July 2003

Renewal at the Province IV HIV/AIDS Retreat

by The Rev. Valerie Thomas

The cool summer rain cleansed the earth at Kanuga and the spirits of all who were there. A gathering of 340 people who were infected or affected with HIV/AIDS was refreshed and revived by the atmosphere and the retreat speakers and leaders at the Province IV Retreat.

It had been several years since I attended this retreat and I asked myself why I had waited to come back. Over and over I was lifted and renewed by Brian Suntken’s inspired message. Everything from the grounds to the food to the people to the music and to the Holy Spirit—which was awesomely present—was truly wonderful.

It seemed to me that men and women, straight and gay, were equally represented at the retreat. One young man told me it was his first time at the Kanuga retreat. He felt like he belonged. No one looked at him funny. He was accepted. He wanted to stay forever but—as he put it on Sunday afternoon—he would have to return to the “real” world.

At Saturday evening’s healing service, there was hardly a dry eye in the place, which was packed with all 340 people. There were six sets of healing teams. Each had long lines. It seemed to last forever. Since I was working one of the stations I kept asking myself where all these people were coming from. Did Jesus, looking over the 5,000 and providing food, also feel this way? It occurred to me that all the people coming for healing also needed food—food to strengthen lives as well as bodies, spiritual food that can only be supplied from above.

As we left Kanuga on Sunday morning, I took with me the many faces of AIDS, young, old, middle-aged, faces that had become part of the fabric of my life. I was honored to be there, honored to be asked to read the Gospel, honored to be part of a healing team, but mostly honored to be accepted by a group of people who just wanted to be loved and wanted to love. Kanuga Province IV AIDS Retreat is a place of solace for God’s people.