Global Ministries staff, family, and friends get ready to
walk more than six miles for HIV/AIDS awareness
and care in the annual AIDS Walk NY in Central Park,
New York City. Photo: J Savilon |
This past Sunday, which coincidentally was Pentecost, AIDS Walk New York was held in
Central Park. The idea to participate in
this year’s walk, thanks to a straphanger on the New York Subway who shared the
details, sprang from a personal interest to engage with a larger group for a
common cause. However, it did not take
long for me to realize that linking me to a universal cause is good, but
bringing others along would be greater.
So in my typical take-charge manner (blame it on my mother!), I decided
that it would be great to sign up colleagues and friends!
The three-week sign-up process ranged from the comical in
excuses: “My Sunday school class is having finals, so I can’t come” to shock:
“Wow! You’re actually getting people to sign up?!” There was also the reprimanding excuse: “It’s
Pentecost! You’re supposed to be in
church, not the park!” To the latter
statement, I asked how many times in the Bible was Jesus in a church
(structure). Church, for HIM, was
wherever HE was. And he prioritized HIS
time not on being in a place, but on being in a state of mind, in body, spirit,
and presence where HE could be of most service to the least among HIS children.
Where would Jesus have attended Pentecost Sunday
service? The answer depends on both the
individual and collective perspectives.
HIV/AIDS, as a disease and a cause, has polarized the faith
community. We have made significant
strides to overcome prejudices and stigma surrounding the disease, but we still
have the hardest portion of the journey to overcome. I overheard quite a few walkers commenting
that they were walking in hope for an imminent cure. Some were walking with photos draped around
their necks of lost loved ones. Others
simply thought this would be a cool event to partake in; and besides, they try
to participate in any sporty activity freely offered in the City.
So if you had walked, what would you have walked for? I walked for a cure of the human heart; that we
as faith communities and general society may realize that we must walk together
in order to make a difference in this world. As Christians, we aim to always
stay focused on the goal, which, no matter what the cause, is always rooted in
Jesus Christ. In this vain, our
differences do not matter. It is the
achievement of HIS will for our lives that matters.
So one day (doesn’t have to be a Sunday), go out and have “church”
in a park, at a lake, or on a mountain (if you can climb it!). You will see the glory of the LORD shining
there just as brightly as it does through the chapel’s stain glass windows.
THANK YOU to all who
participated in the Holy Ghost-inspiring walk of 10km/6.3 miles on Sunday!
NOTE: Participation
in the AIDS Walk New York was made possible through donations from ReThink Church, United Methodist
Global AIDS Fund (ADVANCE
# 982345), and private donations.
*Nyamah Dunbar is
senior program manager of the Malaria Initiative of the United Methodist
Committee on Relief (UMCOR).