I hadn't heard of GLIDE until this past summer when I worked for the Walter & Elise Haas Fund and they were one of our grantees. During this time, I had the opportunity to meet with Kim Bender, their Director of Development, and Michael Lezak, their staff Rabbi.
Even in our first conversation, I was blown away by how the two of them embodied GLIDE's values of unconditional love and radical inclusion. They spoke about the need to be proximate to their clients and recalled a pilgrimage their community (volunteers, staff, and Tenderloin residents) recently took together to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, opened this year to commemorate victims of lynching in the United States.
At one point, I asked Michael how he stays motivated to fight the growing tide of poverty in San Francisco; he responded with another question. When you walk through the Tenderloin and see a homeless man sitting on the corner, "how do you know you're not looking into the face of God?"
I don't identify as religious, but I attended a service at GLIDE in Late August out of curiosity. To my surprise, I left in-tears. I was enthralled by how relatable the preacher, Reverend Harry Williams, made his sermon (entitled "The Gospel of Luke...Cage"). And then there was the music. Having grown up singing church music, I was touched to see a choir made-up of so many different identities and to witness how viscerally their singers believed in the music they created.
My favorite part of the service was when the preacher instructed each of us to hug our neighbors. This allowed for a unique moment in which some of San Francisco's richest residents and its poorest came together in a show of care.
GLIDE is a cornerstone for San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood and convenes San Francisco residents from all different walks of life. Our world would be better if people supported nonprofits like GLIDE who work hard to see their clients' humanity.
My daughter went to Synergy School in SF which required all students to do a day of community service. She selected to help serve meals at Glide one weekend and I went with here. We got a good introduction when we arrived so we knew what we were doing. I felt very useful, and it seemed like the staff very much respected the people being served. A great experience.
I just volunteered for the Glide Grocery Giveaway, which gives a bag of groceries containing a Christmas meal to over 7000 residents of San Francisco, many of them older women and men. The entire process was amazing--efficient, fun, well-run, and did an excellent job of using individual volunteers as well as corporate teams--the Gap and PGE were 2 of the companies working my shift. Glide did a very savvy deployment of volunteers, directing them to the tasks at hand. I really enjoyed the opportunity to volunteer because what could be finer than working to feed the community I live in,
Rev. Cecil Williams and Glide have been working and serving all people since I moved to SF in 1966. They were among the first to give aid & comfort to those diagnosed with HIV/Aids 30+ years ago. Anyone who was hungry, cold or needed a place for spiritual comfort got that at Glide. My daughter, at age 10, and I for many years helped serve Thanksgiving meals and now as an adult she makes full meals for all holidays and goes out to areas where homeless people are and serves them herself. Amazing is an oft used word, but in this case, this church and its congregation fit that description. Thank you.