WEBVTT 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:08.759 Welcome again to another episode of the Interfaith 00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:13.320 Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Iqbal Akhtar, and 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:17.019 I'm here with two of our colleagues, Pastor Candy 00:00:17.019 --> 00:00:20.199 and Bianca, from Christ Congregational Youth. 00:00:20.810 --> 00:00:23.530 United Church of Christ. I'm just making sure 00:00:23.530 --> 00:00:27.030 I got it right. And so, well, we're very honored 00:00:27.030 --> 00:00:29.670 for them to join us today. They're part of many 00:00:29.670 --> 00:00:32.090 interfaith organizations, including the Mosaic 00:00:32.090 --> 00:00:36.649 Interfaith Clergy Dialogue. And particularly 00:00:36.649 --> 00:00:39.630 Pastor Candy is an institution here in Miami. 00:00:39.689 --> 00:00:43.609 And she's done amazing work in, you know, sort 00:00:43.609 --> 00:00:47.149 of the moral upliftment of our community here 00:00:47.149 --> 00:00:51.130 in Miami. um is a really important voice i think 00:00:51.130 --> 00:00:53.210 moral voice for the challenging times that we 00:00:53.210 --> 00:00:54.649 live in right now so i think what we're going 00:00:54.649 --> 00:00:57.969 to do is we'll do um we'll start off with kind 00:00:57.969 --> 00:01:01.549 of you talking a little bit about your life um 00:01:01.549 --> 00:01:03.429 and your experiences and then we'll go to you 00:01:03.429 --> 00:01:06.409 bianca and we'll just go back and forth um so 00:01:06.409 --> 00:01:08.989 talk to us a little bit about um where you come 00:01:08.989 --> 00:01:11.569 from where you grew up and sort of how faith 00:01:11.569 --> 00:01:19.150 became important in your life okay um my My full 00:01:19.150 --> 00:01:23.829 title is the Reverend Candace Thomas. And I say 00:01:23.829 --> 00:01:27.010 that because I'm an ordained minister in the 00:01:27.010 --> 00:01:30.750 United Church of Christ. And that means something. 00:01:30.829 --> 00:01:35.870 It's something I've worked hard for. I think 00:01:35.870 --> 00:01:41.769 my faith journey began before I was even in confirmation 00:01:41.769 --> 00:01:47.040 class, which was seventh grade. I grew up in 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:52.680 First Evangelical and Reformed Church in Sandusky, 00:01:52.780 --> 00:02:00.060 Ohio, which in 1957, we had four different denominations 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:03.000 joined together to become the United Church of 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:05.939 Christ. So it became First United Church of Christ. 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:09.099 And I was one of those kids that the neighbors 00:02:09.099 --> 00:02:14.129 take to Sunday school. We played with the neighbor's 00:02:14.129 --> 00:02:16.969 kids, and they just took us to Sunday school. 00:02:17.289 --> 00:02:22.669 And part of the faith journey was when you got 00:02:22.669 --> 00:02:25.750 to be about in seventh grade, you had confirmation, 00:02:25.889 --> 00:02:31.009 which was that you studied to renew the baptismal 00:02:31.009 --> 00:02:35.069 vows your parents had made for you. They promised 00:02:35.069 --> 00:02:39.810 to bring you up as a Christian. I guess around 00:02:39.810 --> 00:02:43.250 12 was seen as the age when you could start making 00:02:43.250 --> 00:02:47.270 your own decisions. And so we learned a lot about 00:02:47.270 --> 00:02:50.830 the Bible and the history of the church and how 00:02:50.830 --> 00:02:53.289 we're supposed to live our lives as followers 00:02:53.289 --> 00:02:56.870 of Jesus Christ. And I was the kid with all the 00:02:56.870 --> 00:03:00.669 questions. I'm sure the other kids in the class 00:03:00.669 --> 00:03:04.069 wish that Candy would just be quiet so they could 00:03:04.069 --> 00:03:09.479 leave. A big part of my faith has been with questions. 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:14.819 So anyway, I moved along, was active in church, 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:19.080 graduated from high school, went to college, 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:23.919 to Kent State University in Ohio, and studied 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.580 to be an English teacher, minored in library 00:03:26.580 --> 00:03:31.240 science, graduated, taught English for a year. 00:03:31.740 --> 00:03:35.300 was not great at discipline, did not like that 00:03:35.300 --> 00:03:38.639 part of things, loved literature. And so I'd 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:43.340 had a summer work experience as a social worker 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:47.080 in a children's services agency, which I really 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:50.759 did like. And so at that time, I took the test 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:56.460 to become a social worker. On and off for the 00:03:56.460 --> 00:04:00.120 next 19 years, I worked as a social worker in 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:03.460 children's services, took time off to have my 00:04:03.460 --> 00:04:09.020 three kids. I was married and did that and found 00:04:09.020 --> 00:04:13.159 it fulfilling, but remained involved in a church 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:16.420 of the United Church of Christ, no matter where 00:04:16.420 --> 00:04:22.459 we lived. And as I got to be in my latter 40s, 00:04:22.459 --> 00:04:26.019 I got even more. involved in the church. I was 00:04:26.019 --> 00:04:30.220 a deacon, and I decided that I was being