Member Update and Appeal
Dear LANET Supporters,
It’s been a while since we had our last membership drive for the Lutheran AIDS Network. To update you on a few things, the past year has been a busy one for us. In May 2009 we hosted our Biennial Conference at the Holiday Inn O’Hare in Chicago. The event, under the theme ‘Creating Caring Communities,’ was attended by 50+ participants. In July we sent a board member to the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans, where we hosted an interactive exhibit. We have recently updated our Brokenness to Wholeness Youth Curriculum and the ‘Stop, Think AIDS and Go!’ AIDS Awareness Game.
This January we hosted an immersion experience to Central City Lutheran Mission in San Bernardino, California. Ten people participated, ranging from seminary students to lay leaders, retired clergy and ELCA staff members. Participants lived in the homes of HIV-positive people who had been recently homeless, heard speakers talk about HIV and AIDS in the United States, learned more about immigration issues, and had the opportunity to experience poverty in the United States first hand. It is now the challenge for these participants to develop personal action plans for the HIV and AIDS response in their own communities. We hope to make this unique opportunity a repeat event.
We have now begun planning for our 2011 Biennial Conference, likely to take place in Florida in Spring 2011. More details will be available online within the next few months. Pending funding, we also hope to begin work on Brokenness to Wholeness: The Silver Edition later this year. This curriculum is especially targeted for the 50+ population, who represent 15 percent of new HIV infections in the United States. Seniors also comprise a large portion of both the ELCA and LCMS member base. Additionally, we hope to greatly improve our website and link to social networking sites so that we may continue to work towards our goal of becoming a national network for information sharing for Lutherans involved in the HIV and AIDS response in the United States.
We realize these are tough economic times, which have required cutbacks in many areas. Although a financial contribution is not required for membership, LANET is extremely grateful for any financial contribution you are able to provide with your membership form.
While we have looked into the process of online membership renewal, the old-fashioned way of mailing in the attached membership form with a check ensures more money is available to the ongoing work of our organization. We hope you will consider joining as a member, or renewing your membership for another year.
In Solidarity,
Thomas Salber
LANET President
Membership form: