist to commit $20 a year until the year 2020 to support global HIV/AIDS projects. He hopes the campaign will change the HIV lens of the church.

About Lighten the Burden III

The purpose of Lighten the Burden III is to help create an AIDS-free world through ACTION—advocacy, combating HIV, training, increasing awareness, overcoming apathy, and nurturing a Christ-centered and church-oriented global health initiative. The conference offered participants practical ways to get involved in HIV/AIDS education, advocacy, prevention, and awareness, as well as mobilize and influence their communities through action.

United Methodist Global AIDS Fund

From January to September, 2010, the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund approved over $488,000 to fund 40 projects in 20 countries around the world. Since 2005, the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund has supported 175 AIDS-related projects in 37 countries throughout Asia, Latin American, the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa. The fund, established at the 2004 General Conference, is helping to reduce the spread of this deadly disease through prevention, education, counseling and community outreach programs.

The role of the church

“What is the role of the church?” asked Boatman. “Are we going to sit on our hands or are we going to be the hands of Christ in the world?” He encourages UM Men to support the UM Global AIDS Fund, UMCOR Advance #982345.