By Thea Jarvis

St. Anthony’s Church in Atlanta’s West End will begin an expanded ministry to African-Americans affected by AIDS/HIV with an ecumenical prayer service on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 4 p.m.

Prayer will be offered for those living with AIDS/HIV and their friends and family, for an increase in compassion and community support, and for those who act irresponsibly in the face of the AIDS epidemic.

The service will include three speakers who have tested positive for HIV and have agreed to share their experience with the community.

“There are some people who are just going to be uncomfortable with it and will not come,” said Father Bruce Wilkinson, pastor of St. Anthony’s, but he believes the black community can more easily face the reality of AIDS/HIV with church support and encouragement.

St. Anthony’s formed a task force two years ago when an archdiocesan-wide call was made for parish involvement in AIDS ministry. The prayer service is a result of the group’s prayerful discernment. Father Wilkinson said.

“The response of the black community to the issue of IDS has been very slow,” he said, adding that the disease was first viewed as one contracted by homosexuals and whites.

When the African-Americans were touched by the disease, he said, they hesitated to ask for help.

“They didn’t want other people to know,” Father Wilkinson said. There was a stigma attached to approaching agencies and institutions that dealt with AIDS/HIV, particularly since most were not oriented toward people of color, he said. Individuals would come to the church instead, seeking third party referrals and counseling.

“If something was going to happen in the black community,” in response to the disease, “it would have to come through the church,” Father Wilkinson realized.

At. St. Anthony’s, the issue was first dealt with informally, with one-on-one assistance to affected individuals. The parish has held workshops and distributed information through parish bulletins and announcements.

“It has been successful,” Father Wilkinson said, but a more open approach was the next step the task force decided to take.

The group, composed of 14 people, is a broad cross-section of parishioners, including young and old, men and women. The prayer service they have planned is to be non-threatening and non-judgmental.

“We are not dealing with lifestyle issues,” but offering hope and healing, Father Wilkinson said.

Magic Johnson’s disclosure that he was HIV positive lent added strength to St. Anthony’s effort, he said, though the prayer service had been planned before Johnson’s condition was made public.

“Magic Johnson was the first major breakthrough” in getting the message about AIDS/HIV to the black community, Father Wilkinson said.

Following the encumenical prayer service, informational material will be made available to those in attendance. The parish hopes to begin a weekly support group for people with AIDS and their families and to encourage future prayer and healing services that target African-Americans. St. Anthony’s is located at 928 Ralph D. Abernathy Boulevard in Atlanta. Call the church at 758-8861 for further information.