I volunteered for the lunch meal service today, and experiences like this are exactly why I keep coming back. GLIDE is impressively well run -- clear roles, smooth logistics, no chaos -- but what really matters is that none of that efficiency comes at the expense of humanity. The compassion here is real, consistent, and practiced every day, not just talked about. Everyone is treated with dignity, whether they're receiving a meal or helping serve it. You can feel that this organization truly lives its values. Grateful to be able to support the work GLIDE does, and I'll definitely continue volunteering here. Mad props to the people that run and staff this operation everyday! You're heroes to the community! read more

Hi my experience was a awful experience the department of housing Lady was streotyping me rushing me out with no helpful information keeping information away the supervisor and management allowed these type of behaviors happened to me this lady was all about the money and not about the services the executive director really needs to train there staff better instead of favoritism have there staff treat others equally that was my experience I don't recommend anyone to get services from glide memorial but use your own judgement some of the staffs have the most nasty attitude towards me and treat others differently they say that glide memorial is about love there actions shows something different read more

It was really nice to see Glide come out in full force for the San Francisco AIDS walk. I have been to this church many times throughout the years. They never cease to amaze me. I do miss Pastor Finch. He was phenomenal. This church does so much for the community. If you get an opportunity to donate do it to this church? read more

I attended there with my family in the late 90's excellent service thought I was in the Blues Brother movie

Yes!! It's that wonderful time of year The time that smiles are gleaming with cheer Glide is a perfect venue to celebrate with Christmas Cheer , and songs One that has taken (perhaps for the little ones and others) forever long. It gives me great pleasure to write this Yelp on the order of appreciation, for this year and many others in the past Glide has been a mainstay support for me and many others in lieu of our trials and tribulations. Having been supplied with the tools and wherewithal (great meals, tools that help produce abstinence from alcohol, drug intake, as well as results of other forms of trauma.) Special Note Within the last several months, special attention has been given to both the elder and ADA community with care by the Glide staff. This effort (I'm proud to announce has been led by "Ladies of Frontline Compassion" -Rm 101." *Angela *Eunice *Diane *Tina *Danielle Also to be mentioned are fellas at the front desk along with kitchen staff; -John P -Jerome -Ed -Iris Kitchen Staff; -Jonathan -James Happy Holidays; Michael T. Bes P.S-Please forgive me for any names that I've omitted read more

It's been on my bucket list for years now to volunteer exactly on Christmas Day at Glide Memorial Church! I finally did it. We were told that we fed over 5,000 people today. I'm guessing that means in person as well as the to go boxes. Everyone wanted to be the one serving meals and people were angry about making sandwiches, but they forgot that we're here to volunteer and help others and not just complain about the tasks your given. Some even went to the manager to complain that they didn't sign up to make sandwiches or clean! Wow! Two women behind me walked out when they heard they had to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or ham sandwiches instead of serving meals. I guess there really were too many chefs in the kitchen and not enough servers, that's my little joke. I happily made sandwiches then became a waiter for the last half hour cleaning tables and refilling punch and water. Not everyone gets the job of their dreams but remember we're here to help the less fortunate and not ourselves! I wish I could have told the people behind me that. read more

Glide Memorial Church - Churches Near Me - San Francisco, California

In the Tenderloin. Free food daily. Try volunteering and community service.

I wish Free Meals staff members were treated with more respect, not by clients or volunteers but by Glide alone. After years of serving Glide especially during the Holiday season, we do so much as to give what it takes to meets demands. Yet we are still belittled at the process and credit is given elsewhere. read more

This is a great church. I stopped going to church many years ago because I felt that it was about righteousness and judging people. I first heard about Glide's social programs and that attracted me to the church. I truly feel that true Christianity focuses on helping others, especially those in greatest need. I respect the fact that they are accepting of all types of people. Their sermons are lively and the music is always awesome. Be sure to get there early as it gets crowded on sundays. This is one of the only churches I would give money to because I see the work they do with the homeless and those in need. read more

