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HONORING CECIL WILLIAMS
For 45 years, Reverend Cecil Williams has challenged and raised the limits of spirituality, compassion and diversity as Founder of the Glide Foundation and Minister of Liberation of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco.
As minister, author, community leader and spokesperson for the poor and marginalized, he is respected and recognized as a national leader on the forefront of social change. His spirit and ministry are experienced every week at the Sunday Celebration underscoring his roots in liberation theology and his commitment to explore and define spirituality that is both meaningful and relevant.
Reverend Williams challenges his congregation to place action above apathy, community above isolation, and the force of faith, hope and love above traditional religious symbolism.
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Reverend Williams’ vision for the 21st century church is reflected in Glide’s unique and powerful blend of spirituality, principled compassion, and cutting edge programs for those most in need.
With a membership of over 11,000, those sharing Williams’ dream have made Glide, located in the heart of the city’s toughest neighborhoods, one of the fastest growing United Methodist churches in America.
Every Sunday, people of all races, ethnic backgrounds, cultures, social classes, ages, faiths, and sexual orientations join together to experience the energy of spiritual liberation coupled with the fusion of jazz, blues and gospel performed at each Celebration by the Glide Ensemble choir and the Change Band.
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Appointed minister to Glide in 1964, Rev. Williams transformed the church’s role in contemporary society by opening its doors to everyone with unconditional love and acceptance.
He challenged his congregation to take action by feeding the hungry, providing outreach for runaways, prostitutes and drug addicts, and performing same sex unions for the lesbian and gay community and became one of the first ministers in the nation to take a public stand for same sex couples.
His leadership helped create the Council on Religion and Homosexuality, a pioneering organization comprised of area ministers advocating for the civil rights of lesbians and gays in the late sixties.
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As an activist for social justice, Rev. Williams rallied for the reinstatement of the San Francisco Airport Sky Caps wrongfully terminated by a major airline, he protested against the segregation and forced busing of African American children in the Bay Area and he opened Glide’s doors to comfort the grieving and outraged citizens after the brutal assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected into a U.S. public office and community hero.
He established the group Officers for Justice, representing and supporting African-American police officers in their struggle against racism and discrimination within the San Francisco Police Department and he created Citizens Alert, a community group investigating allegations of police intimidation and brutality against people of color and the gay community.
In the 1990’s Rev. Williams pioneered social activism from the pulpit to combat the scourges of the Crack and AIDS epidemics: Glide launched the first program in the nation to offer free HIV testing to the public at a church before and after Sunday services. Glide also employed a team of outreach workers to canvass neighborhoods with messages about prevention and protection against HIV.
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Recognizing the need for social change on the national level, Reverend Williams became involved in the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., joining marches in Washington, D.C. and Selma, Alabama.
In 1986, Rev. Williams became the Chairman for the Northern California Dr. Martin King Jr. Birthday Observance Committee at the request of Mrs. Coretta Scott King. Rev. Williams is the recipient of the 2008 National Caring Award presented by the Caring Institute in Washington, D.C.
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Rev. Cecil Williams is married to Janice Mirikitani, Founding President of the Glide Foundation.
Together, they have created a radical and unique partnership, bringing a powerful yet sensitive direction to Glide’s many social programs.
For over 45 years, they have built 87 comprehensive programs that provide meals, education, recovery support, primary and mental health care, job training, housing and human services. Today, Glide serves nearly one million meals a year, three times a day, Glide Health Services with its holistic approach in a state of the art clinic turns no one away. Glide's workforce development program for youth from San Francisco’s most marginalized communities is one of the most successful in the country.
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Reverend Williams is the CEO and Chair of the Glide Economic Development Corporation, which provide homes and economic stimulus to the neighborhood where Glide’s ministry and programs have been so fundamental.
This year will mark the Reverend Williams'
45th year of service at Glide. He will also be one of this year's recipents of the Southern Methodist University's Most Distinguished Alumni Award. SMU's Perkins School of Theology will be naming a new state of the art Preaching Lab in the new Perkins School of Theology Building in honor of Reverend Cecil Williams and his many contributions to church and society. It will be named the Reverend Dr. A. Cecil Williams Preaching Laboratory to inspire future generations of students entering into the ministry and continue Rev. Williams' legacy of radically inclusive ministry.
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