VERO BEACH — Recognizing that Florida has the second highest AIDS case rate in the country, the 2011 National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS will be observed in Vero Beach on Monday, March 7 with a community prayer vigil at 6:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
The purpose of The National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS is to bring national attention to the AIDS epidemic in the United States and the extraordinary role faith communities are playing in AIDS prevention, education, service and advocacy.
Rev. Scott W. Alexander, UUFVB minister, remarked, “HIV/AIDS has left a hole in the heart of America, and has shattered the lives of countless Florida families. Our brief service of PRAYER FOR THE HEALING OF AIDS here in Vero Beach will be an opportunity not only for us to lovingly remember the many persons we have lost, but also renew our commitment to HIV/AIDS prevention education, and compassionate care for all affected by this terrible disease.”
For many years, Florida, California and New York have led the nation in HIV/AIDS patients. More than 1,000,000 Americans are living with HIV/AIDS, nearly 100,000 in Florida. Every nine-and-a-half minutes, another person in the United States becomes infected with HIV; this means there are more than 56,000 new infections each year in this country alone.
The prayer vigil is being hosted again this year by the HIV/AIDS Network, which works in the community to advocate and educate about the disease. During the week of March 6-12, every church, synagogue, mosque, temple and home is invited to join in the effort to eradicate AIDS from the United States and the world.
The UU Fellowship is handicapped-accessible and is located at 1590 27th Avenue on the southeast corner of 27th Avenue and 16th Street.
For more information, contact Claudia Jimenez, DRE and member of the HIV AIDS Network via email at [email protected] or visit http://www.nationalweekofprayerforthehealingofaids.org.
