World AIDS Day (www.worldaidsday.org) coincides each year with the start of Advent, presenting opportunities for thoughtful worship that draws together the themes of Advent with the many concerns surrounding HIV/AIDS.
Medical advances in developed countries may make us complacent about a condition that came to our attention in the early 1980s. Yet more than 90,000 people are currently living with HIV in the UK and globally an estimated 33.3 million people have HIV. More than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007 have died from the virus, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.