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World AIDS Day Interfaith Community Observance with a special performance by Vox Femina

Thursday, December 1, 2022 • 7 Kislev 5783

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM


You are invited to the World AIDS Day Interfaith Community Observance at Congregation Kol Ami! Cosponsored by CSL-LA, Founders MCC, WeHo UCC, Justice Ministry of Cal-Pac Methodist Church, Israel-Civic Action Network and JQ. Our keynote is long-time survivor Rev. Steve Pieters, whose story was featured in the movie "The Eyes of Tammy Faye". Also participating will be, Rabbi Denise L. Eger, Rev. Lisa Bove, Rev. Keith Mozingo, Rev. Dr. Keith Cox,  Rev. Denyse Barnes, Hon. John Duran and Hon. Mitch O'Farrell and members of Kol Ami's HIV Support Group.  Vox Femina will perform several pieces during the observance. Vox Femina is under the direction of Dr. Iris Levine.

A section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display. 
 
Join us in the fight against HIV, show support for people living with HIV, and commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness.
 
This event will be in person and streaming online.
 
Register below. We hope to see you there!
 
The Rev. Steve Pieters
The Rev. Steve Pieters is best known as “that gay pastor with AIDS” Tammy Faye Bakker interviewed in 1985. He has survived AIDS since 1982 and has spoken all over the world as a role model of healing and hope.
 
In 1985, he spoke at the first entertainment industry dinner AIDS benefit, given by Elizabeth Taylor and honoring former First Lady Betty Ford. In 1987, Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Rev. Pieters presented AIDS Project Los Angeles’s Buddy of the Year Award to Whoopi Goldberg.
 
Rev. Pieters was one of twelve guests at the first AIDS Prayer Breakfast at the White House with U.S. President Bill Clinton. He has been profiled by the Los Angeles Times, and quoted in Time and Life magazines. He has appeared on television many times, including on CNN, CBS This Morning, and “Real Life with Jane Pauley.” He is featured in the 2021 film, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” starring Jessica Chastain.
 
As a longtime member of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, he has performed in some of the great concert halls of the world. In 2019, a collection of his work in AIDS ministry, including his fairy wand, was placed in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
 
On June 11, 1991, Jane Pauley interviewed Steve Pieters, as a gay pastor living with AIDS since 1982. 30 years later and he defied the odds and is able to currently see how he is portrayed in the recent release, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, starring Jessica Chastain (Academy Award for Best Actress), Andrew Garfield, and Vincent D'Onofrio. Randy Havens of TV's Stranger Things plays Pieters.
 
The film recreates Tammy Faye Bakker's historic 1985 interview with Steve Pieters, the first time a televangelist gave an affirming interview with a gay man living with AIDS. Pieters' interview was a turning point for him as well as Tammy Faye.
 
 
The original Tammy Faye interview can be seen at: https://youtu.be/GjXXdQ6VceQ
 
Pieters says, “I have been amazed at how those 25 minutes I spent with Tammy Faye have reverberated through Pieters' life, more than almost anything else I've done. So many people have said my interview with her helped them come out or even saved them from suicide, by helping them realize they could be gay and Christian, or that God was not punishing them with AIDS for being gay.”
 
VOX Femina
VOX Femina Los Angeles gives women voice through the performance of quality choral literature. Diverse in culture, age, race, belief and sexual identity, VOX is a chorus committed to commissioning new works and raising awareness about issues that affect women. Through music, VOX aims to create a world that affirms the worth and dignity of every person.
 
Throughout its 25 years, VOX has remained committed to commissioning new works, collaborating with 40 composers on over 50 commissions since its founding. This is an extraordinary contribution to the canon of choral music for treble voices.
 
“Under the expert direction of Dr. Iris S. Levine, the voices are gorgeous, the production is excellent and the performances are top notch. This group is a precious gem in the musical crown of Los Angeles. May they continue for another 20 years.” --Jeff Slayton, See Dance News
Performance by Vox Femina under the Direction of Dr. Iris Levine
 

               

 
 
 
REGISTER HERE
 

 

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