This is World Aids Day, worthy of acknowledgment, but I figured that I've blogged about this annual recognition enough in the past that I'd give it a miss this year. This morning I was reminded that while effective drugs have been developed to reduce the effects of HIV/AIDS there is no cure. And here in Canada the number of AIDS diagnoses is on the rise again. Even so, the AIDS Committee of Toronto will be closing its centre in 2026 after 43 years for a number of reasons, including reduced demand for services but also because of funding challenges.
We should be aware as well that the financial support for HIV/AIDS programs in poorer countries, including a number in Africa, has been dramatically reduced, in part because of decisions by the Trump administration to defund global health initiatives. There is concern that Canada will follow suit.
The Keiskamma Altarpiece pictured above was created in South Africa nearly 20 years ago in a community hit hard by HIV/AIDS. Dr. Carol Hofmeyr gave needles and thread to local women, many of them grandmothers raising orphaned grandchildren, who created this magnificent depiction of their reality, including crucifixion and resurrection scenes. It is 13 feet tall and 22 feet wide. When we went to see it in Toronto while it was on tour in 2007 a group of those grandmothers came into the sanctuary of St. James Cathedral and began to mourn when they saw the altarpiece. It was a powerful moment.
We can continue to mourn for the lost and pray that the scourge of this pandemic will be overcome.
Today I'm also thinking of Tom Reid, a parishioner in Sudbury, Ontario, who invited me onto the inaugural board of the AIDs Committee of Sudbury in 1988, shortly after I became the minister of St. Andrew's United Church. I'm grateful that he did so and I see that the Reseau Access Network offices are now in St. Andrew's Place,
Here is a video link about the altarpiece:
https://fowler.ucla.edu/exhibitions/the-keiskamma-altarpiece-transcending-aids-in-south-africa/
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