Santa Ana : Church Will Sponsor Prayer Vigil on AIDS

Christ Chapel Metropolitan Community Church will sponsor a continuous “vigil of prayer” to bring AIDS to the attention of the county’s religious community.

The Rev. D. Dennis Chappell, pastor of the church at 720 N. Spurgeon St., said the vigil will begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 and run continuously through evening services on Sept. 7.

Speakers will discuss AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) and its effects on patients and those around them. Featured speakers will include the Rev. John McGill Krumm, bishop-in-residence at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Tustin; Werner Kuhn, director of the AIDS Response Program of Orange County, and Parrie Graham, executive director of the AIDS Services Foundation.

Chappell said religious leaders and representatives of church organizations throughout Orange County have been invited to attend. The church’s sanctuary will be open around the clock for silent prayer and reflection.

Special worship services will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 5, at 8 a.m., noon and 7 p.m. Sept. 6.

Chappell said the aim is to make “a spiritual statement on behalf of the gay community” and to “create a climate of compassion and concern in the entire religious community for all those whose lives are affected by AIDS, both now and in the future.”