called 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:34.860 to ministry. In our denomination, we take the 00:04:34.860 --> 00:04:39.160 idea of calls seriously. It's not a call you 00:04:39.160 --> 00:04:43.019 hear with your ears. It's a call you feel. It's 00:04:43.019 --> 00:04:48.339 really hard to describe, but it's so important 00:04:48.339 --> 00:04:53.339 that one of the steps in being certified, if 00:04:53.339 --> 00:04:56.500 you will, by the denomination to be ordained 00:04:56.500 --> 00:05:00.360 is you have to be able to talk about and write 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:05.319 about your sense of call. And other people help 00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:08.420 you decide if that's real or just somehow you've 00:05:08.420 --> 00:05:10.220 got this in your head, you think that would be 00:05:10.220 --> 00:05:14.339 a good idea. But call for me has been a very 00:05:14.339 --> 00:05:21.519 real thing. And so when I was about 50, I began 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:27.779 seminary and was fortunate enough to be a student 00:05:27.779 --> 00:05:34.459 pastor full time in a UCC church. We had a deal 00:05:34.459 --> 00:05:37.180 where I would go to seminary. I had to drive 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:41.579 about 90 miles and would work for the church 00:05:41.579 --> 00:05:45.819 the rest of the time. And I learned and it was 00:05:45.819 --> 00:05:50.850 a great congregation to be in for me. And so 00:05:50.850 --> 00:05:54.790 I did that. I graduated from the Methodist Theological 00:05:54.790 --> 00:06:01.029 School in Ohio in Delaware in 1998 and was ordained 00:06:01.029 --> 00:06:05.689 like a month later. And that was a big deal. 00:06:05.769 --> 00:06:10.889 That was really a wonderful thing. And stayed 00:06:10.889 --> 00:06:16.439 at that church for 12 years in all. until I decided 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:21.759 that it was time to explore other types of ministry. 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:26.819 And I took training to be an intentional interim 00:06:26.819 --> 00:06:31.040 or a transitional minister where you go to a 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:34.920 church that's between a called pastor and you 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:38.639 do certain work with them to help them discern, 00:06:38.899 --> 00:06:41.540 you know, what they're really looking to be as 00:06:41.540 --> 00:06:45.769 a church. And then you help them as they prepare 00:06:45.769 --> 00:06:50.069 their profile to call a pastor. And so in a nutshell, 00:06:50.329 --> 00:06:57.149 I've been the pastor of five churches. And this 00:06:57.149 --> 00:07:00.470 one that I'm in right now, I've been there for 00:07:00.470 --> 00:07:04.569 seven years at Christ Congregational and feel 00:07:04.569 --> 00:07:08.649 very fortunate to be in a progressive congregation. 00:07:09.930 --> 00:07:13.250 which mean we're really liberal. If you want 00:07:13.250 --> 00:07:16.990 to define what progressive means, but it's a 00:07:16.990 --> 00:07:22.069 joy to work with the congregation, especially 00:07:22.069 --> 00:07:26.089 focused on issues of social justice. So in a 00:07:26.089 --> 00:07:29.050 nutshell. That's amazing. It's a remarkable journey. 00:07:30.670 --> 00:07:37.029 When were women ordained in the church? Well. 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:41.959 One of our predecessors, it was in the late 1800s, 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:44.339 I believe. I haven't looked at my church history 00:07:44.339 --> 00:07:50.060 for a while. But it hasn't been that common probably 00:07:50.060 --> 00:07:57.040 for the last, I mean, 40 years. When I was growing 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:00.439 up, I certainly didn't know of any women pastors. 00:08:02.269 --> 00:08:05.089 But it's really evolved until, I don't know what 00:08:05.089 --> 00:08:08.850 the percentages are in the UCC, but I know a 00:08:08.850 --> 00:08:12.029 lot of women pastors now. But even in my first 00:08:12.029 --> 00:08:16.209 church, there were a couple of members who left 00:08:16.209 --> 00:08:19.089 because they didn't think they should call a 00:08:19.089 --> 00:08:21.629 member, and they didn't think they should call, 00:08:21.730 --> 00:08:24.389 or as a minister, they didn't think they should 00:08:24.389 --> 00:08:27.110 call someone who was divorced. They actually 00:08:27.110 --> 00:08:32.019 left the church. So, you know, that was... back 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:36.320 in 1995 when I started there. So even at that 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:40.340 time, at least this was a country church and 00:08:40.340 --> 00:08:43.480 maybe was a little more conservative. But, you 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:46.240 know, I was still out there. I've had people, 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:51.779 not lately, but still dubious about that. Wow. 