Updated May, 2025
Advent is a time of waiting and expecting the coming of our Savior. The Hebrew people faithfully awaited the promised Messiah during a time of captivity, and we also live and wait amid pain and suffering. We await the second coming of our risen Christ and we anticipate the fulfillment of God’s promises, even in the face of global tragedies.
AIDS is one of those tragedies. With more than 12 million children orphaned by AIDS (www.avert.org) and entire generations of people dying, it is time for Christians to take a stand.
Throughout history, the church has been the backbone of compassionate ministry. Through food banks, benevolence funds, and other community outreach efforts, the church has accepted Jesus’ call to love our neighbors and share our blessings.
Today the church is uniquely positioned to respond to the AIDS crisis. Our global reach touches outposts, ministry centers, churches, and ministries in nearly every community around the world. But to tackle a global blight such as AIDS, churches around the world must work together.
The church must begin talking about AIDS and the church’s role in the face of this crisis. Leaders must help de-stigmatize the disease so those infected with the AIDS virus feel welcome and supported by others in the church. Churches in developing countries must begin using their resources to reach out to those at risk of infection as well as those already infected. Local church leaders must work in their local communities and congregations to encourage behavior change in those at risk of infection.
Why not make Sunday, December 2 (the day after International AIDS Day), a day to bring the AIDS crisis to the attention of your congregation? Perhaps you could set aside this first Sunday of Advent to remember the suffering of people around the world, lament the church’s insufficient response to AIDS thus far, and express our hope fora better future.
On the following pages you will find a number of resources to help your church address the AIDS crisis in the context of worship. Note that portions of these suggestions have been adapted with permission from the Advent AIDS liturgy prepared by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance(www.e-alliance.ch); from an Advent chapel service held at Kings University College, Edmonton, Alberta; and from a worship service at Covenant Christian Reformed Church, St. Catharines, Ontario. For additional suggestions, visit CRWRC’s website (www.crwrc.org) and check out the Resources section.
Greeting
The days are surely coming, says the Lord,
when I will fulfill the promise
Come, Emmanuel, come.
A righteous Branch shall execute justice
and righteousness in the land.
Come, Emmanuel, come.
My people will be saved and they will live in safety.
Come, Emmanuel, come. Fulfill your promise.
—adapted from Jeremiah 33:14-16
We Respond with Praise
Songs
“Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” Wesley
“Open Our Eyes” Keil
Opening Litany
We gather in the name of the crucified and risen Christ
over whom death had no power and through whom
there is life eternal.
We gather as a caring community
a community of faith and hope united by God’s love.
God calls to us
to care for one another, to be compassionate and merciful.
We are the creation of one Creator God.
The child who cries is every child.
The woman weakened and tired is every mother, wife, sister,
daughter.
The man is every father, husband, son, and brother.
AIDS leaves gaping wounds in the lives of those who have
lost the ones they love the most.
God gives us the strength and courage to be present in
the midst of loss.
Across the infinity of space and time a common heart beats
in every breast.
Bearing each other’s pain and clinging to hope, we come
to a deeper understanding of our common humanity.
We are a family of nations, and each of us is created in the
image of God.
AIDS is a worldwide crisis in the midst of which there
is no “we” and “they.”
We confess that we are all affected;
when one of God’s creation suffers, we all suffer.
When our sons and daughters are touched,
we remember Mary’s agony over the suffering and death
of her beloved child.
We know Jesus identifies with all who suffer;
through him come healing and wholeness.
Come, Emmanuel, come. Fulfill your promises through us.
We Respond with Praise
Songs
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” Neale
“Whatsoever You Do Unto the Least” Jabusch
“Lord, Make Us Servants” Assissi
“I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light” Thomerson
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God,
we confess to you that we are trapped by sin and cannot
free ourselves.
We have failed to love one another.
We have failed to love those living with HIV or AIDS.
We have failed to keep our promises to you.
Forgive us and fill us with your love.
Fill us with your Spirit so that our world will know
your redemption draws near through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sung Response
“Lord, My Petition Heed” Anonymous
“Hear Our Prayer, O Lord” Anonymous
“Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying” Medema
Words of Forgiveness
God’s promise is not empty. God reaches toward the longing heart with redemption. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, came to save sinners. In him we are given new life, filled up, overflowing, free. Heaven and earth will pass away, but his words will not pass away. We have God’s promise. He will lead us to life everlasting. Amen.
God Speaks Through His Word
We Respond with Devotion
Songs
“What Does the Lord Require” Bayly
“Go to the World” Dunstan
“Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” Assisi
Closing
To touch, bathe, feed, or clothe a person who is ill is to do
this to Christ Jesus.
Today we are called to be joyful, thankful people upheld
by God’s goodness and grace, and reaching out in
God’s love.
In thankfulness we commit ourselves to be a nurturing
community that seeks justice.
We commit to God and to one another to support,
encourage, and pray for persons whose lives have
been touched by HIV and AIDS.
We will oppose all forms of discrimination against persons
with HIV and AIDS.
We will support the right of all persons with HIV and
AIDS to housing, employment, services, transportation,
accommodations, and health care.
We will care for one another and love one another.
We will be Christ’s presence in each other’s lives.
We will be witnesses to God’s unconditional love.
Blessing and Dismissal
Songs
“Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love” Colvin
“May the God of Hope Go with Us” Schutmaat