Advent in a time of AIDS’

Geneva – Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rick and Kay Warren, Canon Gideon Byamugisha, Musimbi Kanyoro, Sister Maria Cimperman and Erik Sawyer all have one thing in common.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tutu, the Warrens who are evangelical leaders, Byamugisha, the first African Anglican priest to openly say he is HIV-positive, Kanyoro, director of the Population Program at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Cimperman, a Catholic theologian who has written about the effects of HIV and AIDS, and Saywer, the co-founder of AIDS activist group ACT-UP New York, contributed to a daily devotional calendar that invites reflection and prayer from World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, unitl Jan. 6.

“Keep the Promise: Advent in a Time of AIDS” is produced by the Geneva-based Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance and published by Augsburg Fortress Press. Print and electronic versions are now available.

The calendar builds on the theme of “leadership” set for World AIDS Day in 2007 and 2008, under the campaign slogan, “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise”. The 37 reflections demonstrate the leadership of and challenges from Christians around the world who are involved at all levels in responding to the HIV pandemic.

“They are prophets and pastors, leaders and lay people, women and men, HIV positive and HIV negative – all united in the conviction that by keeping personal and collective promises, we can reach the goal of universal access to treatment, care and prevention and work towards a future without AIDS,” the EAA said.

Individuals and churches are encouraged to download copies available in English, French, Russian and Spanish and reproduce them for discussion groups or church communities as well as personal use. A limited number of printed copies in English can also be ordered.

Single copies can be downloaded from www.ealliance.ch/hivaids_adventcal.jsp and a digital online version is available at www.203zebras.com/digitaladventcalendar/calendar.php