HEALING HANDS TASK FORCE HELPS

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

· Educate yourself and your  congregation about subjects like teen pregnancies, STD’s, HIV/AIDS etc. in your community

· Contact the General Board of Global Ministries at www.gbgm-umc.org and for more information, research, statistics, worship and study resources

· Review the August, 2007 issue of the “Circuit Rider” magazine which focused on AIDS ministries etc. at www.umph.org/resources/publications

· Think creatively about how your church, youth group, UMW, UMM, or other groups might address a specific need like teen pregnancies or drug abouse in your town or plight of AIDS orphans half a world away

· Us the pulpit, Bible Studies, Sunday School Classes, etc. as formats for presenting both the facts and the Gospel message of God’s Redemptive Grace and Call to Mission.

Healing Hands Task Force

Big Spring District, United Methodist Church

Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors

HIV/AIDS STATISTICS

 

· Texas ranks 4th in the USA for the number of persons living with HIV/AIDS

· AIDS is the leading cause of death among African-American women between the ages of 25 and 34

· Of all young people age 13-19 living with AIDS, 43% are girls

· There has been a 20 fold increase in the number of AIDS cases across Eastern Europe and Asia in less than a decade

· AIDS is growing faster in China than anywhere else in the world today

· Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicenter of the world’s AIDS pandemic with 65% new cases reported in 2006 alone

· In Africa, only about 1 in every 6 persons who needs the antiretroviral drugs necessary to combat HIV/AIDS actually receives it.