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:55.779 That's amazing. Yeah, it's remarkable. So how 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:59.919 did you come to Miami? I moved to Miami because 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:04.399 my youngest daughter adopted two children, two 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:07.960 Haitian children. And I had told her that if 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:13.039 she adopted, I would be family support. So this 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:19.320 was in 2014. They got the kids in July, and I 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:22.639 was down here by September. And she was calling 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:26.299 me on the way down saying, How fast can you get 00:09:26.299 --> 00:09:31.240 here? The kids were, I think, about seven and 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:34.299 nine, then brother and sister. And my daughter 00:09:34.299 --> 00:09:39.019 didn't have any children, so no experience. So 00:09:39.019 --> 00:09:42.600 I continued to live around the corner from her, 00:09:42.679 --> 00:09:45.659 and now they're 21 and 18. That's remarkable. 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:51.720 Wow. Okay. All right, let's get to Bianca. Talk 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:58.320 to us a little bit about who are you. So my story 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:01.059 is quite a bit different from Pastor Candy's. 00:10:02.659 --> 00:10:06.899 I was born in Romania, communist at the time. 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:11.120 And I lived there until I was about seven, seven 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:14.720 and a half, almost eight. And we came here. My 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:19.700 father escaped Romania at the time and went to 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:31.200 a refugee camp in Austria. and then um and so 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:36.080 he applied for political asylum here and was 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:40.019 granted and then he requested for us to have 00:10:40.019 --> 00:10:42.559 political asylum here and we were also granted 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:46.549 that so we were able to come um And that's how 00:10:46.549 --> 00:10:49.090 we became citizens was through our political 00:10:49.090 --> 00:10:52.210 asylum. And there's a lot of like stuff going 00:10:52.210 --> 00:10:54.070 on in Romania that we don't need to get into. 00:10:54.190 --> 00:10:59.950 But needless to say, we made it here. My mom 00:10:59.950 --> 00:11:04.590 and I, for many reasons, ended up separating 00:11:04.590 --> 00:11:08.070 from my dad. And so we went to Michigan for a 00:11:08.070 --> 00:11:11.169 while. Long story short, it was pretty turbulent. 00:11:12.439 --> 00:11:16.399 childhood time um but at the center of all of 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:20.919 it was always our faith um my I mean I grew up 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:24.860 in a house of faith um it was Romanian Orthodox 00:11:24.860 --> 00:11:30.899 so it was quite conservative uh but I think always 00:11:30.899 --> 00:11:38.240 at the center was this like idea that um God 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:42.899 not just like loves everybody right that's true 00:11:42.899 --> 00:11:48.000 in all ways but that we have a responsibility 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.399 to be good and kind to each other no matter what 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:55.870 like even if the other person isn't really the 00:11:55.870 --> 00:11:59.009 same as you or thinks the same as you. And I 00:11:59.009 --> 00:12:01.750 think maybe growing up in a turbulent space and 00:12:01.750 --> 00:12:04.710 there was a lot of times in Romania where you 00:12:04.710 --> 00:12:06.470 weren't allowed to go to church or you could 00:12:06.470 --> 00:12:10.029 even get in trouble for saying certain things. 00:12:10.289 --> 00:12:13.789 So that space, I mean, I was really little, so 00:12:13.789 --> 00:12:15.549 it didn't affect me in the same way, but it affected 00:12:15.549 --> 00:12:21.669 the adults around me. It was an interesting way 00:12:21.669 --> 00:12:24.409 to start your faith journey from this like conservative 00:12:24.409 --> 00:12:27.929 angle, but also not as conservative as you would 00:12:27.929 --> 00:12:32.370 think. So when I came to the United States and 00:12:32.370 --> 00:12:34.990 then I became a teenager and I learned about 00:12:34.990 --> 00:12:37.730 the Baptist faith and I was like, wow, that's 00:12:37.730 --> 00:12:40.789 super different from what I grew up in. And I 00:12:40.789 --> 00:12:44.769 didn't resonate with a lot of things like, you 00:12:44.769 --> 00:12:48.970 know, there's this whole premise that. When babies 00:12:48.970 --> 00:12:51.730 are born, they're already born inherently bad 00:12:51.730 --> 00:12:54.710 because that's just, you know, what they believe. 00:12:54.730 --> 00:12:59.090 And like women in the Orthodox religion, they 00:12:59.090 --> 00:13:01.129 can't even go to church. Like you can't step 00:13:01.129 --> 00:13:04.710 on church property if you're like menstruating, 00:13:04.750 --> 00:13:06.830 for example. So there's all these like rules 00:13:06.830 --> 00:13:10.590 that it just like never sat well with me. And 00:13:10.590 --> 00:13:15.250 I will say that when we came to the U .S. and 00:13:15.250 --> 00:13:20.259 we were in Michigan for a while. the church community 00:13:20.259 --> 00:13:25.679 was our second home. It's where we found comfort, 00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:29.179 even though there was bickering and drama as 00:13:29.179 --> 00:13:32.120 in any space that you're ever in, any relationships, 00:13:32.179 --> 00:13:35.259 there's all kinds of drama. But we did find like 00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:37.460 kind of home here in the U .S. because it was 00:13:37.460 --> 00:13:43.220 a Romanian church. They did a lot of wonderful 00:13:43.220 --> 00:13:46.159 things for us. It was our first Christmas in 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:48.519 Michigan. We had nothing. We literally had one 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:52.139 little tiny room, a room with a bathroom and 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:56.299 a little tiny kitchen. That's it. And no furniture. 