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SMU is holding a service of thanksgiving Thursday for the Rev. Cecil Williams at Perkins School of Theology’s chapel at 11:30 a.m.
I’m hoping to get by there for it. Williams was the driving force at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco for four decades.
I’ve noted in a blog posting here before that Williams’ very fruitful career in United Methodist ministry is the stuff of movies. Speaking of which–he had a cameo role in the highly regarded bio movie “The Pursuit of Happyness.” The film, which of course starred Will Smith in one of his seminal roles, was about Chris Garnder’s intense struggles with homelessness in San Francisco. Garnder has always credited Williams and the Glide Memorial Church outreach with helping him through homeless hell with food and shelter, but also with Williams’ inspiring preaching.
“Cecil Williams would talk every Sunday about being able to walk on the waters of life,” Gardner once recalled in an interview with United Methodist New Service. “And he’d say that baby steps count, too, as long as you’re going forward. That’s food for the soul.”
Williams has since retired as pastor of the church but is still affiliated as chief executive officer of the Glide Foundation.
Rev. Williams is a fellow graduate of Perkins, but he’s the one who’s been honored with a Distinguished Alum Award from that renowned theology school.
Here’s a little bio from Glide to give you a taste of how Williams transformed from being a most radical and angry and fiery young preacher to being the mellow one he is today, while being no less fiery for social justice.
REVEREND CECIL WILLIAMS
In 1963, winds of change were blowing mightily through San Francisco. Nowhere were these forces of transformation more visible than at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church. That year, a young African-American minister named Cecil Williams came to Glide determined to bring life back into the dying congregation. Cecil changed both policies and practices of the conservative church, helping to create the Council on Religion and Homosexuality in 1964. In 1967, Cecil ordered the cross removed from the sanctuary, exhoring the congregation instead to celebrate life and living.
“We must all be the cross,” he explained. As the conservative members of the original congregation left, they were replaced by San Francisco’s diverse communities of hippies, addicts, gays, the poor, and the marginalized. By 1968, the energetic, jazz-filled Celebrations were packed with people from all classes, hues, and lifestyles. That year, San Francisco State University erupted in protests over demands for ethnic studies and affirmative action. Cecil and the Glide community helped lead the demonstrations; the church became a home for political, as well as spiritual, change. Glide offered a safe space to groups ranging from the Hookers Convention to the American Indian Movement and the Black Panthers. In the midst of their political work, Glide never forgot the basic needs of the community. The meals program was launched in the 1960s, serving one free dinner a week to all comers. As a decade of clamoring change came to a close, Glide further added to the joyful noise: The world-renowned Glide Ensemble choir held its first rehearsals in 1969. And Janice Mirikitani, a noted poet and dancer, had also just been appointed Coordinator for Glide’s programs. The church would never be the same again.
For over 45 years, Reverend Cecil Williams has expanded the limits of spirituality, compassion and diversity as Founder and Minister of Liberation of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco. As minister, author, social activist, lecturer, community leader and spokesperson for the poor and marginalized, Reverend Williams is respected and recognized as a national leader on the forefront of change and in the struggle for civil and human rights. His ministry underscores his roots in liberation theology.
Often considered controversial and radical, Rev. Williams was one of the first clergymen to take a revolutionary stand for same sex couples by presiding over their weddings four decades before today’s struggle to legalize gay marriage. His vision for the 21st century church can be seen 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 and located in the heart of the city’s toughest neighborhoods, Glide is one of the fastest growing United Methodist churches in North America. People of all races, ethnic backgrounds, cultures, social classes, ages, faiths, and sexual orientations join together at every Sunday Celebration to experience the energy of spiritual liberation coupled with the fusion of jazz, blues and gospel performed by the renowned Glide Ensemble choir and the Change Band.
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. In 1986, Reverend Williams became the Chairman for the Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Observance Committee at the request of Mrs. Coretta Scott King.
Reverend Williams was the recipient of the 2008 National Caring Award presented by the Caring Institute in Washington, D.C.
