July 1996

Summer Memoirs

J. Todd Ferguson

When I accepted Ted Karpf’s offer to become NEAC’s intern for the summer, I truly did not know what to expect. Even as I arrived in Washington, DC, I was careful not to formulate any preconceived notions or expectations. Having known Ted for nine years, I learned to anticipate anything, and to expect the unexpected. And, in turn, everything seemed to occur this summer.

This is not my first encounter with NEAC. In 1989, when I was twelve, I was a presenter at the first NEAC Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. Even then I was able to appreciate what NEAC provided for a Church community battling the AIDS pandemic. However, after this summer I have a renewed understanding and appreciation for NEAC and its numerous involvements.

This summer alone, NEAC worked with other AIDS organizations lobbying Congress on health care and AIDS funding. NEAC staff also worked with the Episcopal Church Commission on AIDS/HIV on resolutions for the 1997 General Convention, began to develop plans for a conference in 1998, and established the foundation for a book based on “AIDS and the Cure of Souls,” the national Symposium to be held in October.

Moreover, several Teens for AIDS Prevention (TAP) training sessions were planned, developed, and coordinated. Also this summer, the Executive Director arranged a series of trips, the first of which is to journey to South Africa in September on behalf of the Episcopal Church for the enthronement of the new Archbishop of South Africa, and to be a presenter for the first-ever AIDS Conference sponsored by the Anglican Church in South Africa. Later this fall, he will also visit a number of the grass-roots efforts of parishes, dioceses, and organizations throughout the country. In midst of it all, the staff continues to battle the seemingly endless work and planning involved in both the Symposium and the Retreat.

My main summer project, to prepare a NEAC Daily Operations Manual, seemed extraordinarily simple and elementary compared to these and many other events; however, it too became a rather sizeable undertaking. In effect, I learned everything involved with the daily finances, memberships, the upcoming Retreat and Symposium, correspondence, fundraising and networking. More important, I learned what defines NEAC: its dynamics, attributes, accomplishments, purpose and goals. I have yet to determine if such knowledge is a blessing…or a curse!

Nevertheless, it is important to realize that NEAC is not simply an organization that answers occasional phone calls and hosts an annual retreat or conference. Rather, NEAC is a multifaceted and innovative organization that is active on many levels—religious, health, political, and social—to care about and provide resources for persons with AIDS, caregivers, other AIDS-related institutions, and anyone else who is affected by the AIDS pandemic. To label NEAC as “just another church organization” severely underscores and underestimates the scope of NEAC’s mission.

I would like to sincerely thank Bud Knight and Chet Flake at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Dallas, TX, and Ted Karpf, Barbara Milton, and the Chuck Milton Memorial Fund, a fund specifically designated for summer internships, for making this the most unique, extraordinary, and rewarding summer possible.