00:13:56.360 --> 00:14:01.440 We each had a bag, a plastic bag of our things. 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:04.639 And we laid it on the floor to make a bed. And 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:06.919 that's like... what we had we had no food in 00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:09.539 the refrigerator we probably had like a plastic 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:12.240 cup and a plastic plate that we got from goodwill 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:15.779 or something um and the church folk got together 00:14:15.779 --> 00:14:18.659 and they showed up at our door before christmas 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:22.120 and fully outfitted our little apartment yes 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:25.139 it really was it's like a miracle it was a very 00:14:25.139 --> 00:14:28.740 beautiful thing um and so i have a lot of like 00:14:28.740 --> 00:14:32.330 you know good wonderful memories that were made 00:14:32.330 --> 00:14:35.190 as a child where people come together because 00:14:35.190 --> 00:14:38.289 um not just of their faith but you know their 00:14:38.289 --> 00:14:41.769 love for each other and stuff um and so then 00:14:41.769 --> 00:14:46.169 i learned a little bit in the baptist world wow 00:14:46.169 --> 00:14:49.490 you know what it what it means to like be saved 00:14:49.490 --> 00:14:53.090 quote unquote and there was a lot more freedom 00:14:53.090 --> 00:14:57.330 in it um but i still had issues and becoming 00:14:57.330 --> 00:14:59.850 an adult you really start to learn more things 00:14:59.850 --> 00:15:02.289 you diversify your thoughts and all these wonderful 00:15:02.289 --> 00:15:08.909 stuff and so I had a lot of friends and people 00:15:08.909 --> 00:15:11.029 that I really cared about who were like of the 00:15:11.029 --> 00:15:16.700 LGBTQ plus community and It just made me question 00:15:16.700 --> 00:15:19.879 everything. Wait a minute, why would somebody 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:23.179 go to hell just because of who they love? So 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:27.539 then I went through that journey. And for a long 00:15:27.539 --> 00:15:29.720 time, I was just like, well, I live in my own 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:34.679 bubble of faith. I didn't know UCC existed. And 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:37.519 I was just like, in my heart, I know God loves 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.759 everybody. I know that there's nothing that can 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:45.100 separate me from that love. And so that's, you 00:15:45.100 --> 00:15:49.600 know, where I came from. And three years ago 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:54.940 now, almost three years ago now, it was my birthday 00:15:54.940 --> 00:15:58.720 was on a Sunday coming up. Yes, I will tell the 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:07.200 Bible story. And so for whatever reason, I had 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.480 been thinking for maybe like two years, I'd gone 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:12.559 like trying different little churches to see 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:14.860 what felt. And in my heart, I was like, man, 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:16.840 I really need a good church home that I could 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:22.299 feel comfortable in. But a lot of it didn't resonate 00:16:22.299 --> 00:16:25.059 with what I felt in my heart for everybody, for 00:16:25.059 --> 00:16:29.580 people in general. And I did a Google search. 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:32.940 One of the Google searches was like a place that 00:16:32.940 --> 00:16:37.919 was positive about LGBTQ plus communities. And 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:44.129 I came across. this UCC church, Christ Congregational. 00:16:44.210 --> 00:16:46.649 And I was like, you're only 15 minutes away from 00:16:46.649 --> 00:16:49.210 me. I have to go try that. So I told my mom, 00:16:49.269 --> 00:16:51.049 look, for my birthday, I want to go to church. 00:16:51.970 --> 00:16:56.309 You know, wild thing to say. So please remember, 00:16:56.509 --> 00:17:00.190 I'm coming from a Romanian Orthodox and Baptist 00:17:00.190 --> 00:17:02.570 background. So I'm showing up to church with 00:17:02.570 --> 00:17:05.190 Bible in hand because that's how I know to show 00:17:05.190 --> 00:17:10.339 up to church. wonderful experience, immediately 00:17:10.339 --> 00:17:13.119 fell in love with the church, fell in love with 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:15.140 the message, fell in love with Pastor Candy. 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:18.539 I was like, wow, I am home. I'm like, this is 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:21.039 peace. And everybody was incredibly welcoming. 