Glide Memorial Church
Encyclopedia
Glide Memorial Church is a church in San Francisco, California
, affiliated with the United Methodist Church
that opened in 1929. Although conservative until the 1960s, since then it has served as a counter-culture rallying point and has been one of the most prominently liberal churches in the United States
. Glide is also famous for its Gospel Choir and numerous social service programs.
Its contributions to the community have been recognized by such respected figures as Maya Angelou
, Oprah Winfrey
, and Bill Clinton
; as well as Warren Buffett
, who famously contributed the value of an auctioned
lunch on eBay
.
of Ellis and Taylor Streets in San Francisco and founded the Glide Foundation as a memorial to her millionaire cattleman husband, H.L. Glide of Sacramento. Construction of GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church was completed two years later.
became Pastor at Glide Memorial. Prior to him, Rev. John Moore, whose sermons on Homosexuality appeared on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle
, had been Pastor.
In 1964, Glide helped form the Council on Religion and the Homosexual
in an effort to close the gap between people of faith and the homosexual community.
Cecil Williams remained sole pastor until 1999, when Rev. Douglass Fitch was named co-Pastor. In 2000, Rev. Fitch was appointed Pastor upon Williams’ retirement and transition into the role of Glide Foundation’s CEO. Fitch remained Glide’s primary pastor until his 2007 retirement, at which time Williams was succeeded as CEO by Willa Seldon.
Glide currently has two co-Pastors: the Rev. Donald Guest, who was appointed in 2007, and Rev. Karen Oliveto, who joined Glide in 2008.
In early 2010, Glide announced the resignation of CEO Willa Seldon, who agreed to continue the position until a replacement is found.
In September 2010, Rita Shimmin and Kristen Growney Yamamoto were appointed Co-Executive Directors of Glide, replacing founding Executive Director Janice Mirikitani. Mirikitani, Williams’ wife, continues her role as Founding President.
In 2007, Glide provided 750,000 meals per year through their community clinic, which serves more than 3,000 homeless people. They provided over 100,000 hours of licensed childcare and quality after-school programming to over 325 clients in 2007. They provided emergency supplies to 2,190 individuals in 2006. And they booked 5,707 shelter beds and helped 120 homeless persons move into permanent housing in 2007.
According to their website, Glide’s daily Free Meals program served 934,000 meals in 2009.
The church also provides HIV
testing, mental and primary health care, women's programs, crisis intervention, an after-school program, creative arts and mentoring for youth, literacy
classes, computer training, job skills training, drug and alcohol recovery programs, free legal services for the homeless, housing with case management, and much more.
In 2009, The Glide Foundation was rated a Top Non-Profit Organization by Philanthropedia.org
Every Sunday’s celebration is available on CD and DVD from the church’s website and at the church itself. Revenue from this source helps the church fund its many charitable programs.
The ensemble holds open auditions for the Ensemble every Wednesday at 6:30pm in Room 206 of the church, with rehearsals beginning at 7pm.
In 2005, SF Weekly
named the Glide Ensemble and Change Band “Best Gospel” in their annual “Best Of San Francisco” awards.
Podcasts of every Sunday celebration are available on Glide’s website.
GLIDE also runs a choir for Elementary school children, directed by Classy Martin. The Children’s Choir sings during Sunday Celebrations several times a year.
, Glide has become known for its often-controversial views on issues such as same sex marriage. Since Williams became Pastor in 1963, Glide has been called the best-known pulpit in Northern California.
Some of Williams’ controversial actions have included:
Glide also obtains funding from other various fundraising activities such as their Annual Holiday Festival.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, affiliated with the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
that opened in 1929. Although conservative until the 1960s, since then it has served as a counter-culture rallying point and has been one of the most prominently liberal churches in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Glide is also famous for its Gospel Choir and numerous social service programs.
Its contributions to the community have been recognized by such respected figures as Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is an American author and poet who has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly...
, Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
, and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
; as well as Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
, who famously contributed the value of an auctioned
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
lunch on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
.
History
In 1929, Methodist philanthropist Lizzie Glide purchased a parcel of land at the intersectionof Ellis and Taylor Streets in San Francisco and founded the Glide Foundation as a memorial to her millionaire cattleman husband, H.L. Glide of Sacramento. Construction of GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church was completed two years later.
Leadership
In the 1963, Rev. Cecil WilliamsCecil Williams
A. Cecil Williams is an American minister of the United Methodist Church and a community leader, author, lecta;dknmfaurer, and spokesperson for the poor.- Early Life :...
became Pastor at Glide Memorial. Prior to him, Rev. John Moore, whose sermons on Homosexuality appeared on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, had been Pastor.
In 1964, Glide helped form the Council on Religion and the Homosexual
Council on Religion and the Homosexual
The Council on Religion and the Homosexual was a San Francisco-based organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of joining homosexual activists and religious leaders.-Formation:...
in an effort to close the gap between people of faith and the homosexual community.
Cecil Williams remained sole pastor until 1999, when Rev. Douglass Fitch was named co-Pastor. In 2000, Rev. Fitch was appointed Pastor upon Williams’ retirement and transition into the role of Glide Foundation’s CEO. Fitch remained Glide’s primary pastor until his 2007 retirement, at which time Williams was succeeded as CEO by Willa Seldon.
Glide currently has two co-Pastors: the Rev. Donald Guest, who was appointed in 2007, and Rev. Karen Oliveto, who joined Glide in 2008.
In early 2010, Glide announced the resignation of CEO Willa Seldon, who agreed to continue the position until a replacement is found.
In September 2010, Rita Shimmin and Kristen Growney Yamamoto were appointed Co-Executive Directors of Glide, replacing founding Executive Director Janice Mirikitani. Mirikitani, Williams’ wife, continues her role as Founding President.
Programs
Since the 1960s, Glide Church has provided various services for the poor and disenfranchised. Glide currently runs 87 various social service programs. Through their Daily Free Meals program, Glide serves three meals daily, amounting to over 750,000 free meals a year.In 2007, Glide provided 750,000 meals per year through their community clinic, which serves more than 3,000 homeless people. They provided over 100,000 hours of licensed childcare and quality after-school programming to over 325 clients in 2007. They provided emergency supplies to 2,190 individuals in 2006. And they booked 5,707 shelter beds and helped 120 homeless persons move into permanent housing in 2007.
According to their website, Glide’s daily Free Meals program served 934,000 meals in 2009.
The church also provides HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
testing, mental and primary health care, women's programs, crisis intervention, an after-school program, creative arts and mentoring for youth, literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
classes, computer training, job skills training, drug and alcohol recovery programs, free legal services for the homeless, housing with case management, and much more.
In 2009, The Glide Foundation was rated a Top Non-Profit Organization by Philanthropedia.org
Glide Ensemble
Glide is widely known for the Glide Ensemble, their Gospel Choir that currently maintains about 100 members. The Glide Ensemble choir held its first rehearsals in 1969 and has been an integral part of Sunday Celebrations ever since. Directed by John F. Turk Jr. and Ron Sutherland and backed by a full band called the Change Band, the choir groups perform every Sunday at Glide’s 9am and 11am Sunday CelebrationsEvery Sunday’s celebration is available on CD and DVD from the church’s website and at the church itself. Revenue from this source helps the church fund its many charitable programs.
The ensemble holds open auditions for the Ensemble every Wednesday at 6:30pm in Room 206 of the church, with rehearsals beginning at 7pm.
In 2005, SF Weekly
SF Weekly
SF Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village Voice and the Los...
named the Glide Ensemble and Change Band “Best Gospel” in their annual “Best Of San Francisco” awards.