Glide Memorial Church - Churches Near Me - San Francisco, California

I originally gave Glide a 1* review but I've decided to raise it to 2* because i've ended up eating here several more times over the years. Glide has come thru for me numerous times over the years as well as coming through for other people and Glide's food is better than St Anthony's. My original review: I had to stand in a long line with homeless people in order to eat. The food wasn't very good. The food is often soo bad it makes me think of Kitchen Nightmares with Chef Gordan Ramsey when he's trying to the food and doesn't like anything. The food is highly processed. Doesn't taste like it was prepared by a real chef or anyone who went to a real culinary school. Many of the homeless people who I was standing in line with smelled bad and were having outbursts. The staff weren't very friendly. I felt like we were being herded in and out like cattle. My updated review: I ended up being homeless and having to go back there several times. On Tuesdays they serve hamburgers and the hamburgers are actually pretty good. When i was starting new jobs and having no money to eat at work I was able to go into Glide, eat 3 or 4 trays and then go to work and have those 3 or 4 trays sustain me while at work with no lunch money till I got my first pay check. Glide always come through for people who need it. On some days they had Subway Sandwiches catering. On other days they served fried chicken that was edible. I ended up talking to the people who actually work there and they were able to get me homeless shelter beds on the days that i worked without me having to go on a waiting list. The waiting list system is unfair to people who have to work who can't sit around at drop in center all day doing nothing. Get ready for some dark humor. I came up with a slogan for Glide that I would like Glide to use and adopt. They probably won't. While observing and thinking about all of the people who are chronically homeless and who aren't doing well and have to spend the rest of their lives hanging out, going to, dealing with social workers and eating at Glide and standing in lines for the rest of their lives I came up with a slogan. "Here at Glide Memorial we and our clients are Gliding Through Life." I also came up with an idea for a funny prank that I will never get to pull off. Imagine getting a pretty blonde white girl who's not from San Francisco, she's a perfect 10 out of 10. Get her all dressed up. Blindfold her and tell her you are taking her some where extra special. And then take her to Glide Memorial. Have her blind folded the entire time until you get to the end of the line and it's time to eat and then release the blindfold after you sit down. I told my coworker about my prank that I want to do on a 10 out of 10 pretty blonde white girl and he starts laughing and telling his friends that I want to bring "a 10" which slang for girl who is a 10 out of 10 to Glide Memorial and his friend starting laughing on the other line. read more

Serve a Meal. Make a Difference. Back in 2006, while watching "The Pursuit of Happyness" at AMC Van Ness and seeing how Chris Garnder (real life rags-to-riches story) found his daily nutritional sustenance through Glide, I told my then BF that I wanted to start volunteering at Glide. Gauging by the look on his face, he thought I lost my marbles. Well, apparently I did since I was with him which is why he's an ex now. Six years later, my desire to volunteer at Glide finally came into fruition. I arrived on Sunday morning like it was my first day of school. Not knowing what to expect, I was excited but scared. As I put on my plastic apron, hairnet, and plastic gloves (ohh yeah, sexy time), I was ready for anything. The soup kitchen manager pointed at me and motioned me to come over. That day, I was the denoted as the "broccoli babe". Scoop broccoli? Piece of cake. Boy, was I in for a RUDE AWAKENING. From 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM, trays kept flying at me for me to scoop broccoli into a tiny hole before handing it off to the bread man. Between scooping 820 scoops of broccoli (yes, you read right), lifting the hot trays, and handing it off to the next person, my arms had never had such an intense work out. BEST. ARM. WORKOUT. EVER. Watch out now, Shake Weight! During lunch service, I watched people from all ages and ethnicities come in. The comradery of the volunteers was a success as the smile on everyone's faces and the genuine warmthness filled the entire cafeteria kitchen. This made every scoop of broccoli worth it BUT I never want to see a floret for a long, long time. On average, Glide serves 2,560 meals a day. That day, we served 820 meals during lunch. All this is not possible without the help of volunteers. Serve a Meal. Make a Difference. Glide fed Chris Gardner and his toddler son when they were both homeless. Today, Chris Garnder is a multimillionaire that wears a $10,000 watch on each wrist, a Cartier on the right and a Roger Dubuis on the left so he always knows what time it is in South Africa where's he's currently setting up at investment venture at. You NEVER know whose life YOU will make a difference in... OTHER NOTES: *Glide served 934,000 meals last year (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) *Most paid kitchen employees are former meal recipients *Minimum age to volunteer is 12 years with a signed waiver from parent/guardian *Dress comfortably and accordingly; it gets HOT in the kitchen area with the steam trays *Street parking is difficult on Sundays because of church service. The parking lot across the street is $13 (flat rate) read more