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:25.519 And I was like, this is wonderful. Then later 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:29.420 on, Pastor Candy tells me, you know, I wasn't 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:31.240 really sure about you because you showed up with 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:34.319 Bible in hand. And I totally thought that you 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:37.759 were like an undercover, like. christian nationalists 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:43.740 trying to scope us out and i was like oh um nope 00:17:43.740 --> 00:17:48.440 uh you know and then cut to three years later 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:53.180 and i am now the uh church program manager and 00:17:53.180 --> 00:17:57.339 one of the reasons why um I took the job why 00:17:57.339 --> 00:17:59.819 they wanted me to take the job was because I 00:17:59.819 --> 00:18:02.460 have like two decades of experience in the community. 00:18:02.759 --> 00:18:04.900 So I've been working with nonprofits for a really 00:18:04.900 --> 00:18:08.619 long time. I work for the Children's Trust. I've 00:18:08.619 --> 00:18:12.220 worked for City of Miami Beach. You know, nonprofit 00:18:12.220 --> 00:18:14.420 has kind of just been in my blood since I got 00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:20.500 out of high school. I just wished a lot in my 00:18:20.500 --> 00:18:24.000 life. that there were more programs that could 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.539 have helped my mom being a single mom raising 00:18:26.539 --> 00:18:30.000 me on her own and so when i got out of high school 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:32.819 i was like i i want to do i mean originally i 00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:34.259 was going to be a teacher and then i thought 00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:38.279 better of it that's where our um stories align 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.740 a little but then i realized like you know i 00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:43.819 want to be out in the world helping so i worked 00:18:43.819 --> 00:18:46.220 you know switchboard of miami and the lifeline 00:18:46.220 --> 00:18:48.299 things so i have a lot of connections in the 00:18:48.299 --> 00:18:51.960 community And our church truly, really believes. 00:18:52.019 --> 00:18:54.440 I mean, we say, or I like to say, we're a small 00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:56.799 church doing big things. But yes, even though 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:58.539 we're a smaller church, we're doing a lot of 00:18:58.539 --> 00:19:00.920 stuff in the community. And that's my passion. 00:19:01.019 --> 00:19:06.180 So it really aligned quite well. And then Pastor 00:19:06.180 --> 00:19:10.519 Candy and I had many conversations about my future. 00:19:11.420 --> 00:19:15.640 And so, you know, in those conversations, I've 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:19.819 kind of been. steered like i'm being led towards 00:19:19.819 --> 00:19:23.559 being a student uh pastor hopefully starting 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:26.759 next year that's amazing so wow that'd be that's 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:31.609 a That's a great, great journey to be on and 00:19:31.609 --> 00:19:34.910 I think a very rewarding one to be. So I think 00:19:34.910 --> 00:19:36.710 that's something that all faith communities are 00:19:36.710 --> 00:19:40.289 always looking for, the next generation of leaders 00:19:40.289 --> 00:19:42.910 that are going to be able to help keep the message 00:19:42.910 --> 00:19:45.569 going forward. And you definitely have the energy, 00:19:45.670 --> 00:19:48.589 which is wonderful. Thank you. Yeah. And the 00:19:48.589 --> 00:19:50.809 motivation and the drive, which is remarkable. 00:19:50.910 --> 00:19:53.250 And I'm really heartened by the work that you 00:19:53.250 --> 00:19:56.039 guys are doing. particularly regarding immigration 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:57.700 and kind of the challenges that we're having 00:19:57.700 --> 00:20:00.279 right now, just being out there. And I know that's 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:02.079 sometimes not popular and there can be a lot 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:05.319 of challenges for the work that you're doing. 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:10.839 How did you come to Miami then? That's a longer 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:14.259 story. I will try and be as quick as possible. 00:20:15.740 --> 00:20:23.579 My uncle helped a friend of his a lot. I don't 00:20:23.579 --> 00:20:25.559 like it's a long story, so we're not going to 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:27.779 go into it. It was a really big help. And so 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:32.460 he owed him one. And my mom's lifelong dream 00:20:32.460 --> 00:20:34.759 was to live somewhere where there are palm trees. 