FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Announcing unique public forum…
“Sex and Sexuality, a Balanced Discussion II”
Homosexuality and the Church

Greensboro, N.C. August 18, 2010—Faith-Based ministry endeavors to establish an out-of-the-box method to address the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, especially in the African-American community, by bringing together clergy and laypersons from the traditional and GLBT faith communities in an open public forum setting.

AIDS has become the leading cause of death for African-American women between the ages of 25-34, 70% of the new HIV infections among teens are African-American, of the one million people living with HIV in America, 50% are African-American, HIV and AIDS is affecting African-American men in the homosexual community (MSM) at a higher rate than any other segment of our society. These statistics reveal the reality, however whatever is being done to address and resolve these unacceptable statistics is not working!

Because of today’s reality, it’s time for the Church to begin to deal with sexual issues that have for too long been ignored and considered taboo. Because the position of most Christians is to avoid addressing issues that are uncomfortable, the obvious problems experienced in our community and in the Church will never be resolved.

Securing Hope Ministry has engaged clergy from traditional and GLBT congregations to establish a series of public forums entitled Sex and Sexuality, a Balanced Discussion, which will address openly, with input from clergy and members of the community, varied sexual issues. Our first forum was attended by over 200 people. Issues dealing with the role and responsibility of the Church regarding the promotion of condom use, HIV testing, abortion, abstinence and the need to continue this type of open discussion from all perspectives were addressed.

The next forum will be held on October 9th 2010, and will focus specifically on the GLBT issues that have been avoided by the Church. The goal is to bring clarity and understanding about this issue and allow and encourage discussion from a balanced perspective. Again clergy from the traditional church and GLBT church communities will make up the panel. The forum will be moderated by Elder Raymond S. King Jr., co-founder of Securing Hope Ministry.

This forum will be able to be seen live on the internet, and we will also accept text messages in the form of question and comments from the audience.

We believe that an open and honest discussion held in this manner will be a good step to start bringing all segments of our community together to address and resolve the problems experienced because of silence and a reluctance to work together to eliminate statistics that can and must be changed. For more information go to www.securinghopeministry.org or send an email to info@securinghopeministry.org or call 336-459-3034.

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