This Christmas consider giving back to the community to honor someone you love. Consider a gift to Glide Memorial UMC. For over 40 years Glide has been offering a helping hand to people of the city. Their t-shirt says it all --- "Real Help" (see the picture). Send a donation in the name of someone special and put the message of Glide in their Christmas card. http://www.glide.org/GlideMarketplace.aspx read more

Glide Memorial Church - Real Help - Churches Near Me - San Francisco, California

What a wonderful way to start a Sunday. One of the most uplifting services I have ever attended - centered around recognizing the determination, love, and accomplishents of Coretta Scott King. So often in life, we get caught up in our own worlds that we forget about the great causes that institutions like Glide and incredible people like Coretta Scott King take on. This congregation exudes joy and heart, welcoming all into their place of worship. If you're having a slow Sunday -head on over to Glide. Their choir ensemble and superb band will blow you away. The diversity of the congregation is truly inspiring. I've been bad about keeping up with Sunday Glide services, but everytime I do go, I always leave feeling uplifted and generally find that I have a better day - through being reminded of the greater things in live and how trivial alot of my worries are. read more

Everyone knows about Glide! This place is infamous! On top of having great Sunday services (9am and 11am), Glide really does take care of the community. Donating to this congregation, you KNOW what you're money is going towards. You can see it! When you walk down Jones Street, the line that wraps around the block...you follow it from O'Farrell to Jones to Ellis to the entrance of Glide near Taylor, they're all waiting for free meals. They have a community clinic, support services, shelter beds, job training programs, you name it! I'm glad I waited till now to review Glide's service. You may have heard of the party-like service: the massive ensemble squeezed on to their tiny stage, the rockin' band, the solos, the humor in the sermons, and the message of love for all. This past weekend, on the 9th anniversary of 9/11...the weekend Rev. Terry Jones had threatened to, then refrained from burning Qurans...Glide pushed their message of love and tolerance on max! "Rev. Terry Jones represents all Christians no more than the terrorists of 9/11 represent all Muslims..." Quoting verses from various Holy texts, including the Quran, the service this past Sunday, in my opinion, shared a message that was more American than any other...and this message is not a new concept for Glide. It's a simple message...love everyone! I was born into Buddhism. I was recruited by Christians in my youth and my mother was accepting to that. I was jaded by religion when the churches I went to bashed other religions...such as Buddhism. Meanwhile, my mother was all loving and all accepting. I started to learn about all the wars fought over religion and race. I became an Atheist. I have since gone back to my Buddhist roots, but have also learned to love God...not religion. If every church preached the same message of love and respect for other faiths, I probably wouldn't have ever lost God to begin with. It's not a competition here. You don't have to bash other faiths just to increase the stats of your own. Where's the love? "I ain't afraid of your Yahweh. I ain't not afraid of your Allah. I ain't not afraid of your Jesus. I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God." read more

