Church worried about HIV figures

THERE are pockets of HIV-positive evangelical churchgoers in Barbados and in other Caribbean islands.General secretary and chief executive officer of the Evangelical Association of the Caribbean, Bishop Gerry Seale, said surveys done in Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia and St Vincent on sexual practices of youth attending evangelical churches in those countries, showcased results that were cause for concern.The survey published by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and conducted jointly for Antigua, St Lucia and St Vincent last year, showed a 2.6 per cent incidence of positive tests while a 2006 report done in Barbados recorded one per cent of positive tests.“I am worried about the figures for Barbados and the other islands surveyed. If I can get another couple of countries done, we then might be in a position to say this is for the Caribbean, but I am across the board worried about the figures,” Seale said.Seale pointed out that churchgoers were products of the society.“Jesus said he didn’t come for the righteous, he came for the sinners. So the church is dealing with sinners, people who have come short, people who are imperfect. These are the ones to whom we are called to minister. “Once you are dealing with human beings, you are dealing with messy situations. That’s the reality.”In Barbados, 420 evangelical youths from several churches were surveyed, while in St Vincent 535 from 43 churches, 295 in Antigua from 19 churches and 250 in St Vincent from a dozen religious assemblies were quizzed.Speaking at a Press briefing Thursday morning at United Nations House before an audience that included evangelist and senator Dr David Durant, Seale said church leaders had a big role to play in terms of education and empowerment.“I am now at the stage where I am seeking to inform, empower, educate leaders so that they in turn can inform, educate and empower people whom they are leading.“Our Bible schools or seminaries cannot teach everything. That is just the reality so we get people coming back with their degrees and are highly qualified in theology but they may not have had the opportunity to deal with some of the other issues that they are going to confront.”Seale said he is worried about some of the perceptions of HIV.“The perception across the world is that the evangelical community is the one that most stigmatises persons living with HIV. I am very concerned about that. There are many evangelical  churches that are involved (in HIV education), but they are still others that aren’t and we need to address this and bring them on board.“HIV is not the problem. It is the symptom. The problem is how we are dealing with our sexuality. If over 90 per cent of the HIV contractions in the Caribbean are through sexual contact whether it be heterosesxual, bisexual or homosexual, then sexuality needs to be addressed in the context of our discipleship programme.”