- Glide Memorial Church
Glide Memorial Church is a
United Methodist Church inSan Francisco, California that opened in 1929. Although conservative until the 1960s, since then it has served as acounter-culture rallying point and has been one of the most prominently liberal churches in theUnited States . Its contributions to the community have been recognized by such respected figures asMaya Angelou ,Oprah Winfrey , andBill Clinton ; as well asWarren Buffett , who famously contributed the value of an auctioned lunch oneBay . [ [http://www.glide.org/Timeline.aspx Glide Memorial Church] ]Since the 1960s, Glide Church has provided various services for the poor and disenfranchised. Glide serves three meals daily, amounting to over 750,000 free meals a year.Fact|date=June 2007The church also provides
AIDS 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.Visitors from all over the world attend Sunday celebrations, of which music is a prominent part. The Glide Ensemble and Change Band have become an integral part of the the Sunday celebration. In May 2007 the ensemble was featured on the national late night show "Late night with
Conan O'Brian ". Every Sunday's celebration is available on CD and DVD from church's website and at the church itself. Revenue from this source helps the church fund its many charitable programs.Recently, the movie "
The Pursuit of Happyness " starringWill Smith and his son Jaden, depicted the real life rags-to-riches story ofChris Gardner and his son. Once homeless, they turned to Glide's services for support to help them get back on their feet.Cecil Williams 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.Fact|date=August 2008See also
*
Glide Foundation References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.