by Matthew Davies
The CARA trust, a community of friendship of people living with HIV/AIDS, celebrated fifteen years - as a fully constituted charity - of pastoral and educational ministry yesterday at a service in the Lady Chapel of Westminster Abbey.
Founded in 1987, CARA provides 12,000 hours of service each year to people suffering with HIV/AIDS who experience isolation and exclusion as a consequence of social attitudes to their sexual orientation or their history of drug use. In addition to offering a friendly, welcoming environment, CARA also helps people to build “invaluable social networks and friendships” which makes its services widely sought, especially from people of faith communities.
The fear, stigma and prejudice that are often associated with HIV/AIDS make it difficult for people to openly address the issues that they face within a church environment, especially within African communities. CARA provides an opportunity for Churches to show solidarity and support for those affected by HIV/AIDS.
During the service the Revd Graeme Napier, Minor Canon and Succentor of Westminster Abbey, said, “HIV/AIDS brings together three great Christian themes: thanksgiving; remembrance; and hope. We remember and thank God for the lives of those who have lived with and those who have died from HIV and AIDS, and pray in hope that an effective cure will be found.”
The prayers, which were led by Peter Hudson, a friend of the CARA community, gave thanks to God for fifteen years of the CARA trust: “for our fellowship together as a community of love and friendship; for those who are, and have been, part of that community; for the gifts of friendship and care that we share; that we may continue to enrich the lives of all who look to us for support and assistance.”
During the final hymn, members of the congregation were led in a candlelit procession to the East Cloister where the Succentor offered a final blessing.
After the service, the Chairman of CARA, Mr John McClean Fox, thanked all those who have supported CARA in the past and asked for continuing support in “the difficult and demanding times ahead.”
CARA prayer:
Living God, source of light and life: we come to you as broken members of your body. Your strength is our strength and your being is our being. Grant us wisdom in our work, your love in our pain, your peace in our hearts. Amen.