Ebenezer Pastor Takes AIDS Test In Chuch [video]

Just spotted this over at STFA.

This not only is a very commendable act, but its a great example that other Black churches should follow to prove they are not dead and still serve a purpose in the community outside of being a marketplace and fashion show (sorry, brief rant).

Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of the church that the honorable Dr. Martin Luther King once preached his ministry of non-violence, says shame is part of what’s stopping people from being tested, and that the faith community must work together to change that.

"I’m very convinced that if Martin Luther King, Jr. was alive today, he would be very focused on the issue of H.I.V. & AIDs. We’ve got to fight the unholy trinity of slience, shame and stigma."

Warnock took the test as part of the National Week of Prayer for Healing of AIDS. He stepped away from the pulpit, sat down and took a rapid oral fluid test called OraSure in front of the full congregation.

Twenty minutes later, he announced that the results were negative.

Warnock challenged other clergy to follow his lead, and after the service Ebenezer provided free and confidential tests to church members. I commend him for taking the first step in breaking the silence within the faith community.

SFTA

I went to Ebenezer for the first time last month. Granted, it was my first time going, but I still go the sense that Pastor Warnock was really down for his people. Instead of opening the service hawking books and DVDs, he encouraged the congregation to donate food and clothes to the homeless people outside, within walking distance of the church. It also felt different being there because Ebenezer was right smack dab in the middle of the city and you actually felt like, you was in the community. I don't know, it just felt different being there. Shood, even the choir was on point. The way they was singing, I thought Harriet Tubman was about to run across the pulpit.

But yeah, all jokes aside, I commend Pastor Warnock on this bold move. Hopefully it will ruffle some feathers and spark some action, because its most definitely needed.

NOTE: Know that actual blood testing is still more accurate than saliva testing.