Yvette Flunder biography, married

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<h2>Early Life and Musical Career</h2>
<p><a href="/biography/yvette-flunder">Yvette A. Flunder</a> was born on July 29, 1955, in San Francisco, California. Raised in a devout <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity">Christian</a> family, her father was a preacher at the Church of God in Christ (COGIC). During her youth, she became connected with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hawkins">gospel legend</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hawkins">Walter Hawkins</a> and the Love Center Choir. She began performing with them and, in 1984, started recording music as the lead vocalist of “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hawkins">Walter Hawkins</a> and the Family” and the Love Center Choir.</p>
<p>Her notable gospel recordings include “There’s Power” with the City of Refuge Praise Ensemble and “We Won’t Be Silent Anymore” with The Fellowship Mass Choir. She also collaborated with Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer on the song “How Sweet the Sound.” During this period, she met her future spouse Shirley Miller, a cousin of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hawkins">Walter Hawkins</a>. Flunder was later licensed in the Church of God in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus">Christ</a> and ordained by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hawkins">Bishop</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hawkins">Walter Hawkins</a> through Love Center Ministries. She went on to serve as Associate Pastor and Administrator at Love Center Church in Oakland, California.</h2>

<h2>First Calling and HIV/AIDS Ministry</h2>
<p>Moved by the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, particularly within her community, Flunder responded by establishing multiple nonprofit services in the San Francisco Bay Area. She created Hazard-Ashley House and Walker House to provide support to individuals in addiction recovery and people living with HIV. She also founded Restoration House, the first residential program of its kind focused on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans">African-American</a> women with dual diagnoses.</p>
<p>These initiatives were launched under the umbrella of Ark of Refuge, Inc., a nonprofit organization delivering housing, education, training, and other vital services to individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. The organization eventually evolved into the Y.A. Flunder Foundation. Its reach extended beyond the Bay Area to other regions of the U.S. and parts of Africa.</p>

<h2>City of Refuge UCC and Inclusive Ministry</h2>
<p>In 1991, Flunder founded the City of Refuge under the United Church of Christ (UCC). Her aim was to unify gospel ministry with social justice and to serve communities marginalized by mainstream religious institutions. She described the church as “a spiritual community that embraces collective cultures, faith paths, gender expressions, and sexual/affectional orientations,” while challenging theologies that marginalize women and the LGBTQ+ community.</p>
<p>By 1997, she had earned both a Certificate of Ministry Studies and a Master of Arts in Ministry from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. In 2000, she responded to the growing need for affirming religious spaces by launching The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM), a trans-denominational body advocating for the “radically inclusive love of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus">Jesus Christ</a>.” Flunder was officially consecrated as a bishop in 2003.</p>

<h2>The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM)</h2>
<p>Though The Fellowship was founded in 2000, it was renamed The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries in 2011. In June 2003, Rev. <a href="/biography/yvette-flunder">Dr.</a> Flunder was officially consecrated as its Presiding Bishop. TFAM includes over 100 primarily <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans">African-American</a> congregations and faith-based organizations across the U.S., Mexico, three African countries, and more recently Asia. The fellowship maintains covenantal relationships with the United Church of Christ, Metropolitan Community Churches, and Centers for Spiritual Living.</p>
<p>TFAM is known for its emphasis on inclusion and is predominantly composed of congregations with LGBT or LGBT-affirming pastors. While <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans">African Americans</a> make up the majority, its members also include White and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic">Hispanic</a> communities.</p>

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<h2>Academic and Theological Contributions</h2>
<p><a href="/biography/yvette-flunder">Bishop</a> Flunder identifies as a womanist and a reconciling liberation theologian. In 2005, she published her book, <em>Where the Edge Gathers: Building a Community of Radical Inclusion</em>, which explores inclusive faith communities and the intersection of justice and spirituality.</p>
<p>She holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, California. Flunder is an ordained <a href="/biography/yvette-flunder">minister</a> of the United Church of Christ and played a notable role in supporting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Pearson">Bishop</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Pearson">Carlton Pearson</a> when he was ostracized for his theological stance on universal reconciliation.</p>

<h2>Recognitions and Public Engagement</h2>
<p>In 2011, Flunder received the Robert C. Kirkwood Community Leadership Award from the San Francisco Community Foundation. Within the United Church of Christ, she contributed to the UCC Unified Governance Working Group.</p>
<p>In 2013, she was named Distinguished Alumna of the Pacific School of Religion. On December 1, 2014, Flunder delivered a keynote address at the White House for World AIDS Day, where she discussed the stigma surrounding HIV and the need for comprehensive AIDS education.</p>
<p>In 2015, she was a featured <a href="/biography/yvette-flunder">speaker</a> at the American Baptist College’s Garnett-Nabrit Lecture Series. She has served as a trustee for the Starr King School for the Ministry and as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.</p>

<h2>Leadership and Advocacy Roles</h2>
<p><a href="/biography/yvette-flunder">Bishop</a> Flunder's leadership portfolio includes serving as President of the Board of the Northern California Nevada Conference of the UCC, Board Member of the Shanti Project, Chair of the San Francisco Inter-religious Coalition on AIDS, and Chair of the Black Adoption Placement and Research Center. She was a founding <a href="/biography/yvette-flunder">member</a> of the African American Interfaith Alliance on AIDS and served on several regional and national committees focused on HIV/AIDS policy and support, such as the Alameda County Ryan White Consortium and the San Francisco HIV/AIDS Planning and Prevention Council.</p>

<h2>Television and Film Portrayals</h2>
<p>In 2017, Flunder was portrayed by <a href="/biography/phylicia-rashad">actress</a> <a href="/biography/phylicia-rashad">Phylicia Rashad</a> in the ABC miniseries <em>When We Rise</em>, a dramatization of LGBT rights movements in the United States. <a href="/biography/phylicia-rashad">Rashad</a>’s performance highlighted the role of the church and Flunder’s compassionate leadership within a historically <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans">African-American</a> community in San Francisco.</p>
<p>In 2018, actress Joni Bovill played <a href="/biography/yvette-flunder">Bishop</a> Flunder in the Netflix film <em>Come Sunday</em>, directed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Marston">Joshua Marston</a> and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film explored themes of faith and inclusion within <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity">Christian</a> ministry.</p>

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