AIDS Ministry
In the early 90’s, when many churches were not welcoming people with HIV/AIDS, St. Stephens always welcomed anyone who came. Our clergy visited and took communion to those sick with the disease, conduct funerals when needed, and set an example of open-hearted welcoming to all church services and activities. As the AIDS epidemic has lost some of its stigma and treatments have advanced, the need for hands-on services has diminished or been taken on by larger organizations. The St. Stephen’s AIDS Ministry continues to serve families afflicted by HIV/AIDS, sponsoring an annual Christmas “Angel Tree” gift ingathering which collects and sorts gifts for needy children and adults in local families affected by HIV/AIDS. Contact Nancy Denton or Russell Corbett.
Nancy Denton’s Touching Recollections from 1993
Nancy Denton, an original founding member, writes about some of her memories from the early days of the Ministry:
“In 1993 a few St. Stephen’s parishioners started the AIDS ministry, taking the sick to doctors appts., bringing them food when needed. For example, two of our parish families spent a weekend moving one man from one apt to another. We got to his place on Sunday morning and moved half of his things. Then we found him sitting amongst his belongings, saying he couldn’t find Luis. We asked who/what was Luis. Turned out he was looking for the the ashes of the true love of his life, Luis, now in a box he couldn’t find. He wanted to be buried with these ashes. We stopped and began to search and finally located the box of ashes tucked in a larger box with kitchen supplies. Then there was a man with a dog that he loved. I would go over in the afternoons after work to help him walk the dog. When he could no longer go out and walk him, I would take the dog out for walks. It was a small thing, but it meant he could keep his pet several months longer than he would have been able to otherwise. There were lots of stories like these – just making life a little easier for some very ill people. One man asked me would I make real sandwiches for his funeral – he didn’t want those tiny little dinky ones – so I stood in the church kitchen , tears streaming down my face, making “real” ham and cheese sandwiches and turkey sandwiches. Those were some really touching days.”