Station 10 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality”
by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud
World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 supports everyone affected by HIV. The day is dedicated to prevention and treatment, and honors those who died of AIDS -- more than 25 million people worldwide. Started in 1988, it was the first global health day for any disease.
With the Ebola virus spreading disease and panic this year, the lessons of compassion and healing learned in the AIDS pandemic are as timely as ever.
World AIDS Day holds great personal meaning for me. I lost many friends to AIDS when I was ministering in the LGBT community of San Francisco in the late 1980s. Back then there were no effective treatments and many gay men were dying of AIDS.
I wrote about some of my AIDS ministry experiences for Christian Century magazine in a now-classic article titled “We Are the Church Alive, the Church with AIDS.” The 1988 article, co-authored with Jim Mitulski, is reprinted in the book The Church with AIDS: Renewal in the Midst of Crisis
, edited by Letty Russell. 
AIDS is connected with the suffering of Christ in the painting of Station 10 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button. Jesus is stripped of his garments beside images of the AIDS virus. The round structure of the human immunodeficiency virus forms a halo around Jesus’ head. Jesus being stripped is a scene of loss… and the LGBT community lost thousands of people due to AIDS. Button matches scenes from Christ’s journey to Calvary with milestones from the last 100 years of LGBT history in her LGBT Stations series. For an overview of all 15 paintings in the series, see my article “LGBT Stations of the Cross shows struggle for equality.”
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Christ with Ants from the David Wojnarowicz video “A Fire in My Belly” |
A new book released in 2014, "Rebels Rebel: AIDS, Art and Activism in New York, 1979-1989" by Tommaso Speretta, looks at some of the many ways that AIDS sparked the creation of radical art demanding social change.
For those who want to learn about -- or remember -- what it was like, I recommend the 2011 documentary We Were Here
. With honesty and grace, the film examines the arrival and impact of AIDS on San Francisco. It focuses on give people who were there before and during the AIDS crisis and has lots of film documenting the LGBT experience in the San Francisco over the decades. For me everyone in the movie looked like someone I knew. ALL the faces were familiar! It seemed like I recognized every face, even though they were strangers. Watching the video is both heartbreaking and inspirational.A spiritual response it provided by the following AIDS prayer by Diann L. Neu, cofounder and codirector of the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER). It was published in Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and Celebrations
:____
One Person: Compassionate Holy One, open our hearts and minds and hands so that we may connect ourselves to the global community of others responding to AIDS as we pray:
We remember all the women, men, and children in this country and around the world who are living with AIDS.
All: Justice demands that we remember and respond.
One: We remember all who care for people living and dying with AIDS in their homes, in hospices, and in support centers.
All: Justice demands that we remember and respond.
One: We remember all who are involved in research and hospital care that they may respect the dignity of each person.
All: Justice demands that we remember and respond.
One: We remember all partners who are left mourning for their beloved ones.
All: Justice demands that we remember and respond.
One: We remember all parents who learn the truth of their children’s lives through their process of facing death….
We remain vigilant,
Until a cure for AIDS is found,
Until those dying with AIDS are comforted,
Until truth sets us free,
Until love drives out injustice.
We shall not give up the fight.
____
In memory of: Brian Dose, Rev. Ron Russell-Coons, Scott B, Stephen Clover, Richard O’Dell, Bruce Bunger, Scott Galuteria, Kevin Y, Harold O, Ric Hand, Paul Francis, Rev. Larry Uhrig, Rev. Jim Sandmire, David C, Wayne Mielke, Rev. Dan Mahoney, Bill Knox, Sue H, Tom, Jesse Oden, Jim Veilleux, John from Axios, Robert P, Daven Balcomb, Dave Eckert, Martin Lounsberry, Mark S, David Castagna, Kevin Calegari, Rev. Rick Weatherly, Don K, Michael Mank, David Ward, Rev. Howard Wells, Rev. Howard Warren, Ken Bland, Lanny Dykes, Rob Eichberg, Virgil Hall, Randy Cypherd, Charles Hosley... and all others who lost their lives to HIV and AIDS.
****
___More spiritual resources for World AIDS Day are available at:
World AIDS Day Campaign's Faith Advocacy Toolkit
World AIDS Day resources (Metropolitan Community Church)
World AIDS Day resources (United Church of Christ)
Interfaith AIDS Memorial Chapel at Grace Cathedral with Altarpiece by Keith Haring
___
Related links:
Christ’s torment and queer suffering: More on Wojnarowicz censorship (Jesus in Love)
http://jesusinlove.blogspot.com/2011/01/christs-torment-and-queer-suffering.html
Confronting Echoes Of The AIDS Hysteria As We Battle Ebola by Irene Monroe
Timeline: 30 Years of AIDS in Black America (PBS)
Santos Avertanus, Romeo, Bartolo y Vivaldo: Patronos de la pandemia del VIH/SIDA (Santos Queer)
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This post is part of the LGBT Calendar series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series celebrates religious and spiritual holidays, holy days, feast days, festivals, anniversaries, liturgical seasons and other occasions of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people of faith and our allies.
Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
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