SAN DIEGO -- Being Alive HIV/AIDS Services is going green with the collection of plastic bottles and cans to support Daniel’s Pantry that feeds the clients every month.

More than 400 people use Daniel's Pantry each month for a collection of canned goods, rice, fresh fruits and vegetables, and some frozen meat. There are donation bins at local businesses and recyclables can be dropped off at Being Alive Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. 4070 Centre St., San Diego, CA 92103 For more information on this program, call Harrison at 619-291-1400, ext 320.

PALM SPRINGS – Disco diva Martha Wash of Weather Girls fame will perform at a retro-inspired Disco Tea Dance on Sunday, Sept. 16, from 4 to 10 pm poolside at the Saguaro Hotel, 1800 E. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.

DJ Jerry Bonham of San Francisco’s annual “Remember the Party” will be spinning classic and iconic disco hits. The event is a benefit for AIDS Assistance Program.

(Editor’s note: The Rev. Canon Albert Ogle delivered these remarks today at the International AIDS Conference at a panel on “Religion, Culture and Law.” This will serve as his weekly RGOD2 column.)

The word religion is from the Latin word religio “to bind.” It is also sometimes described as law – a divine obligation, or sacred covenant which binds humanity with the mystery we call God.

Scientists compare the hunt for an AIDS vaccine to the search for the Holy Grail. And for three decades, it has proved to be about as difficult to find.

Since Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier identified HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — in 1983, only three vaccine trials have been completed. The first failed to prevent or control infection. The second also failed, mysteriously increasing infection. The third, completed in 2009, provided protection to only about a third of the people receiving it — but how it did that is still unknown.