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Author: GLIDEChurch

On Sunday, September 17th, Glide Memorial Church  presented the Rev. Cecil Williams with over 500 greetings for his 94th birthday at a festive Celebration service.  You can add your birthday greetings here: https://www.glide.org/cecil-birthday-message.

 

Minister Marvin K. White preached a sermon about putting faith into action and caring for those in the Tenderloin and beyond.  The Glide Ensemble and Change Band wore dashiki’s inspired by Cecil and inspired those watching in the sanctuary and around the world on the livestream.   Special guests, including Mayor London Breed, State Assembly Member Phil Ting, City Attorney David Chiu and Assessor Joaquin Torres shared their greetings. Click on the names of each special guest to hear their well wishes to Cecil and all who work, volunteer and support GLIDE.

After the service, continuing Cecil’s legacy of supporting and repairing black individuals, families and communites, about fifty church and community members participated in conversations about reparations for black and African American San Franciscans in collaboration with the Congregational Life Racial Justice Group, Center for Social Justice, and Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation. 

Anietie Ekanem,  Freddy Martin, and Eric McDonnell

Members of the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee and SF Human Rights Commission were present to listen to the community and help individuals prepare for public comment at the Board of Supervisors meeting on September 19th.  Committee members included: Chair Eric McDonnell, Economic Empowerment sub-committee chair Anietie Ekanem, and Public Housing seat member Freddy Martin.  Freddy is a member of the GLIDE staff, serving as the Congregational Life and Community Engagement Manager at Glide Memorial Church.   

Glide Memorial Church has been providing backpacks and school supplies for Tenderloin children annual for over a decade.  On August 12th, we distributed 300 backpacks for participants at the Janice Mirikitani Family, Youth and Child Care Center, the Family Resource Center, those living in Glide housing and the congregation’s Glide Kids participants.

The Tenderloin area is home to the largest population of children in San Francisco. In the Tenderloin, over 1500 families live below the poverty line, that number alone spurs us into action. During the pandemic, kids and families were unable to pick up their backpacks in person and backpacks were sent directly to our partner programs.   This year, the event was able to successfully #ReturntoCommunity, with the help of volunteers from Glide and Code Tenderloin.

“These backpacks are more than just school supplies, they are a symbol that we are a safe, loving community for kids and families in the Tenderloin,” said Marvin K. White, Glide Memorial Church’s Minister of Celebration.  “The families we serve often have to make hard decisions, the ability to buy school supplies should not be one of them.”

Giveaways include backpacks, books, binders, pens, pencils, pencil boxes, crayons, markers, and glue. The family of Maya Angelou has donated socks with inspirational poems that will also be included in each backpack.  Each backpack, filled with supplies, has an estimated value of $75.  The Backpack giveaway was made possible by the generous donations of 80 individuals, who donated over $7,710.  Thank you to everyone who volunteered, donated and supported the backpack giveaway.

Local news channels 5 and 7 stopped by to report on the event.

 

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