On Sunday, December 2^th, 2018, Metropolitan Interdenominational Church will open its doors for the annual “Tree of Life” Celebration in honor of World AIDS Sunday. The event is sponsored by Metropolitan Interdenominational Church First Response Center in conjunction with community partners Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Nashville Metropolitan Chapter, Street Works, W.O.M.E.N., and Meharry Medical College’s Project C.O.P.E.

            This year’s celebration will again feature the Voices of Metropolitan. The tradition of lighting red candles in the name of persons living with HIV/AIDS, and white candles for those who have died from AIDS-related complications, is often a part of the many occasions when Metropolitan Interdenominational Church calls the community together to address this disease. When we began the tradition of World AIDS Sunday over eighteen years ago, we decided to weave the spirit of the Christmas season into our celebration by decorating the evergreen tree in our sanctuary with red and white ribbons. We refer to this tree as the “Tree of Life,” and when we ritualistically place the ribbons on the tree, calling the names of each person represented by a ribbon (red for those living, white for the deceased), we celebrate the gift of eternal life. For just as the tree is evergreen, we know that our beloved sisters and brothers will live in our hearts forever.