This is a great place to bring your tourist friends for a one time visit or to bring a friend on a regular basis. The gospel music is inspirational and filled with happiness. The religious message is simple. The service can be enjoyed by both believers and non-believers. Considered as a San Francisco standalone entertainment venue, the Glide experience couldn't be more affordable - you donate however much you want. If you've never attended Glide you'll be overwhelmed with the love on your first visit. You might cry. Here's why: 1. The choir is the main attraction. The featured performers belt out the lyrics like Jennifer Hudson. Just looking at all their faces when they perform is a beautiful thing. The choir has a reputation that extends beyond the Church and they get other gigs . The band supporting the choir is good too. Youtube Glide Choir and see for yourself. 2. Each service features a testimonial and a good story with lots of drama. 3. During the most lively hymns, members of the congregation hold hands and rock back and forth. And there is always a break where everyone hugs their neighbors to their left and right. It's fun. 3. The congregation is ethnically diverse, age-wise diverse, gender diverse and disability diverse. It's fun to give someone in a wheel-chair a hug or hug a 40 year old babe - or even someone whose obese. It's love. It's the spirt of Christ. Whatever. But it IS fun. 4. The songs they sing each week are simple and easy to learn - and easy to sing. (This would *not* be the case at St. Mary's up the street.) This is a Church that takes pride in its accepting message.Gays, straights, transvestites, muslims, republicans and normal Christians are welcome. The open message helps the church in its fund raising efforts - but for a believer who knows a lot about the bible the message might be too simple. I say might because sometimes they feature guest ministers and some of those ministers focus on relating scripture to day-to-day living. Don't be put off by the humble exterior of the building - the Church is wonderful inside. One of the coolest things about the church is seeing how low income people bring happiness to the service. It's refreshing. On Sundays there are two services - one at 9:00AM and one at 11:00AM. The 11:00AM service sometimes often goes an additional 15 minutes. A few of the sing-along pieces are played every week - but they mix up ministers and feature different choir members each week to keep it fresh. There are dozens of good restaurants in that area to visit after the service - Lori's, Farmerbrown, SushiBoat, Dottie's and Lefty's come to mind. A 9:00AM service and lunch afterwards makes for a 2 and a half hour date and leaves you with time to do other stuff during your Sunday. read more

Glide Memorial Church - Glide Choir and Congregation - Churches Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Volunteered here twice so far and just signed up to volunteer again in the future. The first time I volunteered was on Christmas Eve serving breakfast. I was given the task to serve and bus tables. Towards the end of my shift, I had to lift boxes filled with juice, clear tables, and clean the serving area. No complaints on my end whatsoever. I was there to help out. The second time I volunteered, was for the 9:00-11:00 am shift for Bag Lunches which went by fast. The staff is really friendly, especially Edwin who made us feel really comfortable. Can't wait to come back to volunteer here again or maybe catch a Sunday Celebration! read more

I seriously cannot wait till another opportunity to help other in the community! For Christmas, I told my mom, that I wanted to volunteer at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church (what a mouthfull =)) in San Francisco. She apparently, thought it was a brilliant idea and so her and 12 others decided to hop on my bandwagon and join me. This was my first time volunteering at Glide, so I had no idea what to expect. Our shift was from 11:30-1:15 but we arrived early, so we began at 10:30. Once we got there we were given name tags and so of course I didn't write my real name but a nickname.."VIXEN" haha...you know Santa's Reindeer. Everyone there was so nice and welcoming that we immediately made friends with the staff. Then we were taken downstairs and were given aprons, hairnets, and gloves. Once I had my gear on..a man separated me from my crew and took me to the main dining room where I had to run back and forth to the kitchen and carry the meals, serve the homeless, refill and stock whatever. It was so fun. I know it doesn't but believe me it was. The people in the kitchen,,were like "you are back again" all sarcastically i think..i was like yeah these people are hungry. They were also impressed with how much I could lift and carry because trays of yams, vegetables, ham/turkey, and gravy can be heavy. I was like I work out come on now ha ha I also didn't mind going back and forth to the kitchen because some fine ass football team was there. So yeah that pretty much explains it all =) When I was serving the homeless, if they wanted more, I always snuck them an extra slice of pumpkin pie, or extra turkey. Its Christmas come on now, I am not going to let them starve. But then I got in trouble by one of the security guards because apparently you are no suppose to give them extra, even though they can bring their own containers and put as much food in there as they please..WHATEVER man! But there was a time when the security gaurd came in handy. There was this one fatty aggressive homeless folk who came in like 5 times. I was like fool I served you already like 3 times when you only get 1 meal...you need to PEACE OUT. He got all crazy and shit so I just regulated and called security on his ass. Later man. However it was kinda sad too to see how many people we served. There were women with 6 children, people with no legs, skinny and unhealthy individuals...depressing. It was good to know that Glide served over 6,000 people each day. You should see the line just to get it..it wraps around the block and I heard that people start to camp out like a couple days before...INTENSE SHIT! Then when my brother and fiancee found me..who know how..I didn't want to leave and told them to just leave me here. But they refused. LAME. Anyways, I def. recommend that you experience something like this in your lifetime. Very rewarding and enriching. One of the staff members even came up to me and said "You are volunteer of the Day in my eye" LOVES IT. read more