00:20:35.019 --> 00:20:41.180 So my uncle, before he passed, was like you to 00:20:41.180 --> 00:20:44.150 his friend who lived in Miami. you owe me one 00:20:44.150 --> 00:20:48.049 help my sister get from michigan to miami that's 00:20:48.049 --> 00:20:50.329 like all i need from you is just like help her 00:20:50.329 --> 00:20:53.289 figure everything out help her find an apartment 00:20:53.289 --> 00:20:55.210 like you don't have to pay for her or anything 00:20:55.210 --> 00:20:58.750 just like help her to get it done um and he did 00:20:58.750 --> 00:21:01.230 and so like that was my mom's dream like we had 00:21:01.230 --> 00:21:04.809 a mural in our little tiny apartment in romania 00:21:04.809 --> 00:21:09.299 with like the beach and palm trees because that 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:12.000 was her like lifelong dream was to live somewhere 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.259 with palm trees and so she made it happen my 00:21:15.259 --> 00:21:17.940 mom is a person who makes things happen she wanted 00:21:17.940 --> 00:21:19.880 the american dream she wanted to own her own 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:23.480 place she made it happen so yeah it's a good 00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:25.779 inspiration that's wonderful that's how i got 00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:29.700 here you both are quite remarkable people um 00:21:29.700 --> 00:21:34.099 so pastor candy i mean what is your um what are 00:21:34.099 --> 00:21:36.640 the main challenges that you see our community 00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:42.160 facing right now? It's hard to know where to 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:51.599 even start. The justice issues. What are you 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:55.700 working on? What am I working on? Were you concentrating 00:21:55.700 --> 00:21:58.940 your efforts? I think we're concentrating our 00:21:58.940 --> 00:22:06.779 efforts on immigration. Helping nonprofits that 00:22:06.779 --> 00:22:11.539 do the basic work, you know, feeding people. 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:17.440 We've been very fortunate. We sold our property, 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:22.180 but we have a 20 -year lease back, and our property 00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:27.599 was valuable property. So now we have what I've 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:31.740 never experienced before, actually. is having 00:22:31.740 --> 00:22:38.259 money to do things in addition to what we do 00:22:38.259 --> 00:22:43.359 as people with social justice. As you know, so 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:48.079 many social programs have been cut. Jesus was 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:51.779 real clear about what his followers are supposed 00:22:51.779 --> 00:22:58.920 to do to love and to serve, and we try to do 00:22:58.920 --> 00:23:06.039 that. We're part of a group that is an interfaith 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:11.180 group that is sponsoring and seeing the interfaith 00:23:11.180 --> 00:23:16.180 prayer vigils happen currently at the cruelly 00:23:16.180 --> 00:23:20.759 named Alligator Alcatraz every Sunday at 5 o 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:25.450 'clock in the evening. for an hour and those 00:23:25.450 --> 00:23:30.509 have been a real powerful experience for those 00:23:30.509 --> 00:23:35.990 of us who participate. We're aligned with the 00:23:35.990 --> 00:23:39.289 Florida Immigrant Coalition that helped sponsor 00:23:39.289 --> 00:23:46.029 events where people can come and get legal help 00:23:46.029 --> 00:23:52.970 on their immigration issues. contribute to SOS 00:23:52.970 --> 00:23:56.990 in Homestead, which provides a lot of services 00:23:56.990 --> 00:24:04.869 for immigrants and for people experiencing abuse 00:24:04.869 --> 00:24:09.710 at home, where the families have to be separated. 00:24:10.609 --> 00:24:17.490 So we have people who volunteer to... get things 00:24:17.490 --> 00:24:21.089 for them. And then like one of Bianca's jobs 00:24:21.089 --> 00:24:24.970 is coordinating with them and setting up where 00:24:24.970 --> 00:24:28.410 the church will provide lunch for everybody who 00:24:28.410 --> 00:24:33.970 comes to the events. We have a lot of irons in 00:24:33.970 --> 00:24:38.589 the fire, basically, with providing goods and 00:24:38.589 --> 00:24:44.319 services. Of course, as a church, we see that 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:50.940 worship is the core. And so in worship, we praise 00:24:50.940 --> 00:24:55.960 God, we pray to God, we thank God, we get filled 00:24:55.960 --> 00:25:01.940 up ourselves for the work that is being done 00:25:01.940 --> 00:25:07.440 because it's very draining. But I try to focus 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:11.359 on remembering we aren't doing this alone. And 00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:16.019 that helps me anyway. Talk to us a little bit 00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:18.220 about, yeah, what does the day -to -day look 00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:22.579 like? Yeah, so just to piggyback off of something, 00:25:22.980 --> 00:25:29.099 we are, maybe a month ago, we had a conversation, 00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:33.819 outreach conversation, and we decided, you know, 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:39.279 we made a little bit of money off of the money 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:42.359 that we have in stocks and stuff. And so we were 00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:45.539 like, well, we're not a dragon in a cave hoarding 00:25:45.539 --> 00:25:49.900 money. We are Jesus following folks. So let's 00:25:49.900 --> 00:25:52.799 do good. So one of the things that we decided 00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:55.500 that we're going to do is what we're calling 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:59.319 15 for 15. So we're going to be giving $15 ,000 00:25:59.319 --> 00:26:03.680 to 15 different nonprofit organizations