Serenity Garden celebrated in Orangeburg; quilting workshop to follow

The program will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 27, at Victory Tabernacle Deliverance Temple, located at 681 Broughton St. in Orangeburg.

Orangeburg resident Pat Kelly, who has been living with HIV since 1985, is director of “A Family Affair Living Our Best Life.” It is a support group for African American women living with HIV/AIDS and their families at Victory Tabernacle Church in Orangeburg.

She said the program’s theme is “Remembering, Reflecting, Committing.”

“We’re going to remember the people that had an HIV diagnosis and are no longer with us. We want to remember those that we’ve lost. We’re going to also reflect on those that are still here and commit to making panels of remembrance for those that we’ve lost,” Kelly said.

“A Family Affair Living Our Best Life” has announced that it is among the groups holding workshops for the creation of quilts that will be part of the national AIDS Memorial Quilt and honor those whose lives have been lost to HIV/AIDS in the state.

The National AIDS Memorial, or NAM, is the steward of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. NAM has partnered with the Southern AIDS Coalition to bring sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to communities throughout the Southern U.S. to highlight and honor the lives of Blacks and other minorities who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS as part of a national “Change the Pattern” initiative.

Funded by a $2.4 million grant from Gilead Sciences, the initiative will focus on reaching, engaging and sharing the experiences of marginalized communities disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. The initiative offers learning opportunities through educational programming, advocacy and quilt making.

Individuals will be invited to participate in the quilting workshop, which will be held immediately following the program on Saturday, July 27.

“It’s time to change the pattern,” said Kelly, noting that Blacks have been disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS.

Marlene Richardson, administrative assistant for “A Family Affair Living Our Best Life,” said she will be crafting a quilt panel in memory of a good friend.

“We put the deceased persons’ names and their sunrise and sunset dates on it. My good friend passed, and her favorite color was royal blue. I’m doing her panel. Her picture is going to be on hers. I’m also using things with her favorite color,” Richardson said.

The program will begin within the Serenity Garden, which was created for those whose lives have been touched by HIV/AIDS through a collaboration of Victory Tabernacle, the then Orangeburg-based Minority AIDS Council and “A Family Affair Living Our Best Life,” which at the time had been known as “A Family Affair.”

The garden is a space where those with HIV/AIDS and their families can grieve without stigma and find comfort among others affected by the disease. The Serenity Garden was dedicated on May 10, 2007 as the first living AIDS memorial garden. Built on a four-acre tract behind Victory Tabernacle, the garden includes the names of people who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS.

“I’ve gone out there several times. I’ve had some friends that have come to visit that I have taken out there. We walk around, talk and have our thoughts about our individual feelings and persons that we miss,” said Kelly, noting that the garden is open to the community.

Richardson said any individual is also welcome to come on work on a panel during the quilting session.

“It’s not really work. We do a lot of laughing, we eat. It’s just a really good space for fellowshipping. We just try to keep each other lifted up and encouraged, as well as just listen. It’s just really an organic, safe space to be in,” she said.

Kelly said she hopes the program will be a success.

“I hope the churches will encourage their members to come out because making these panels is like putting a stitch in history. If you don’t do anything but sign your name and say you were there, it’s all history because we’re changing the pattern,” she said.

Kelly continued, “I’m hoping that some of this work will definitely change some of the stigma and attitudes that people have. I’ve been diagnosed 39 years. We are living longer. We are aging. We are the new generation of people who have been diagnosed with HIV.

“Those people that die alone in isolation and loneliness, it’s because of the stigma in all areas. That shouldn’t happen to anybody. It just shouldn’t. You should know that you can reach out and have help.”

For more information on the workshops and/or the services that “A Family Affair Living Our Best Life” provides, contact Kelly by phone at 803-596-8120 or email at spirilgurl@yahoo.com, or visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/AFamilyAffair05.