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Glide feeds the hungry mentally ill, disabled, homeless 365 days a year good food. They would otherwise go hungry and many more would die or commit suicide or crimes. Most are not able to care for themselves due to mental illness. Many areare severely disabled. My case, suddenly had a seizure, the state automatically suspended my drivers license, couldn't drive my car....eeverything seemed to snowball. God bless the people at Glide. Moar read more

This place is a well oiled machine! My coworker organized a group of 7 of us to volunteer for the lunch rush. We volunteered at the beginning of the month so its less crazy as later in the month. We all got assigned to different stations, which I thought was great so you mingled with new people and were focused on your job. I got assigned to the coffee room and my job was to collect tickets, give people a tray of food, fill up water jugs, and run back into the main room if we ran out of trays of food. The 1.5 hours that we were there went super quick. It seemed like we served over 500 people during that time and it was great to help out. I'd love to come again and volunteer. I love how organized everything is. read more

On Friday September 20th the Enterprise Finance department volunteered for dinner service. 21 of us donned our Wells Fargo volunteer shirts and headed to the kitchens. Everyone one of us needs to do this once in our lives. It's a very humbling experience. I put on my hairnet, apron and gloves and was assigned to the wheelchair and family with strollers section. We wiped the tables down, set out pitchers of clean refreshing iced waters on the tables and silverware and cups. Friday is fried fish day and the workers stayed it would be a busy day. We saw crates of Starbucks cake pops and protein plates that were donated to glide and another called Mission Picnic that donated gourmet sandwiches by crates to glide. I was assigned a task to pass out the trays to the next server to deliver to the tables, but it got so busy I ended up running and delivering the trays, refilling water glasses, greeting the clients and handling the removal of the trays and wiping to make the area clean and ready for the next client. My team seemed a little intimidated at serving to the clients. I eagerly grabbed the trays and delivered to the client with a smile, a pleasant greeting, a thank you for the yellow ticket and poured iced water for them. I am a mom of two kids and treated each client like they were having dinner in my home. One man brought tears to my eyes because he bowed his head and prayed to thank god for the food before him, before he ate. That made quite an impression on me. That no matter what his circumstances were, he believed in god. I joked around with some clients, was polite and kind and left there knowing that I learned a valuable lesson. It doesn't matter how much money you have, what you drive or what you do for a living. In the end it's how you treat other people. Doesn't matter what race you are. We are all children of god, and we all have feelings. Be good to one another. Thank you glide for showing me the way. And thank you god for making me a more understanding and more humbled person today. God bless you Glide for all you do For the community read more

Amazing experience volunteering here on a wednesday dinner time. The staff are so pleasant and nice. As the building is not the nicest and cleanest place, I can tell the staff manages to keep this place clean. I was responsible for collecting tickets for people that came in and I can't help to feel sooo energic and happy greeting each one of them because I feel like I'm doing something good that day. This experience changes me and I can't wait to come back and do it all over again! Oh and they give you free food after too! Thank you! read more