in our 00:26:03.680 --> 00:26:06.980 community. We're really excited to have the. 00:26:07.819 --> 00:26:10.400 honor the blessing to be able to do that for 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:14.019 people so that's really exciting and a day -to 00:26:14.019 --> 00:26:19.119 -day is a lot of work with the community I sit 00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:23.799 as vice chair of SOS and I also chair for En 00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:28.559 Familia in the Homestead area so there's a lot 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:33.799 of work done there. SOS is moving out of their 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:36.140 space and into a new space right now. So there's 00:26:36.140 --> 00:26:38.660 a lot of just collaborating with them, seeing 00:26:38.660 --> 00:26:41.079 what their needs are and how we can step in. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:44.859 Florida Immigrant Coalition, shout out to them. 00:26:45.059 --> 00:26:47.880 This weekend is a big deal for them. They're 00:26:47.880 --> 00:26:51.940 doing a huge mega drive, I think is what they 00:26:51.940 --> 00:26:56.160 call it, all around immigration. So we do little 00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:00.680 ones. We do little citizenship drives. We usually 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:02.779 have like maybe 30 to 40 people show up to those. 00:27:02.839 --> 00:27:04.559 They're doing like really big, like hundreds 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:07.259 of people showing up to those this weekend. And 00:27:07.259 --> 00:27:10.180 so I'll help with that and our involvement and 00:27:10.180 --> 00:27:13.640 pact. Shout out to them. People acting in community 00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:18.380 together. So there's a lot of a lot of fighting 00:27:18.380 --> 00:27:22.980 for. Right now housing related issues. So the 00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:25.859 big thing is the last night which I haven't even 00:27:25.859 --> 00:27:29.500 checked yet What the outcome was of the Miami 00:27:29.500 --> 00:27:33.920 -Dade County budget hearing But in April we had 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:37.140 our Nehemiah action where I was able to speak 00:27:37.140 --> 00:27:41.319 I was gonna have a dialogue with a commissioner, 00:27:41.420 --> 00:27:47.019 but he didn't show up so There was a lot of that 00:27:47.019 --> 00:27:49.759 kind of work where you're literally out in the 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:52.319 community talking to people from Miami Workers 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:55.079 Center, going to those kinds of events, press 00:27:55.079 --> 00:27:58.119 conferences. I've never had my face in the newspaper 00:27:58.119 --> 00:28:04.720 this many times. So it's just a lot of that sort 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:09.859 of coordination. I should mention, too, that 00:28:09.859 --> 00:28:14.039 we are an open and affirming church, which means 00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:17.599 that we're open and affirming to everybody, and 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:24.960 especially to GLBTQ plus folks. We have our rainbow 00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:29.599 flag out every Sunday, and we have members of 00:28:29.599 --> 00:28:32.279 the congregation who are in that community who 00:28:32.279 --> 00:28:38.420 are valued members. I attend the PFLAG meetings 00:28:38.420 --> 00:28:41.640 monthly, which are the parents and friends of 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:47.700 LBGTQ plus people. So that's an important thing 00:28:47.700 --> 00:28:54.559 to us. Yeah. This past spring, we went to the 00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:58.400 Capitol, the state Capitol in Tallahassee. They 00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:02.460 have pride at the Capitol for a week and we plan 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:06.039 on going again. And we go with Equality Florida. 00:29:06.779 --> 00:29:11.960 One more shout out to them. And we speak to legislators 00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:15.519 about LGBTQ plus rights and try and convince 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:18.279 them and help them to understand that some of 00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:19.880 the legislation they're trying to put out is 00:29:19.880 --> 00:29:24.180 very, very harmful to people. Merged in the let 00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:28.700 us live transgender parade. Yeah. So like when 00:29:28.700 --> 00:29:35.859 we like to say that we live what we. say we want 00:29:35.859 --> 00:29:38.880 to live if you're going to say love like jesus 00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:41.859 then you have to walk the walk not just talk 00:29:41.859 --> 00:29:46.059 the talk sure um two more questions one is pastor 00:29:46.059 --> 00:29:50.900 candy what is um you know there's a lot of uh 00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:54.319 narratives or stories of what it means to be 00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:58.079 a christian what is your understanding of jesus's 00:29:58.079 --> 00:30:04.819 message well i I believe Jesus is the son of 00:30:04.819 --> 00:30:09.859 God. And I believe that he was very clear with 00:30:09.859 --> 00:30:14.799 his words and his actions about what God expects 00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:22.460 of us. I, you know, to love and to serve is the 00:30:22.460 --> 00:30:27.039 basic thing. And by love, I don't mean necessarily 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:31.690 that emotion. I mean that you demonstrate that 00:30:31.690 --> 00:30:36.529 love by the golden rule. As simple as that, you 00:30:36.529 --> 00:30:38.829 do unto others as you would have them do unto 00:30:38.829 --> 00:30:43.910 you. And it troubles me. Christian nationalism 00:30:43.910 --> 00:30:47.630 troubles me greatly because they have so twisted 00:30:47.630 --> 00:30:52.849 the message of Jesus. And I don't like that being 00:30:52.849 --> 00:30:58.869 co -opted. You know, we're given one precious 00:30:58.869 --> 00:31:04.809 life, and you can do so much for it to have meaning. 