This message was developed and brought by the Commission for
Church in Society to the ELCA Church Council, where it was affirmed
on November 13, 1988.
In the presence of the human suffering, anxiety and tragedy
in the AIDS crisis, we commit ourselves anew to the ministry of
caring. The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America recognizes with gratitude the service of those who care for
people with AIDS and their loved ones. It urges church members to
support this ministry and to serve those who are suffering with
respect and compassion.
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), often with an
intensity greater than many diseases, calls us to remember our
common humanity. The suffering of persons with AIDS demonstrates
anew that life for all is vulnerable, limited, and broken, yet also
graced with courage, hope and reconciliation. As a disease that
affects women, men and children around the world, it shows how
closely we are bound together in relationships of mutual trust,
need and responsibility.
The church's ministry of caring is a grateful response to God's
caring for us. The undeserved love of God announced for all in the
Gospel of Jesus Christ is our reason for standing with our neighbor
in need. Jesus responded graciously to persons who were sick
without assessing their merit. In the same way we are called to "be
Christs" for all in our midst who suffer and are ill. Our calling
summons us to compassion for, acceptance of and service with people
affected by AIDS both within and outside of our congregations.
This ministry of caring requires that we be well-informed about
the nature of AIDS. We urge our members to read the Surgeon
General's brochure "Understanding AIDS," and we encourage our
congregations to discuss the subject in their educational programs.
Knowledgeable and sensitive Christians are needed to help counter
the prejudice and injurious discrimination that people with AIDS
experience. Wise and informed people are needed to participate in
the complex public policy debates surrounding the disease.
This ministry of caring challenges us to support efforts in the
churches and in the wider community that serve those with AIDS,
their friends and families. We will continue to encourage nurses,
doctors, caregivers and pastors who witness to God's grace in their
daily ministry with people with AIDS.
This ministry of caring embraces the hospitality of our
congregational life, whose center is worship. There through Word
and Sacrament the Holy Spirit offers to all the comfort and the
hope of the victorious God of the cross. There persons who suffer
come to know that they are not forgotten, since God cares. There we
participate in the concerns and care of the sick through prayer,
the laying on of hands and services of healing. United by baptism,
all are invited to receive the touch of care. "Welcome one another,
therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God" (Rom
15:7).
Copyright © 1989 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Produced by the Department for Studies, Commission for Church in
Society. Permission is granted to reproduce this document as needed
provided each copy carries the copyright notice printed above.