I visited this church on this Easter Sunday because I read all the really good reviews on Yelp... I have had such HIGH hopes in it... yet, I cannot say how disappointed I am to know that such a big congregation of believers listen to this kind of BS. I don't know why they call this a "Methodist" Church - it's clearly a "church" for Unitarian Universalists. If you are a REAL believer of Christ, I suggest that you do NOT come here. This is one of those "feel good" churches. If you want to feel good about yourself - then you might as well come here, because all they talk about was what a good group of believers they are, and how this church does all this great volunteer community service - there is no mention of God in all of this!!! This church blesses themselves!!! During a prayer, one of the members prayed "Lord, we are the blessed ones!" over and over again. Excuse me? Shouldn't it be "Lord, thank you for giving blessings to such undeserved sinners - we are always grateful...we do not deserve your blessings"?!!! During offering, they actually said, "We need more money, so we can do all this good work for the community. So give us more money." This is word for word. No mention of God in it... you give to God because of your love for and obedience to GOD, so that God will bless your offerings...sure, the good works comes with it - but not because the church needs the money so they can do this volunteer work that they do not give God credit to. And if they did, in their minds, they should have mentioned in their prayers! Sermon: The pastor actually said that Jesus' love comes in many forms - through Buddha, Muhammad, etc... Jesus' love??? There is a difference when Christians show Jesus' love and when non-Christians do "Good works": it's that we do it FOR GOD. I don't ever remember Buddha or any of these other religions doing what Jesus did (sacrificed HIS LIFE) for God - the one and only God - this God who specifically believed that there is one way to Heaven. Not through other religions, but only through Jesus so how you can say that Jesus' love is in many forms through these other prophets - some of which who claim that they themselves are God!!! As I was saying, if you want to find a "church" that makes you feel good about yourself - about ALL the things that you did - this church is the place to go...b/c they will never tell you that some of the things you have done is wrong. If you want to hear about God's grace, love, and mercy - and all that He has and wants to do for you, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. Because this church is 1 hour 20 minutes THEMSELVES and 5 minutes of "Jesus' love in form of Buddha" BS talk! read more

This is not a church for the mainline Protestant Christian (Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, etc.) looking for a God- and bible-centered church. While Glide Memorial may have had Methodist roots, it has clearly traveled far, far off of that path. As far as I can tell, they've more or less gone all the way with effectively dropping "United Methodist" from their name. Try a Google search. That said, I believe it's good that they've at least disassociated themselves from the United Methodist Church in their branding and such because it really was misleading and confusing during my visit. How is it no longer Methodist? Well, its services, while very inspiring, emotional and led by talented performers, barely recognize or worship (if at all) God or Jesus. While they do undeniably great work for the community, they pat themselves on the back rather than praise the Lord. Their views and beliefs are no longer Bible-centric but "justice"-centric, if that makes any sense. If you're looking for a community that: 1) is active in reaching out to those in need and/or facing injustice, and 2) meets every Sunday for a feel-good pow-wow, then Glide Memorial's the place for you. However, mainline Christians, save yourselves a Sunday and find another church. read more

I'd like to give this place a million stars, but Yelp won't allow it. I am not religious, and my parents are "new age" ex-hippies. So I was raised meditating and hearing about their experiences living in ashrams in India. That being said, I've rarely been to a church and I can't remember the last time I went to church on a Sunday. However, I've always loved Gospel music, and have always wanted to go to a Gospel church. I recently told my friend this and she mentioned I could try Glide in the TL. Even though it's not the South, I decided to give it a try (someday). Well 2 weekends ago, while my Dad was visiting we decided to go. He had always been interested as well b/c my Grandpa had loved going when he used to live in the Mission district. I also heard that there were many volunteer opportunities and wanted more information stat. It was amazing. Seriously amazing, moving, inspirational, epic. The singers were all very talented, the choir was upbeat and fun, the band was lively, and the speakers were intelligent, touching and moved me to tears. I loved that everyone was standing up clapping and cheering and saying "Amen" after speakers said things that moved them (total Gospel church experience, Mmmhm). They are open to every race, gender, religion, hung over, strung out, homeless, rich, or whatever else you are. Everyone was super friendly, and happy-- rare to see these days! There were also Buddhist Monks sitting behind me, which made me feel even better about being there :) Glide is simply just doing good. They said that they serve 1 million meals per year, which was displayed with the long line of locals outside the food bank. So happy they are doing so much good! I tried to sign up for volunteer spots and they are completely booked, womp womp :( But hopefully soon! This last weekend I went again with one of my friends, and they had a Women's Right Activist as a guest speaker. Um how cool is that? My friend and I left inspired and looking for ways to help local women in the community. Who knew I would actually like church? read more

