June 11, 2003

The Urban AIDS Ministry Task Force will sponsor the fourth annual Black Church Lights the Way Conference and Luncheon on Friday, June 20, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Agnes Baptist Church, 3730 South Acres Drive.

Keynote speaker at the conference will be Rev. Monifa A. Jumanne, Ph.D., executive director of the Health Education and Leadership Project at the Interdenominational Theological Center, a faith initiative funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her talk is titled “From Apathy Into Action – The Challenge of Compassionate Leadership.”

The free conference will provide educational support for church ministries. Free HIV testing will be provided at the event.

The task force is a coalition of area faith leaders who develop innovative strategies for reaching churches and ministers to better respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Houston. The Bureau of HIV/STD Prevention at the Houston Department of Health and Human Services serves as a facilitator for the task force.

For more information or to register for the conference, call 713-794-9397.