by Fr. Paul Schumacher

The fifteenth National Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry Conference was held this past July in Chicago. The theme was Come Away and Rest Awhile.

The ministry of Jesus was a beautiful interweaving of inviting and teaching - a life of compassion filled with healing, justice, peace, and proclaiming the Good News. Yet, with all this, Jesus was certainly committed to finding time to rest, time to pray, and time to listen.

All of us, no matter what ministry we are called to, are reminded of the importance of taking time for ourselves so that we have the strength, wisdom, and energy to care for others.

With fall approaching, we need to renew our ministry with HIV/AIDS. More people than ever are living with HIV in Minnesota. We are aware of at least 4,331.

We need to be on the alert to reach out in our communities of faith to folks living with HIV or to those who have someone they know living with the disease.

We are invited by Jesus to have the same compassion that he would have. We need to let them know that we are a safe, compassionate, and welcoming church community. That is what Jesus would do.

Assistance and Resources:

• Want to learn how to counsel one-on-one or in a church group setting? Contact Fr. Paul A. Schumacher, Church of St. Peter, Canby, (507) 223-7304.
• Support Groups or any type of care for those living with HIV/AIDS - LeSueur/Mankato area has both. Call 1-800-966-9735.
• Support Groups or any type of care for those living with HIV/AIDS for the Alexandria area call 1-800-966-9735.
• CLUES in Mankato is accepting HIV cases for Case Management. This is a non-profit comprehensive service of HIV Case Management in bilingual (Spanish-English) and is in a culturally appropriate manner for the Chicano-Latino community. Call (507) 387-5713 or e-mail aalba@clues.org.

If you have questions about HIV/AIDS, contact Fr. Paul A. Schumacher, director of AIDS Ministry for the Diocese of New Ulm, (507) 223-7304.