Pastors from a state coalition formed to mentor African American churches in HIV/AIDS education efforts are disseminating HIV/AIDS Church Information Kits in concert with a massive push to get Black congregations tested for the disease.

Within the past year, the Statewide HIV/AIDS Church Outreach Advisory Board, comprising church leaders from Sacramento to San Diego, has distributed more than 800 HIV testing information kits to churches in California, which will enable pastors to encourage their congregants to get tested for HIV. The HIV/AIDS Church Information Kit is specially designed with life-saving information and resources on HIV testing and support services available in local communities. Church Information Kits will be distributed in preparation for World AIDS Day on December 1.

"Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS" is the theme for the World AIDS Campaign 2004. Through its focus on women and girls, the year-long campaign, culminating on World AIDS Day on December 1, aims to accelerate the global response to HIV and AIDS, preventing new infections, promoting equal access to treatment and mitigating the impact of AIDS.(1)

"Being involved in the challenge to educate and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS is vitally necessary," said Rev. Dr. Clyde W. Oden, Jr., pastor of Bryant Temple A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles and chair of the Church Outreach Advisory Board Working Committee. "It would be a sin and a crime not to do this work because so many in our communities are affected by this disease due to a lack of understanding and education."

In partnership with the California Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS, this volunteer advisory board comprising clergy works with local health organizations and other churches to provide tools to educate congregations about HIV/AIDS in a manner that is sensitive to the Black church community.

One of the tools created was "Healing Begins Here: A Pastor's Guidebook for HIV/AIDS Ministry Through the Church," which provides theologically sound approaches to building an HIV/AIDS ministry within Black churches. The Church Outreach Advisory Board also employs its website, http://www.healingbeginshere.org, to provide access to resources on current, future and past activities presented by the Board and highlights their efforts to reach the Black community. In addition, the site offers HIV/AIDS prevention materials designed for church use, links to other organizations that provide HIV/AIDS services, as well as state and national HIV/AIDS statistics.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African Americans in the United States represent 12 percent of the total population yet account for more than half of the 40,000 new HIV infections each year. As of September 30, 2004, the California HIV Case Surveillance Report documented that 20 percent of the adult/adolescent HIV cases and 33 percent of pediatric HIV cases were African American. In contrast, African Americans represent only seven percent of the state's population.

The HIV/AIDS Church Information Kit offers a variety of recommendations to initiate church-based discussions and motivate African American churchgoers to get tested for HIV. The following is a partial list of useful and effective ways for churches to support HIV/AIDS observances and educate Black congregants about this deadly disease:

1. Prepare a compassionate sermon about HIV/AIDS or choose one from "Healing Begins Here: A Pastors Guidebook to HIV/AIDS Ministry Through the Church" -- available online at http://www.arkofrefuge.org or http://www.baumancurry.com.

2. Prepare and distribute a list of confidential and anonymous HIV testing sites in your community. For a list of free or low-cost local HIV testing sites in California, visit the website at http://www.AIDShotline.org or call the California AIDS Hotline at 1-800-367-AIDS (2437). You can also visit http://www.hivinfo.org, click on the state map, then click on the larger map that shows your local health department. For other states, contact the local public health department by calling the National AIDS Hotline at 1-800-342-AIDS (2437).

3. Include a message of compassion, encouragement and hope in church announcements for those who may be affected by HIV/AIDS, and provide phone numbers or website addresses with HIV/AIDS testing/treatment information.

4. Coordinate with your local health department to provide free HIV testing and counseling services at church.

Churches interested in obtaining a complete HIV/AIDS Church Information Kit may do so by calling the Statewide HIV/AIDS Church Outreach Advisory Board toll-free at 1-877-256-1997. Churches and non-profit organizations in California may receive a free copy of the "Healing Begins Here" Guidebook; interactive and educational quiz cards and Kente cloth lapel pins. Those outside of California may download a free copy of the Guidebook by visiting http://www.arkofrefuge.org or http://www.baumancurry.com.