The conversation explored how spiritual leadership, community care, and advocacy continue to sustain hope and healing. Together, we remembered the lives lost, celebrated the legacies that endure, and envisioned a more just and compassionate future for all people living with HIV/AIDS.
Trigger warning: This conversation includes mentions of suicide.
Help is available. Call or text 988. You are not alone. 988lifeline.org
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Resources
Event
Join the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network next Thursday, December 11, 2025 for a discussion with the co-creators of “When We All Get to Heaven,” the podcast that chronicles the trauma and triumphs of MCC San Francisco during the epicenter of the AIDS crisis. Learn more and register here.
Organizations & Networks
- Event co-sponsors: LGBTQ Religious Archives Network
- The Balm of Gilead is the organization founded by panelist Dr. Pernessa Seele with a mission of improving the health of individuals who are most at risk for chronic and acute diseases by supporting faith and community organizations in areas that mobilize and strengthen their capacity to increase awareness in areas of prevention, treatment, and access to care through education, programming and advocacy.
- The Harlem Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS was a historic AIDS awareness campaign that began in Harlem in 1989 to bring faith communities together to address the devastating impact of the epidemic. This initiative, organized by The Balm in Gilead, was the precursor to the National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS (NWPHA), which has evolved to involve all faith communities across the nation in prayer, education, and advocacy against HIV/AIDS. The original event was a paradigm shift that ushered in public health strategies involving faith-based organizations, leading to the creation of national awareness days for different communities of color.
- Rev. Louis Mitchell can be reached via his church, Rincon Congregational Church UCC
Film
Paris Is Burning is a 1990 American documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay and transgender communities involved in it. (Content warning: this film is rated R).
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The Rev. Canon Ted Karpf
The Reverend Canon Ted Karpf, a priest, writer, public health expert, Gestalt therapist. He served at Boston University School of Theology as Associate Dean and an adjunct faculty member. He was canon to the Bishop of Washington (DC), also canon of the Washington National Cathedral, and named Canon for Life of the Diocese of Washington for his work in international health and development. He was Provincial Canon for HIV/AIDS of Church of Southern Africa. Ted, a member of the corps diplomatique of the WHO, and is an international human/gay rights activist engaged community and faith-based health responses. For more than four decades he has provided “leadership in alleviating suffering globally from HIV/AIDS”. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of Boston University (2007) and Texas Wesleyan University (2003).He resides and offers spiritual direction in Northern New Mexico. His autobiography, Acts of Forgiveness: Faith Journeys of a Gay Priest was released in 2020 through Audible and McFarland publishing company.
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The Rev. Louis J. Mitchell
Rev. Louis J. Mitchell is the Pastor of Rincon UCC in Tucson, Arizona, and a co-founder of Transfaith with Mx. Chris Paige. A dedicated father to Kahlo and many chosen sons, Rev. Mitchell is an acclaimed advocate for the disenfranchised.
His long-time work in social justice has earned him numerous honors, including the:
2023 - National Black Justice Coalition, James Baldwin Legacy Award
2022 - I Am Human Foundation, Lifetime Achievement Award
2015 - Claire Skiffington Vanguard Award from the Transgender Law Center
Louis Mitchell Foundation Award for Empowerment (established in his honor by the Black Trans Advocacy Conference in 2013)
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Dr. Pernessa C. Seele
Dr. Pernessa C. Seele, Founder and CEO of The Balm In Gilead Inc., a not-for-profit organization, is a phenomenal trailblazer. Dr. Seele is celebrating over 30 years of providing vision and leadership in areas of technical support to strengthen the capacity of faith institutions in the United States and Africa to eradicate health disparities by promoting health education and services within their local communities.
Born in the heart of the south, this Lincolnville native always shares a special love for South Carolina. Dr. Seele received her B.S. and M.S. from Clark Atlanta University and her Doctor of Humane Letters from the College of New Rochelle in NY.
As a pioneer and community activist, Dr. Seele is known for her work in forging public health and faith-based partnerships for engaging individuals in health promotion and disease prevention interventions. She has been recognized with numerous awards. Dr. Seele published her first book, Stand Up to Stigma! How to Reject Fear & Shame in 2017, and is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
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The LGBTQ Religious Archives Network is co-hosting this event
The LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (LGBTQ-RAN) works to preserve and promote scholarly study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer religious movements and leaders around the world. LGBTQ-RAN maintains an online information clearinghouse of archival collections and other historical information about LGBTQ religious history, assists LGBTQ religious leaders and groups determine how best to preserve their records and papers, and hosts online discussions on historical and contemporary topics related to LGBTQ+ people of faith.