Plenary, 03 Dec 2003
Meeting date: Wednesday, December 3, 2003
Official Report
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Time for Reflection
Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Today our time for reflection leader is the Rev Marion Chatterley from Waverley Care, who is chaplain to people living with HIV.
The Rev Marion Chatterley (Waverley Care):
This is the beginning of Advent and on Sunday many churches will have lit the first of four Advent candles. As we move towards Christmas, the number of candles—and so, symbolically, the amount of light—increases. That light is a reminder of God's love for our world. It is not the case that the actual amount of light—or love—increases week by week. Rather, we are encouraged to be more aware week by week of what is already in our midst.
That is a very good illustration for world AIDS day, which was on Monday. As world AIDS day approaches, we see an increasing number of people wearing red ribbons—a growing reminder of the presence of HIV in our world. This year, the theme for world AIDS day is stigma and discrimination. That theme goes right to the heart of the experience of living with HIV and is very real for many people in Scotland.
Living with HIV is not always easy, especially for some of the more vulnerable people with whom we work in Waverley Care. They are people who have lived through abuse and trauma, who have not always found healthy ways of coping and who are struggling with the reality of social deprivation. They are people who have found themselves infected with HIV, a diagnosis that can leave the strongest person isolated within their family and neighbourhood. It is a diagnosis that people often hide from others and that brings—even now—a range of responses, many of which serve simply to increase social isolation and discrimination.
World AIDS day is an annual reminder of the existence of this virus in our midst. It is a reminder of our responsibilities—to those who are infected, to those who are at risk of infection and to ourselves. We all need to be aware of the risks that we might take.
The Advent candles are an annual reminder of God's love for us and our world. That love is for each and every one of us. The red ribbons are an annual reminder of those who live alongside us: people who still live with HIV, who still face stigma and discrimination and who still need our compassion, our love and our prayers. As we are reminded during Advent of God's love for all his people, I pray that we will find new and creative ways in which to show that love to those people whose lives include HIV.
Amen.