Love
With December 1st having been World AIDS day, we look at some history and current realities in the struggle against HIV and AIDS. While no longer a death sentence, we should protect ourselves and others from contracting HIV.
Months of meetings and discussions between Affirmation leadership and church authorities in Argentina have opened the doors for LGBT people to attend church meetings and possibly return to the Church, including Sister Sonia, a transgender woman in the Tucumán Province, who had not attended church since before transitioning.
For me, being a member of the human race carries an enormous responsibility and purpose for life. Each and every day I wake up, I am grateful to have another day on earth with my husband, and another chance to leave the world better than I found it.
Throughout the day, my dad kept saying things like, “I had no idea. I had no idea.” And, “I feel like I’m seeing with new eyes.”
I remember entering the Metropolitan Church on Castro’s Eureka Street, where the Affirmation meeting was happening. A full battle was raging inside me. One side said, “Leave now!” and the other side said “Stay!” as I slowly walked up the stairs to the second floor.
We need safe spaces to discuss and work through the pain that has just been inflicted upon our fellow humans, upon members of our community. Let’s do everything within our power to create communities of safety and refuge. It’s always the time to offer our love and care to those in pain.
This woman, one day, on campus she put up a sign that said, “Be Brave.” She made it out of paper and yarn and stuff, and she put it up. I had no idea who had made it. She put up this sign that just happened to be on my bike ride onto campus. And she put it up right around the time of the policy. So the first time I saw it, I thought, “Wow. This is a message for me.”