Mr. John Lake and Pastor Randy Carty
The first of this month, December, marked Worlds Aid Day and Anguilla, which held the usual annual “Race Against AIDS”, organised by the Optimist Club, has gone a step further. The Anguilla Community Action Network (ACAN), formed seven years ago to assist HIV/AIDS infected and affected persons, got four churches involved in a joint Choir Fest and Thanksgiving Service with the rallying theme: “AIDS is not a death sentence. There is hope for its victims.”
The Choir Fest and Thanksgiving Service, held against a backdrop of much awareness and treatment of the disease, was part of a number of ongoing events. It was held at the Kingdom Citizens’ Church in The Valley, one of the four participating churches, on Thursday, December 5. The others were the Dominion Faith Centre and the New Testament Church (both of which were represented by their pastors and congregations) and Word of Life Ministry (whose representative was Pastor Williams who delivered the sermon). He made the point that while some diseases might be incurable, “there was no greater hope than that found in the word of God.” He also declared that “AIDS is not a death sentence. There is hope.”
The Pastor of the Kingdom Citizens’ Church is Mr Randy Carty who moderated the service. He has been in that position for the past fifteen months. Apart from his ministerial calling, he is a Graduate Teacher at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School and is Head of the Humanities Department.The Anguillianasked him to put the Choir Fest and Thanksgiving Service into context.
“It was to promote an awareness that persons living with HIV/AIDS ought not to be stigmatised,” he stated. “They are not different from anyone else and, as such, we should do everything within our power to make sure that they are made to feel comfortable in society and live a long and fruitful life.
“The message of the church ought to be one of hope. Christ gives hope and we will do everything within our powerto make sure that that message is conveyed to the people of Anguilla. I am the Chaplin of ACAN and, as such, I have already told Mr John Lake [the President] that our pulpit and doors are open; that whenever he wants to share something, or whatever message he wants to convey, this church is open to that.”
Speaking following the sermon, Mr Lake said in part: “This service is preparing the churches of Anguilla to stand up and fight against stigma and discrimination with respect to persons infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. In January, Pastor Dexter Welcome of the Dominion Faith Centre will be the facilitator in bringing pastors together to proclaim that HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence, but you can live a long, productive and healthy life.”
Mrs MaezaDemis-Adams, Director of the National Aids Programme, quoted the Secretary General of the United Nations as saying in his 2013 World Aids Day message: “I am more optimistic than ever. Much of the world is accelerating progress in responding to HIV. There are significant decreases in new infections and deaths, and we are making good progress in realising our target of ensuring 15 million people have access to antiretroviral treatment by 2015.”
Mrs Demis-Adams added: “World AIDS Day is everyday for me. It is the nature of the job. World AIDS Day for me is a time when we recognise our successes and commitment to saving even more lives. Now, more than ever, hopefulness is being fuelled by landmark scientific advances coupled with successes in implementing effective programmes.
“We are at a point where an AIDS-free generation is in sight. This region is positioned to be the first region in the world to eliminate thevertical transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis by 2015.
“The successes that we have seen were only possible through God’s mercies and so the Choir Fest is only fitting.”-
