The AIDS Memorial Quilt comes to Southwest
By Hunter Ruffin
It was a cold morning in Mississippi as I turned into the driveway of the AIDS Services Coalition offices in Hattiesburg. It was like coming home, and like any other homecoming, things were different. Things were new. I’d been a volunteer leader for the organization in the past, but I was returning to complete a required course for my studies at Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. I was entering a new place as I walked through the doors of the office to learn how I could help in the three short weeks of my January term.
The deep passion of the staff for working with and for persons living with HIV/AIDS in south Mississippi and the deep care they hold for the people they serve each day sparked my interest in sharing the realities of persons living with HIV/AIDS with my seminary.
Not quite a year later, thanks to a student team including Tom Dahlman, Scott Painter, and Carrie Duncan, Seminary of the Southwest is hosting a panel of the AIDS Quilt, a project started in 1987 to foster healing, heighten awareness, and inspire action in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Hanging in Christ Chapel on the campus of the seminary, the quilt panel includes people from all over the state of Texas and helps remind us that HIV/AIDS is still a real threat to our neighbors and that LGBT persons have made contributions to society through their unique struggle against the disease.
As part of the remembering at Seminary of the Southwest, students will lead a prayer vigil on World AIDS Day, December 1 at 6:00 p.m. in Christ Chapel on the seminary campus. The prayer vigil will feature prayers for those who have died due to HIV/AIDS, for those who continue to struggle in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and for healing for the world. The service is open to the public.
The quilt reminds us that remembering our loved ones is one way that we discover love, grace, and affection for each other. The quilt reminds the seminary community and the world that it is possible to live compassionately and to exhibit care for each other no matter how difficult the circumstances. The quilt challenges us to find the path of compassion for our neighbors.
Persons interested in viewing the quilt panel may do so by visiting Christ Chapel at Seminary of the Southwest, Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. beginning November 24 through December 2, 2014. The campus will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
The NAMES Project Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit that seeks to preserve, care for, and use the AIDS Memorial Quilt to foster healing, heighten awareness, and inspire action in the struggle against HIV and AIDS. The Foundation was created and exists to care for and maintain The AIDS Memorial Quilt, to display The AIDS Memorial Quilt and to continue to accept and incorporate new panels into The Quilt.
Hunter Ruffin is a senior at Seminary of the Southwest from the Diocese of Southeast Florida. He is studying for ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church.
