December 1st is World AIDS Day

In the June of 1981 I went to New York for the weekend with a group of friends to celebrate Pride. I read a story in The Village Voice about a rare cancer, kaposi sarcoma, afflicting gay men in the city. These vibrant young men soon developed pneumocystis pneumonia and wasted away. Life expectancy in the early days of what was then called the "gay plague" was 18 - 24 months from diagnosis, but many didn't last that long.

There was no name for it then and no one knew what caused it. Today we call it HIV/AIDS and although medications have saved lives and made the disease manageable, there is still no cure.

From Poz.com:

"Each year, we mark World AIDS Day on December 1st. World AIDS Day is an opportunity to remember those we have lost to the pandemic and to resolve anew our battle against this deadly killer.

The World Health Organization announced recently that HIV/AIDS is the number one cause of disease and death among women ages 18-49 worldwide. AIDS has already taken the lives of 25 million people and 33 million more are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS around the world today."

The Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge will be holding a special candle light service on Tuesday, December 1st at 6:30 pm in memory of those we have lost and to help raise awareness that there is so much more to be done. MCC is located at 806 Jamison Ave., SE in Roanoke.

Out Christian Singer, Ray Boltz to Perform at MCC of the Blue Ridge

You may remember a story from last year that made the rounds on the net about a Christian singer coming out of the closet and leaving his Christian Contemporary music career behind. That was Ray Bolts. The singer has come to represent the ongoing struggle, faced by many in our community, between expressing their faith and accepting our sexual orientation.

The Washington Blade reported in September, '08:

"Boltz said he came out to his family and some close friends in December 2004, but only now decided to go public with the news. "I'd denied it ever since I was a kid. I became a Christian, I thought that was the way to deal with this and I prayed hard and tried for 30-some years and then at the end, I was just going, 'I'm still gay. I know I am.' And I just got to the place where I couldn't take it anymore — when I was going through all this darkness, I thought, 'Just end this.'" 

Rev. Joe Cobb of Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge sent word this week that Boltz will be performing songs from his latest CD here in Roanoke at MCC on Saturday, December 5th at 7pm and again on Sunday the 6th at 11 am. 

Ray Boltz, well known for songs "Thank You" and "Watch the Lamb", will be singing from his new cd, "True", which includes songs reflecting his journey in coming out. The concert is free and open to the public.  A love offering will be received. 

Visit Ray's blog here, where you can read up on his latest ventures and download his music. 

Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge is located at 806 Jamison Ave SE in  Roanoke. Visit their site at www.mccblueridge.com or call 540-344-4444 for more information.