September 5: Labor Day Celebration
Our first celebration of September fell on the heels of Labor Day—the beginning of a new season. Minister Marvin delivered a powerful sermon about the nature of work and labor and how that applies to our experiences through life. Ensemble member Michelle Arce sang live from the sanctuary and we heard a very special Witness by Ron E. Beck, former Change Band member and close friend of our beloved Clifford Coulter, who passed away in September.
View our September 5 Celebration
September 12: Janice Mirikitani Community Celebration
Our community was shaken after the passing of GLIDE’s co-founder, Janice Mirikitani over the summer. At the same time, we are filled with the deepest of gratitude for the way she helped birth and mold our community, and for the countless lives that she touched.
And so, to keep Janice’s legacy alive and to help transmute our mourning into celebration, we’ve invited our community to help plan Celebrations in honor of Janice Mirkitani.
Our first Janice Community Celebration took place on September 12th, co-hosted by Code Tenderloin founder, Del Seymour, and other community members. Her legacy lives on and our community will continue to celebrate Janice Mirkitani, our ancestor.
September 19: Cecil Birthday Celebration
In honor of Reverend Cecil Williams’ 92nd birthday on September 22, Glide Memorial Church collected messages and stories from the Church community, held a birthday fundraiser and hosted a special Sunday Birthday Celebration. Our Celebration included photos and clips from Cecil’s legendary life as well as the GLIDE Ensemble performing Cecil’s favorites songs.
View Our Web Page Celebrating Cecil’s Birthday
View Our Sept 19 Celebration
September 26: Equinox Celebration
In honor of Autumn Equinox and this season of transition, Lay and Congregational Life Leader Paula Farmer, and other members of Glide Church, organized an Equinox themed celebration, which included an altar and guests focusing on the themes of transition and rebalancing. Our guest preacher that day was Pastor Lyvonne “Proverbs” Picou, a body and sex-positive preacher, speaker, writer, and creative social entrepreneur. An Emmy-award-winning media producer, Pastor Lyvonne graduated from Seton Hall University with a Bachelor of Arts in English Honors, Yale Divinity School with a Master of Divinity, and Columbia Theological Seminary with a Master of Theology, where she completed her thesis about preaching, poetry, and sexual trauma.
Pastor Lyvonne is the founder of beautiful scars (@WereSurthrivors), an online platform for Black women survivors of male sexual violence. By harnessing the power of narrative, she is aiding survivors (and communities, at large) to shift from silence to storytelling to put an end to gender-based violence.