HIV awareness and care is Wales has been at the forefront of the work of campaigners and health staff for years now. With Fast Track Cardiff & Vale taking the lead, showcasing a Wales-specific HIV Testing Week campaign and much more, various community members and groups have banded together in an effort to raise more awareness about the stigma and care for the virus.
One of those organisations includes St John The Baptist City Parish Church where Reverend Sarah Jones and the team held a service for World Aids Day on December 1 and are planning on hosting various talks and services bringing awareness to those living with HIV here in Wales. For Rev Sarah, a transgender priest based in Cardiff, the topic of inclusivity is held immensely close to her heart with LGBT+ people welcome and accepted for who they are in the church.
"St John's really is an inclusive church. Where some Christians get worked up over matters of sexuality and gender we don't," Sarah said.
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"Some Christians have a history of unkind things to say about people who live with HIV and Aids and we want to do something about addressing that and visibly showing that everybody is welcome in St John's. I'm delighted to be able to do it."
Sarah believes that Christians should be there to help people physically within the community. Understanding that people living with HIV need vital support she and the church were quick to aid in anyway they can. Currently the church is hosting placards showcasing people's personal stories with HIV, which are open for public viewing daily until 4pm.
"We had a service for World AIDS Day. The boards are clearly viewable [in the church], and I'll be mentioning them in my regular congregation, and I think that will be enough to start with. It will remind people that HIV still exists and that there are real people living with it.
"So that's the first stage we're planning to do. Hopefully in the New Year we can move to the next stage and get a little bit more involved in doing some work with an HIV charity or something amazing.
"This is so important for me and the church because I get so many people saying they never thought they could go to a church because they say things like they haven't been accepted. This is all about saying to people that you are welcome.
"One really important point is that Christians should be concerned with people's physical wellbeing. Churches run things such as food and warm hubs. It's not just about salvation or people's spiritual life – we should be really committed to people's physical wellbeing."
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