“Freedom delayed is not freedom denied,” proclaimed Eric McDonnell, Chair of the African American Reparations Advisory Committee and guest speaker at Glide Memorial Church on Father’s Day. “Even when the world tries to leave us behind, God says, ‘I see you. I love you. I care for you.’”

This Father’s Day at Glide, everyone felt free—free from incarceration, free from trauma, and free in identity, including our queer brothers and sisters (some of whom are fathers) still fighting for full liberation.

Photos of generations of fathers and father-figures lit up the giant screen on stage as Minister Marvin K. White, Eric McDonnell, and fathers from across the community gathered to honor a powerful trifecta: Father’s Day, Juneteenth, and Pride.

The spirit of freedom filled every pew. We remembered the excruciating delay between the Emancipation Proclamation—issued on January 1, 1863, declaring an end to slavery—and the moment that freedom finally reached enslaved Black Americans in the fields of West Texas on June 19, 1865.

That delay was real. That pain was deep. But still, we celebrate. Because freedom delayed is not freedom denied.

McDonnell’s booming voice echoed through the sanctuary and into the streets:
“True freedom doesn’t come from paper or proclamation. It comes from the power of persistence—and from God.”

“Healing is possible,” he declared. “Deliverance is possible.”

He then invited the congregation to celebrate five ways to live free:

• Tell your truth.

   

• Serve your community.

   

• Worship boldly.

   

• Build something.

   

• Love radically.

   

With that, he transformed the moment of Father’s Day and Juneteenth into a call to action—a living movement rooted in freedom and hope.

A movement that sets us free—today and every day.