A truly remarkable woman of God, Yolanda Pelzer transcends traditional organized religion in service of the Most High. With an open mind and heart, she shares her blessings and gifts with others.
When did you first realize that you had a calling as far as religion goes?
When I was a young girl, I just felt like I was always interacting with imaginary friends. I would later learn those are angels. My parents would often say, “Ohh she just has a vivid imagination”, but I really did hear voices ever and I always felt a bunch of people around me. Once I became an adult, I realized I was interacting with celestial beings, or “people from the other side”. That’s how it started, but I’ve always been on the fringes of religion and spirituality has always been important to me. Before I knew “I could do anything through Christ that strengthens me”, I felt that as a little girl. I just never felt alone, and I knew I was always protected.
A part of your journey included your work as a pastor correct?
Yes! It started by birthing my church from a prayer line I started in 1999 on the telephone for 10 years. I was a nobody, I didn’t have a title, nor did I belong to anyone’s church, but I just knew I wanted to help women. So, I started a women’s conference on the phone. I wanted to start a dialogue about healing and sharing each other’s stories about feeling neglected or abandoned. So, I went on Craigslist and advertised my little conference using my credit card to pay $5700 for a venue in Washington, DC believing the women would find me. I exceeded my goal and that’s apart of how I got where I am today.
How do you feel about the relationship between traditional religion versus spirituality?
Religion isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just something you do consistently. I was religious before I became spiritual and the deeper, I went into religion, I found it to be confining. But I was conditioned that it was the right thing to do to keep the “Devil off of me.” The deeper I got into religious actions and beliefs, the further I felt from God because I began to perform instead of just being. Just following what everyone else was doing to “make a spirit”. But when I got home, and there was no one watching, I and God had a great time and it felt freer than religion. It took me nearly 20 years to come out of that mindset but one thing I got out of following my path: Is that you cannot ever say what is or isn’t the spirit of God. You cannot say what love will or will not do because love is strange, and it makes things happen.
What are some of the services you offer?
Spiritual healing mainly; I talk to people about what they’re going through and the pain they’re feeling. I use the things God has shown me. As a prophet, I hear messages and see pictures brought to me and I use that to talk to people. Then it’s almost always an emotional reaction almost like the feeling when you’re at the halter. Somebody coming to you asking for help to feel better. That’s another thing about religion, religion conditions us to want to feel better. When you’re hurt you run to Jesus to make it all better but once we get that fix, we don’t come back. We don’t want to do that work. So that’s where I feel in the gaps, I help guide you along your path created especially for you.
After surviving 2020, what advice would you offer somebody realigning themselves after such a trying year?
If last year did not shake you to your core, if you were not shaking in your boots -examine everything you think you know, then you missed it. Because 2020 was the hand of God and Mother Earth putting us on time out. The Earth literally said, “Everybody go ahead, sit down and get yourselves together.” That masculine and feminine energy, that duality needed for a balance, told us to think about how we’re living. If you did not catch the message because you got caught in the movement of the mass, you missed this: Get yourself together and wake up.
Tell us about the moments that made you transition from organized religion to following your own spiritual path.
Discontentment. He made me unsatisfied with what I was doing because I wasn’t seeing the change that I was preaching and teaching from the Bible. When I saw people kept coming back with their pain, I wanted to help more. When I wasn’t seeing the fruit of the time and energy we were devoting, I went back to the source. I kept hearing about this abundant life; I kept hearing “Won’t he do it!” but everyone’s not getting that. I’m good, but it was bothering me that everyone wasn’t changing. Then I realized it wasn’t about God; it was more than checking off these boxes of rules to follow. So, I decided to focus on building my relationship with spirituality to find the truth.
What would you say to someone looking to find their divine purpose?
Spirituality removes the blockages and releases that 3rd eye opens that higher awakening. If you could do anything in the world, what would it be? That’s not coming from anywhere, it comes from inside of you. Don’t be afraid to dream, don’t be afraid to reach, your life is limitless. You have to remove the limitations to get close to God.
Bobby Jenkins
