Jennifer DeLeon and Rozella Haydee White
Recorded
May 18, 2016
38:49 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id:
chd000612
Description
Friends Jennifer DeLeon (43) and Rozella Haydee White (34) discuss how they became friends as members of a Lutheran church, and how faith and activism combine and manifest in their lives.Subject Log / Time Code
Jennifer tells the story of how she and Rozella met on a church-led trip to Ethiopia.
There they witnessed true poverty and malnutrition that led them to reevaluate their lives.
Rozella talks about her connection to the Lutheran church through her family. She describes herself as a "unicorn": a 3rd generation Puerto Rican black Lutheran.
J fell out of her Catholic church after her mother got breast cancer. She describes how she got involved with the Lutheran church.
Rozella believes in the power of the religious sector-- it is the one that can make the most profound change.
Jennifer recently lost her job--she freaked out but her faith is helping her. Her father died recently and faith helped her and her family stay strong. She describes surrounding her father with family as he died.
Jennifer defines faith and how much it helped knowing people were praying for her. She describes how praying the rosary for her dying father brought her peace even though she doesn't believe in praying the rosary anymore.
Rozella says her religion tells her that God is in people, that people represent the Body of Christ. God created us to be interdependent.
Jennifer gives advice to her younger self--don't be afraid. Rozella's advice to her younger self is to remember that you were made in God's image, you are enough.
Rozella talks about the power of the "religious sector"-- how it doesn't necessarily need to change beliefs but to work to build a better place. We're better collectively than as individuals.
They talk about how Evangelical Lutheranism isn't very good at telling people how much good work for social change they do.
Participants
- Jennifer DeLeon
- Rozella Haydee White