Church Holds Service for World AIDS Day
With Veritas United Church of Christ set to host a service in Hagerstown recognizing World AIDS Day on Tuesday evening, the Rev. Rob Apgar-Taylor said that HIV/AIDS is on the rise again due to misconceptions.
"People think that HIV and AIDS was the disease of the previous generation of men and women that now it's easy to take a pill, and it's chronic, and you live with it much like you live with diabetes or other things," Apgar-Taylor said.
AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is a disease that weakens the immune system, gradually destroying the body's ability to fight infections. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.
He said that because the disease is treatable, people may not be employing safe sexual practices any more, which could be causing the numbers to rise.
"People who live with HIV and AIDS are able to live long and healthy lives, but there are a lot of problems that come with the disease that younger people who don't remember the early days just have no concept of what that means for them," Apgar-Taylor said.
Tuesday was designated by the World Health Organization to remember AIDS as a small group gathered at the church at 22 N. Mulberry St. to think about those affected by the disease.
The church received a World AIDS Day proclamation from Hagerstown Mayor David S. Gysberts Tuesday afternoon, and it held a worship service at 7 p.m.
Veritas Association Pastor Guy Johnson, describing himself as an openly gay black man from Washington, D.C., said the issue is important to him personally.
"I buried scores of friends from this disease, and I just pray for a day that we don't have to have this memorial service," he said. "This is important to me because especially in this area, where there is such an explosion of HIV/AIDS infections, there needs to be a positive voice, a loving voice."
Church member David Hluchy of Maugansville, who described himself as a "straight ally" of the LBGTQ community, said he wanted to show his support for people suffering from HIV and AIDS.
"It's a very moral issue," he said. "People are dying, and it's something that we need to address."
Despite the rise in HIV and AIDS, Apgar-Taylor said he is encouraged that Washington County is "growing" and beginning to understand the issue differently.
"I've lived here 14 years, and getting a World AIDS Day proclamation from the mayor was not something we would have had 10, 12, 13 years ago," he said. "This is the second time that's happened."