Discography
The Glide Ensemble and Change Band have released 9 albums since 1991, which are sold on the first level of the church. All proceeds help fund Glide Foundation’s various social service programs.- John Turk's 30th Anniversary Concert (2010)
- The Real Sounds of the GLIDE Ensemble: Special Edition Anthology [4 CDs]
- Wings of Song: A Spiritual Flight (2009)
- Holidays with Real Soul (2007)
- A Salute to Ron Sutherland (2004)
- The Sounds of Hope (2001)
- Love to Give (1997)
- Coming Home to the Spirit (1994)
- Touch the Spirit (1991)
Podcasts of every Sunday celebration are available on Glide’s website.
Youth and Children’s Choirs
GLIDE Ensemble Member Errin Mixon leads a choir of teens and young adults that rehearses once a week and performs at services once a month.GLIDE also runs a choir for Elementary school children, directed by Classy Martin. The Children’s Choir sings during Sunday Celebrations several times a year.
Controversy
Largely through the actions of its long-time Pastor Cecil WilliamsCecil Williams
A. Cecil Williams is an American minister of the United Methodist Church and a community leader, author, lecta;dknmfaurer, and spokesperson for the poor.- Early Life :...
, Glide has become known for its often-controversial views on issues such as same sex marriage. Since Williams became Pastor in 1963, Glide has been called the best-known pulpit in Northern California.
Some of Williams’ controversial actions have included:
- Performing Same-Sex Marriages very early on, even though the United Methodist Church was far from sanctioning them. The United Methodist ChurchUnited Methodist ChurchThe United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
, the Protestant denomination of Christianity with which Glide is affiliated, currently does not allow its Ministers to perform Same-Sex Marriages.
- Removing the Cross inside the Sanctuary at Glide.
- Helping form the Council on Religion and Homosexuality in 1964
- Accepting City subsidies for Glide’s charitable work. Seen by some critics as a violation of the separation of Church and State, Glide first started getting city subsidies for its meals program in 1981. The individual contributions that flow into Glide on Sundays account for a relatively small portion of the budget -- less than $640,000 of the foundation's $8.5 million in revenue during 2002, the most recent year for which a financial audit was available.
Glide also obtains funding from other various fundraising activities such as their Annual Holiday Festival.
Pop Culture References
- The 2006 movie The Pursuit of HappynessThe Pursuit of HappynessVarèse Sarabande released the soundtrack on January 9, 2007, which included sixteen tracks.-Box office:The film debuted first at the North American box office, earning $27 million during its opening weekend and beating out heavily promoted films such as Eragon and Charlotte's Web...
starring Will SmithWill SmithWillard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
and his son JadenJaden SmithJaden Christopher Syre Smith is an American child actor, rapper, songwriter, dancer, and the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. He is the elder brother of singer Willow Smith...
, depicted the real life rags-to-riches story of Chris GardnerChris GardnerChristopher Paul Gardner is an American entrepreneur, investor, stockbroker, motivational speaker, author, and philanthropist who, during the early 1980s, struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher, Jr...
and his son. Once homeless, they turned to Glide's services for support to help them get back on their feet. Cecil WilliamsCecil WilliamsA. Cecil Williams is an American minister of the United Methodist Church and a community leader, author, lecta;dknmfaurer, and spokesperson for the poor.- Early Life :...
and his wife Janice Mirikitani, the leaders of the church's services for over 40 years, can be seen briefly in the movie as can a number of homeless people employed as extras. - In May 2007, the ensemble was featured on the American late night show ‘’Late Night with Conan O'BrienLate Night with Conan O'BrienLate Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
’’. - The church is referred to in Emmett GroganEmmett GroganEmmett Grogan was a founder of the Diggers, a radical community-action group of Improv actors in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, California...
's book, "Ringolevio: A Life Played For Keeps", as the location for The Invisible Circus, an all night party held by the DiggersDiggers (theater)The Diggers were a radical community-action group of activists and Improv actors operating from 1966–68, based in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. Their politics were such that they have sometimes been categorized as "left-wing." More accurately, they were "community anarchists"...
theatre group.