PHOENIX, AZ  Bishop Yvette Flunder called on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people to 'prophesy' to an American culture of racism, sexism, and homophobia. During her keynote speech at OutFront Arizona: Blessing ALL Our Families this Spring, Flunder drew inspiration from the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel, to whom the Bible says God gave the command to preach to a valley of dry human bones, which took on flesh and began to live. Flunder drew comparisons between the valley of the bones and the conditions of homophobia, trans-phobia, sexism, and racism, and said that the efforts of LGBT people to combat these issues would bring new life to American society. "It's time to prophesy. It's time to take our truth and put it in the ears and in the laps of people who used to scare us to death; it's time to put it in the ears and in the laps of our own families,"  Flunder said. "The only difference between a heretic and a prophet is time," she added, "Today's heretic is recognized as tomorrow's prophet."    

Flunder also encouraged the 150-plus conference attendees to renew their spiritual lives, saying, 'same gender-loving people throughout history have been spiritually gifted." She admonished, "Don't let anyone hollow your spiritual self out."