Interviews
Reverend Yvette A. Flunder
Reverend Yvette A. Flunder, a descendant from a long line of ministers, understood at a young age that there were things that would happen in her life.
She knew God would use her to bring people closer to Him through her work.
A native of California, she is not only known as an ordained minister but as an accomplished gospel artist affiliated with the renowned Walter Hawkins' Love Center Choir.
She is a much sought?after singer, preacher and educator.
Flunder states: "It's not enough for me to be a preacher. It's more important that my ministry have the kind of outreach that feeds the hungry and houses the homeless."
Founding the City of Refuge Community Church in San Francisco, she united gospel ministry with a social agenda that in turn now addresses the existing needs of the African American faith community.
In response to the AIDS epidemic in the African American community, she, along with members of the Walter Hawkins Love Center Ministry, established a non-profit arm of her church called The Ark of Refuge in 1988.
The Ark of Refuge promotes AIDS education in the African American community, especially targeting high-risk groups and providing training to persons affected by HIV.
Again, responding to the needs of the HIV community, she has opened a transitional housing facility (Hazard-Ashley House) in Oakland, a 24-hr. dual diagnosis facility with coordinated substance abuse intervention services for HIV?positive African American women (Restoration House) in San Francisco, a rental subsidy program (Project Independence) and Walker House, a licensed 24-hour facility targeting multi-diagnosed persons living with HIV/AIDS or at end-stage.
Rev. Flunder now speaks on her work to address the AIDS epidemic, the need for AIDS to be spoken about more openly in churches and the effect it has had on the faith community - spiritually as well as physically.
K.O.: As an activist in the fight against AIDS, do you find that Black ministers have followed your example?
Y.F.: One of the things I've found is that pastors are already dealing with social justice ministry.
They are trying to do something about drugs, the housing crisis, people being underinsured and unemployed.
There is usually a more receptive attitude to dealing with HIV. You are injected into an already existing program.
It shows pastors the link between drug use and AIDS, teenage pregnancy and AIDS and they see the connection. It doesn't get isolated as it traditionally has as a gay white male issue.
It becomes more of an understanding that this is an equal opportunity virus, a sexually transmitted virus.
But where people are very closed and somewhat resistant to the social justice ministry, what I tend to do is to say the more fundamentalist churches, they need to begin a real health dialogue on human sexuality.
They are suffering terribly because of secrets. One of the things I suggest is talking to several professionals, know your stuff and know it well.
When you open up this can of worms, you need to be prepared to deal with the healing when people begin to talk.
At my church I had the largest attendance ever in a bible study talking about human sexuality and spirituality.
K.O.: What difficulties do the members of the gay and lesbian community have being acknowledged by the faith community?
Y.F.: When young people come along and say they are attracted to the same gender, I take that turn with them because I think it is important that we do that.
In essence, I don’t think people pick; they just don't decide this is how I'm going to feel. I think one day they wake up and feel that way and they don't know why they do.
This creates an internal torture within the context of the church because there is nowhere to go to talk about it and then being shunned leads to more anonymous clandestine sexual encounters, which puts them more at-risk.
There is nowhere to have a conversation where you won't be beat up and thrown away.
K.O.: With your visit to South Africa, what were your discoveries?
Y.F.: There are almost 13 million black Africans living with AIDS and 14 million Black children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Where our churches are being co-opted into this anti-AIDS morality, AIDS is quietly killing a whole generation in Africa.
As well as a generation and a half from the standpoint of leaving children without parents; leaving them with a government and third-world countries that do not have the infrastructure and capacity to take care for orphans.
Y.F.: We need to get out to the African American faith community that is not listening. They need to start listening before HIV/AIDS strikes their children.
Today, our kids are faced with different issues and they need a little more than traditional church teachings.
We can no longer look away and pretend we do not see. How can we do this and reach our community without placing the blame?
Rev. Yvette Flunder has brought to our attention that the church needs to address AIDS. It is a reality in the African American faith community.
The ministry needs to stop being afraid to address the subject of AIDS because of issues such as homosexuality, pre-marital sex and sexuality in general.
My feeling is: once sexuality taboos are more openly dealt with and spoken about, only then can the ministry honestly fight this epidemic wiping out our community.
I commend Rev. Flunder on her efforts and pray her actions and candid speech will not be the "one voice" to be heard.
