Philly FIGHT Hosts Sixth Annual WAD Prayer Breakfast

On World AIDS Day, December 1, Bishop Ernest McNear, Philadelphia FIGHT's Office of Faith Initiatives and the Philadelphia FIGHT Faith Advisory Board will present the Sixth Annual World AIDS Day Prayer Breakfast.

"Philadelphia FIGHT's World AIDS Day Prayer Breakfast is an annual reminder that HIV/AIDS is still an issue that affects all of us. It's an opportunity for people of faith to meditate, reflect and pray," said Chip Alfred, Director of Development & Communications.

People of faith and faith-based organizations have been at the forefront of the response to HIV and AIDS since the early 1980s, by engaging in practical health care, social and emotional support, pastoral care and advocacy with and for those living with the virus, to eliminate stigma and discrimination and to promote access to treatment for all those living with HIV.

Each year on World AIDS Day, Philadelphia's faith community comes together at the Prayer Breakfast to lift up hope and healing for those who are living with HIV/AIDS. At the event, over 250 people will remember those who have passed and those who are still with us and also recommit to standing with our sisters and brothers in faith, in activism, in reducing stigma, and in enduring love.

The keynote speaker is Rev. Dr. Leslie D. Callahan, the pastor of St. Paul's Baptist Church in Philadelphia, the first female pastor of that congregation. A native of Gary, West Virginia, Callahan was educated at Harvard University, Princeton University and Union Seminary. She has been on the faculties of the University of Pennsylvania and New York Theological Seminary. Besides her scholarly credentials, Rev. Callahan is a fresh prophetic voice for compassion, peace and justice in our city. Her commitment to being a healing balm for people living with HIV/AIDS is evident in her work and witness.

Joining Dr. Callahan is the Philadelphia FIGHT Gospel Choir and the VOICES of Philadelphia FIGHT Choral Ensemble, who will offer prayer and inspiration in song.

"For some of our attendees, HIV and AIDS isn't really on their radar. For many, the prayer breakfast is educational and also affirming," said Alfred. "We provide a forum for communities of faith to learn more about the virus and how to engage their congregations in open and honest conversations about it."

Philadelphia FIGHT provides state of the art, culturally competent primary medical care, consumer education, advocacy, social services, outreach to adults and youth living with HIV and to those who are at high risk, and access to the most advanced clinical research. Each year FIGHT reaches over 8,000 people through its social services and education programs and treats over 2,000 people with HIV at the Jonathan Lax Treatment Center. FIGHT's goal is to end the AIDS epidemic within the lifetime of those currently living with HIV.

Philly FIGHT's Sixth Annual World AIDS Day Prayer Breakfast will be held from 8-10 a.m. on Monday, December 1, at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 237 S. Broad St.in Philadelphia. To R.S.V.P. or for more information, contact Jalina Evans at [email protected] or 215-985-4448 x 169, or visit www.fight.org.