00:31:05.990 --> 00:31:09.890 We are just here to mark time, and that's a gift 00:31:09.890 --> 00:31:13.650 because it means God has expectations of us, 00:31:13.690 --> 00:31:17.069 and you don't have expectations of somebody unless 00:31:17.069 --> 00:31:21.269 you know they can do it. Every life can have 00:31:21.269 --> 00:31:24.450 a purpose. You don't have to be a professional, 00:31:24.529 --> 00:31:27.990 so to speak. Whether you're in any profession 00:31:27.990 --> 00:31:33.569 or no profession, you can live out Christian 00:31:33.569 --> 00:31:38.089 faith and the Abrahamic faiths. We share many 00:31:38.089 --> 00:31:43.509 of the same values. I just encourage any students 00:31:43.509 --> 00:31:47.410 watching, let your life have meaning. Your faith 00:31:47.410 --> 00:31:52.349 isn't separate from how you live your other part 00:31:52.349 --> 00:31:56.700 of your life. It isn't in a compartment. And 00:31:56.700 --> 00:32:03.200 you have abilities to make this world a better 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:07.700 place. I preach about hope a lot and about peace. 00:32:07.779 --> 00:32:12.299 We have Peace Sunday coming up this Sunday. We 00:32:12.299 --> 00:32:16.279 are people of hope, Christians, and that hope 00:32:16.279 --> 00:32:21.740 is founded in God's love. Bianca, do you have 00:32:21.740 --> 00:32:27.700 any last words for our students? Come to worship 00:32:27.700 --> 00:32:33.359 with us on Sunday at 11 a .m. every Sunday. We 00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:38.500 are welcoming people and I 100 % agree with Pastor 00:32:38.500 --> 00:32:45.740 Candy. You know, Jesus's message was love and 00:32:45.740 --> 00:32:52.119 not money hoarding, not... Kick your immigrants 00:32:52.119 --> 00:32:58.519 out. He said the opposite. So if I could give 00:32:58.519 --> 00:33:04.460 advice to students, it would be your career is 00:33:04.460 --> 00:33:07.980 your career. You can change it. You can love 00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:11.400 teaching today and hate it tomorrow. You can 00:33:11.400 --> 00:33:14.680 love being in tech today and hate it tomorrow. 00:33:17.380 --> 00:33:21.900 So. Put your passion into it if you want to, 00:33:21.960 --> 00:33:26.079 but remember to love the people around you. Bring 00:33:26.079 --> 00:33:29.119 kindness into the world. Bring peace into the 00:33:29.119 --> 00:33:33.240 world. When you see somebody struggling, don't 00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:36.000 be silent about it. Stand up for what you think 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:39.140 is right, whether you believe in God or not, 00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:43.390 whether you have a faith or not. The moral compass 00:33:43.390 --> 00:33:46.470 is still there to love one another, to be kind 00:33:46.470 --> 00:33:49.369 to each other, and to stand up for what is right. 00:33:49.789 --> 00:33:51.930 I think that would be no matter what your career 00:33:51.930 --> 00:33:55.089 is, whatever your path may be, you're still a 00:33:55.089 --> 00:33:58.769 human being and the next person is just as human 00:33:58.769 --> 00:34:01.829 as you. And so we're all in it together, guys. 00:34:03.009 --> 00:34:05.609 That's beautiful. Pastor Candy, anything else 00:34:05.609 --> 00:34:12.119 you'd like to say? I don't know. The world is 00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:19.139 a challenging place right now. But you have the 00:34:19.139 --> 00:34:21.980 gift of youth. Some of you, maybe some of you 00:34:21.980 --> 00:34:26.019 are older students, but know this. I turned 80 00:34:26.019 --> 00:34:34.679 yesterday. Congratulations. Thanks. This is your 00:34:34.679 --> 00:34:37.519 whole life. Your career might stop when you think 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:42.559 you're retired at 65 or whatever, but think in 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:46.019 terms of your whole life of learning and growing 00:34:46.019 --> 00:34:50.920 and doing and pay attention to this beautiful 00:34:50.920 --> 00:34:55.280 world that God has made and given us that has 00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:59.860 just one sign after another of the goodness and 00:34:59.860 --> 00:35:04.349 the creativity that God has. Don't go through 00:35:04.349 --> 00:35:11.869 life with blinders on. And do good. Do good. 00:35:12.650 --> 00:35:15.389 Well, thank you for those inspirational words. 00:35:15.489 --> 00:35:17.349 Thank you so much, Pastor Candy and Bianca, for 00:35:17.349 --> 00:35:20.610 coming in today. We really appreciate your time 00:35:20.610 --> 00:35:23.849 and your wisdom. And hopefully that will be something 00:35:23.849 --> 00:35:26.369 to inspire people as well. Thanks for having 00:35:26.369 --> 00:35:28.110 us. It's an honor and a pleasure.