Tue 3 May 2011 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
AIDS Candlelight Memorial services will be held at seven centres across the country on Sunday 15 May, with the theme 'touching lives'. Services will be held in parks and churches in Whangarei, Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill. Wayne Otter, National Co-ordinator (Elect) for New Zealand says, "This year has the greatest number of services in New Zealand since the 1990s. This surge in interest shows that New Zealand is making considerable progress in breaking down barriers and raising social consciousness about HIV, and that is fantastic to see," he says. "The Candlelight Memorial service is about paying our respects to those in our community who have died of AIDS, but it is also about people coming together to share their stories and to express their commitment to HIV awareness," Otter adds. "Many people in New Zealand have in some way been touched by the HIV epidemic, none more so then the gay community, and the memorial offers an opportunity and a safe space to gather in recognition of that.” The New Zealand AIDS Foundation will take a signed photograph and letter from the late AIDS/HIV awareness campaigner Elizabeth Taylor, on loan from the Ken Beale estate, to the Auckland Candlelight Memorial Service. The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial started in 1983 in the United States and combines a memorial with celebration. Community-based organisations across the world hold the event to remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS, to support those living with HIV and affected by its impact and to spur calls to action for greater awareness. New Zealand AIDS Candlelight Memorial services on 15 May: Whangarei, 6PM, Christ Church, 2B Kamo Rd Auckland, 6PM, St Matthew-in-the-City, Cnr Hobson and Wellesley St New Plymouth, 7PM, Base Hospital Chapel, David St Wellington, 7PM, St Andrew's on the Terrace, 30 The Terrace Christchurch, 6Pm, St Alban's Park, Edward Ave Dunedin, 7PM, St Paul's Cathedral, The Octagon Invercargill, 6PM, Bluff Hill
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 3rd May 2011 - 2:28pm