NEWS RELEASE

Release Date: January 19, 2012

Contacts: Kathy Barton
832-393-5045
 
Porfirio Villarreal
832-393-5041

Faith Leaders Host Regional Symposium on HIV/AIDS  

The Metropolitan Interdenominational Church Technical Assistance Network (MICTAN), a national clergy-led capacity-building faith initiative funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with the Houston Department of Health and Human Services will host a regional symposium entitled “We’ve Come Too Far to Turn Back Now” to equip clergy and faith leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to tackle the HIV/AIDS crisis among African Americans.   

 The symposium will take place on Thursday, January 26, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. at the Houston Community College, Conference Center, 3100 Main . This FREE event is open to faith leaders of the Houston area.

 This one-day event provides an opportunity for faith leaders to gain exposure to the most up-to-date local and national HIV/AIDS health statistics; understand the social determinants that increase vulnerability of transmission among African Americans; and hear an inspirational call to action from nationally renowned preacher Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, President and Founder of the Healing of the Nations Foundation of New York and Senior Minister Emeritus of the Riverside Church, New York Jr. Also, distinguished faculty Dr. Mindy Fullilove of Columbia University in New York City will lecture on the Social Determinants of HIV/AIDS among African-Americans.

 During the Symposium, faith leaders are encouraged to register for a series of four monthly follow-up seminars facilitated by renowned experts. The seminars provide a forum where leaders can study public health principles and engage in open discussion and reflection to develop and implement a community mobilization plan targeting HIV/AIDS in their local area.

To register for this FREE event, call toll free (888) 761-3876

Local contact is Marlene McNeese-Ward, (832)393-5010 

 On June 5, 1981, the CDC published the first official mention of the appearance of a mysterious illness among a cluster of gay men. The obscure citation in the equally arcane Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report is often referred to as the “beginning of AIDS.” Three decades later, while African Americans represent approximately 14 percent of the U.S. population, they account for almost half of the more than one million people estimated to be living with HIV in the U.S., and nearly half of new HIV infections each year, according to the CDC.

 MICTAN’s objective is to deliver trainings that equip faith leaders to mobilize around ending this 100% preventable illness.

 The four monthly leadership seminars are:

 The Social Determinants of HIV/AIDS among African Americans—Part 2:  Environment and the Social Foundation of Health—Restoring the Beloved Community. Presenter Dr. Robert Fullilove, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health   (February 24, 2012);

 Sexuality & Sexual Health: Confronting Contradictions, Cultivating Conversations to Heal Our Communities. Presenter Dr. Gail Wyatt, UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences (April 27, 2012);

 First Century Theology, 21st Century Ministry: Contextual Bible Study for Contemporary Realities. Presenter Dr. Cheryl Anderson, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary   (May 25, 2012); and

 Radically Loving, Radically Inclusive, Radically Reconciling: Core Values for WHOSOEVER Ministry. Presenter: Rev. Edwin Sanders, Metropolitan Interdenominational Church (June 22, 2012).

 For more information about the Symposium or the leadership training seminars, call Rev. Clifford A. Smith at MICTAN, (615) 277-1762.

 Metropolitan Interdenominational Church (MIC) is a Nashville, Tennessee based-church directly funded by the CDC to deliver capacity building assistance (CBA) services to faith leaders across the country. MICTAN, the clergy-led national CBA provider of MIC, serves faith communities by equipping leaders with the necessary tools and skills to respond to HIV/AIDS in African American communities.