The church's response to AIDS.

Editor's note: In response to our cover story last month on AIDS in Africa, many people have inquired about what the Presbyterian Church is doing and how they can help. We invited Karen Plater of Presbyterian World Service and Development to write an article about the church's work and where donations may be sent.

African partners of the Presbyterian Church have witnessed the impact of HIV/AIDS on their work and ministry. All Africans have been profoundly affected by this disease. They have seen people dying in their churches and communities, a staggering rise in the number of orphans and the economic toll on their communities. For many partners of the church, the decision to tackle issues around the subject of AIDS has not been easy. However, the effects the pandemic is having on families and communities have compelled them to act.

We have encouraged our partners' efforts to stop this pandemic. Through international ministries, the church has provided staff to work alongside partners on AIDS projects. Grants from Presbyterian World Service and Development and Live the Vision have helped fund education, community health and development programs. The church also speaks out ecumenically on AIDS issues in Canada and elsewhere through PWS&D's membership in the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development and the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance.

The General Assembly has also made statements on AIDS in 1997 and 2000, urging partner churches to promote AIDS education and prevention. The Assembly encourages churches to provide complete and accurate information on AIDS, emphasizing that sexual intercourse should be confined to marriage and advocating the use of condoms for individuals who go against the teaching of the church and engage in extramarital intercourse. Since 2002, the international affairs committee, PWS&D and international ministries have worked together to produce worship resources on AIDS for the Sunday closest to World AIDS Day (December 1).

The church has also helped African churches work on this issue. In November 2001, PWS&D helped sponsor the World Council of Churches global consultation on AIDS in Nairobi, Kenya. This brought African churches and development agencies together to work on a comprehensive ecumenical response to AIDS in Africa. At the consultation, the churches engaged in self-criticism, repentance and mutual challenge to deepen their commitment and change their practices with respect to AIDS. At the heart of the consultation was a renewed sense of the call to stop being part of the problem and to start acting boldly in the face of the pandemic.

RELATED ARTICLE: How you can help

* Pray for those infected and affected by AIDS and for the committed workers who minister to them.

* Contribute to Presbyterians Sharing and PWS&D to help support AIDS work. Send contributions to: 50 Wynford 51) The proportion of an oral or intravenous dose of prednisolone recovered in breast milk is less than 0.1%. (351-353) For maternal doses of at least 20 mg once or twice daily the nursing infant is exposed to minimal amounts of steroid with no clinically significant risk. (351-353) 2+ 3

[C] Encourage women with asthma to breast feed.

[C] Use asthma medications as normal during lactation, in line with manufacturer's recommendations.

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