DETROIT – Through their program, “The Black Church & HIV: The Social Justice Imperative,” the NAACP hosted a town hall for Detroit faith leaders on Thursday, Dec. 17 in the Marquette Room of the Detroit Marriott. The luncheon, which was produced in partnership with the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit, drew a small crowd of about 35, of which about a dozen identified as clergy.
Rev. Horace Sheffield III, pastor of New Destiny Christian Fellowship Church, spoke about how he got involved with fighting HIV while living in New York.
“I recognized there was a great deal of judgment going on,” he said. “Some of our local clergy and national clergy issued a statement that this was a consequence of sin. It was God’s judgment of people for their lifestyle.”