ELCA Bishops Participate in HIV Screening

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Hoping to encourage other church leaders
and lessen the stigma and discrimination that often surrounds HIV
and AIDS, most members of the Conference of Bishops of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) participated in HIV
screening March 5 here at the Lutheran Center.
The ELCA Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the
church, consisting of bishops who lead the 65 synods of the ELCA,
plus the ELCA presiding bishop and ELCA secretary. The
conference met March 5-10 here and in Itasca, Ill.
At least 56 members of the conference were screened, said
the Rev. Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl, ELCA Office of the Presiding
Bishop. One or more bishops were screened prior to the meeting,
and a few were not able to attend, she said.
Staff with Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge,
Ill., supervised the screening, done with an oral swab. Results
will be reported to members' physicians. Bishops contributed more
than $500 toward making screening available to others.
The conference agreed to the screening last October.
Through screening, members said they could raise awareness about
AIDS-related issues including prevention, testing, treatment,
care, stigma and discrimination. The conference also wanted the
testing to call attention to a proposed churchwide HIV and AIDS
strategy, to be considered by the ELCA Church Council later this
month.
"I hope that (the bishops) create awareness in their own
synods and with their global companions that they indeed
participated in the testing, and in that way raise awareness of
the concern both locally and globally," said the Rev. Paul Stumme-
Diers, bishop, ELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod, and chair of the
conference's Ministry Among People in Poverty (MAPP) committee,
which proposed the testing.
The Rev. Marie C. Jerge, bishop, ELCA Upstate New York
Synod, Camillus, and vice chair of the conference, said HIV and
AIDS is an important subject to her because the synod maintains a
companion relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Zimbabwe. The synod has been working with the Zimbabwe church on
HIV prevention and supporting AIDS orphans, she said.
"It's also part of (helping) to raise awareness in our own
communities," Jerge said. "This is one way we can make that kind
of a witness." She added she hopes the ELCA Conference of
Bishops' action will influence others, including bishops of the
United Methodist Church, which expressed an interest in doing
something similar.
Reflecting on the experience, the Rev. Jon V. Anderson,
bishop, ELCA Southwestern Minnesota Synod, Redwood Falls, said,
"I'm haunted by the memory of fresh graves in huge fields."
He explained, "We visited a big church of our companion
church body, the southeastern diocese of South Africa. We were
looking out into the field. I asked, 'Is this one of the fields
that you need help working on with agricultural issues?' The
(local) bishop said, "No, it's full of dead bodies, Jon.' People
from nearby communities had begun to bury loved ones there. He
took me and showed me this."
Anderson said he believes that through the conference's HIV
testing, it will help other religious leaders lead their people
to be tested, address stigma, break through fear, and deepen
understanding of HIV and AIDS. Ultimately he hopes the ELCA
bishops' example will encourage others to work to prevent HIV and
care for people with HIV.
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, also
participated in the screening.
---
Audio of Bishop Stumme-Diers is at
http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/090316a.mp3
Audio of Bishop Jerge is at
http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/090316b.mp3
Audio of Bishop Anderson is at
http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/090316c.mp3

Information about the ELCA's response to HIV and AIDS is at
http://www.ELCA.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Poverty-
Ministries/HIV-and-AIDS.aspx on the ELCA Web site.


For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog