AIDS and the Power
of God's Goodness and Grace
A Responsive Reading
By Cathie Lyons
In remembrance of Terry L. Boyd, a member of Lafayette United
Methodist Church in St. Louis who died on April 27, 1990, and all
persons who have died from the complications of HIV/AIDS.
- LEADER:
- We gather in the name of the crucified and risen Christ
- THE PEOPLE:
- Over whom death had no power and through whom there is life eternal.
- LEADER:
- We gather as a remembering and a caring community
- THE PEOPLE:
- A community of faith and hope united by God's love.
- LEADER:
- We come to give thanks for those we love
- THE PEOPLE:
- Those who have cared for us. Those who have brought joy to our
lives. Those we love and pray to be reunited with when the time is
right.
- LEADER:
- God calls to us
- THE PEOPLE:
- To care for one another, to be compassionate and merciful.
- LEADER:
- We celebrate God's goodness and grace
- THE PEOPLE:
- In the love we give, receive and remember.
- LEADER:
- We experience God's goodness and grace
- THE PEOPLE:
- Through arms that embrace us when we are filled with fear.
- LEADER:
- God bless those who care
- THE PEOPLE:
- Bless and sustain those who care for the living and the dying: who
search for cures, therapies and vaccines. Those who respond day and
night to our tears, our desperation and our grief.
- LEADER:
- We are the creation of one Creator God
- THE PEOPLE:
- The child who cries is every child. The woman weakened and tired is
every mother, wife, sister, daughter. The man is every father,
husband, son and brother.
- LEADER:
- AIDS Leaves gaping wounds in the lives of those who have lost the
ones they love the most
- THE PEOPLE:
- God, give us the strength and courage to be present in the midst of loss.
- LEADER:
- Across the infinity of space and time a common heart beats in
every breast
- THE PEOPLE:
- Forbearing pain and clinging to hope we are brought to a deeper
understanding of our common humanity.
- LEADER:
- We are a family of nations united by our common priceless humanity
- THE PEOPLE:
- AIDS is a worldwide crisis in the midst of which there is no "we"
and "they".
- LEADER:
- We confess that we are all affected
- THE PEOPLE:
- When one of God's creation suffers we all suffer.
- LEADER:
- When our sons and daughters are touched
- THE PEOPLE:
- We remember Mary's agony over the suffering and death of her beloved child.
- LEADER:
- We know Jesus identifies with all who suffer
- THE PEOPLE:
- Through our faith in Him, healing and wholeness take place.
- LEADER:
- In AIDS ministry there is giving and receiving
- THE PEOPLE:
- Like a chalice filled and drained and filled again, we receive
Christ and have Christ to give.
- LEADER:
- When we care for a person who has AIDS we show that we love Christ
- THE PEOPLE:
- To touch, to bathe, to feed, to clothe the one who is ill is to do
this unto Christ Jesus.
- LEADER:
- Today we are called to be a joyful, thankful people
- THE PEOPLE:
- Upheld by God's goodness and grace which has the power to disarm AIDS.
- LEADER:
- In thankfulness we commit ourselves to being a caring,
justice-seeking, nurturing community
- THE PEOPLE:
- We covenant together in commitment to God and to one another.
- LEADER:
- We will be a caring community
- THE PEOPLE:
- We welcome into our community and our church all persons whose
lives have been touched by HIV and AIDS. We say to all: "You are
welcome here.".
- LEADER:
- We will be a justice-seeking community
- THE PEOPLE:
- We will opposed all forms of discrimination against persons with HIV
and AIDS. We support the right of all persons with HIV and AIDS to
housing, employment, services, transportation, accommodations and
health care.
- LEADER:
- We will be a nurturing community
- THE PEOPLE:
- We will care for one another and love one another. We will pray for
God's creation. We will be Christ's presence in each other's lives.
We will be witnesses to God's unconditional love.
- LEADER:
- Through Christ's example we are made finer, gentler, stronger
- THE PEOPLE:
- Through Christ, the Savior, and the power of God's goodness and grace
we are set free to love, to seek justice, to become all God intends us
to be.
This resource may be reprinted and/or adapted giving credit to Cathie
Lyons and the HIV/AIDS MINISTRIES NETWORK, Health and Welfare
Ministries, General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist
Church. From the December 1990 issue of the HIV/AIDS Ministries
Network Focus Paper.
AIDS memorials are published on CAM's web site as a free service to those who wish to remember loved ones and friends. They are personal statements by those who are bereaved and in their own words.
