There are two things I can recall as being very inappropriate as I was growing up first was dan whites Twinkie defense the second was “Gay Cancer”. Neither made sense to me. The first meant that every kid I knew could have killed their parents and gotten away with it, and the second just didn’t make sense because cancer does not work that way! Of course, now we know it as AIDS and it is neither gay nor is it cancer, but it is something we have all been living with for too long.
In the summer of 81 I was 19 I had just finished my year in catholic seminary. I realized I was Gay and started my coming out process. It was in May of that year that the NY Native first reported on cases that would become known as AIDS. I have been living with AIDS all my adult life.
I was living n Boston in 1987 when the AIDS Memorial Quilt was first Displayed there. I had just returned from Detroit to visit some friends when I had Learned a bartender, friend and mentor, named norm had passed from complications due to HIV. (Nobody dies from AIDS)
I was sad, I did not get to say goodbye or update one of my mentors on how my life was going. I was sitting with a group of my friends after walking around the esplanade for a few hours when they asked if I had seen the panel from Detroit.
I had seen a few from home, one of someone I knew. But the one they were talking about was Norms’. It was made from all his ties he was famous for wearing. I broke down. I couldn’t see him when I went to visit, so he came to see me.
I eventually moved to San Francisco where I would walk by the names project storefront. I had a friend who could often be found inside organizing artifacts, repairing quilts as needed or sewing the panels together. It was hard to walk by that window as we would go to the Castro to try to live our lives amidst the grief.
For several of our Past synods, the gathering of all the UCC churches, I was responsible for the quilt display and organizing HIV testing as well as having health info available to our clergy and lay leaders.
We would have 10-12 panels, and we would try to make them relevant to our host community. Churches, Gay men’s Choruses, AIDS organizations, local clubs or bars. We would hunt down what we felt would be relevant and there are so many to choose from.
People would come and walk and ponder and cry or laugh. Stories were shared. Every now and again I would hear is this still a thing? To which I would provide education. Or someone would ask if I can still make one and how do I go about it. To which the answer is Yes. I had one person come up and say we found a panel in our church closet what should I do.
The AIDS memorial Quilt is a living testament to all those friends, lovers, family members and co-workers we lost and still are losing. The average is 100 new panels a month are sent in. It is the world’s largest folk art project. These panels are a celebration of life and love. They are sacred artifacts. Please take time to honor the love and lives shared here. If you have any questions, after service I will be happy to stick around. Thank you.