I've volunteered for food serving duties on two past ocassions, and came away feeling glad to help and appreciate the work they do in the City. This past weekend we decided to go to the 11:00 Sunday service as I have never been. Disclaimer: I was raised in a somewhat traditional Lutheran church and have attended on/off over the years in the various cities that I have lived in. Glide's service on Sunday left me feeling confused when I left. What was that 90 minutes that I just experienced?? The music and choir were good. The crowd was engaged. The people around me were welcoming and friendly. A lot of 'first timers' raised our hands. The 15 min sermon was about hope and inspiration...I think. Because honestly, 70 minutes in and at that point I was starting to get frustrated and really can not remember the message. Frustrated...in church. Not the feeling that I want to have. It felt like an info commercial. A lot of welcoming of people, a lot of money and donation talk, a lot of announcements about their events, a lot of talk about their book, etc. etc. I feel like I can say I have BTDT now. I wanted more substance. I wanted more inspiration. I just wanted more... Not my preferred choice, but certainly recognize they meet the needs of many. read more

I don't DO church. Which is why I'm taking the time to write a review for a place that already has plenty. If a cynical pseudo-atheist like me can give a church four stars, it must be something special. A little background: While I personally don't believe in a higher power, I'm inclined to label myself agnostic because I don't believe there is a way for us to know for sure. I try to keep an open mind toward spirituality, although I am usually not so forgiving of religion itself. So why did I haul my ass out of my comfy hotel bed to attend church this Sunday? I wanted to go to Glide for a few reasons, but mostly because as a tourist I wanted to get a feel for San Francisco. The sheer number of meals served here daily is astounding. I figured, these must be good people. The boyfriend assured me that they wouldn't yank me from the crowd and burn me as a heretic, so I figured, why not? It wasn't like going to church so much as it was like going to a free concert in a beautiful setting. I was able to marvel at the sea-colored stained glass windows while hearing the band play the music for all those believers belting out gospel songs in a way even I could appreciate. Between the songs, we'd hear announcements (like, Milton's Birthday or the new men's trauma group), or stories of members, or words of inspiration. They acknowledged a variety of beliefs, including the lack of belief, and noted all were welcome there. My favorite part was when one woman announced at the end of a song, "God loves you and there is nothing you can do about it!" This is the heart of my appreciation for Glide. I've never dug that whole, you have to be a certain way to be right with the Lord thing . . . This church--which had all manner of sinners at its service--this church doesn't seem to buy into all the stale old rules that dictate what you do with your life, they just want to help you look on the bright side and help others do they same. Why not five stars? Well, because it's still a church, silly! No, actually it's due to the sermon. Now, I'm not trying to make enemies here, by speaking ill of an obviously great man, but Reverend Cecil Williams just rambled through his little speech . . . It was not well crafted. The content was good, no fire or brimstone at Glide, but instead a discussion of progress and moving forward and Barack Obama and God knocking on your door and on your heart (notably, "He or She"). It was a nice idea, but not well executed. Maybe the winging it adds a personal touch for some, but for me it meant I wasn't riveted. After the moving music, I wanted something truly rousing. Fortunately, it's their charity which rouses you. As we approached we saw the amazing line for food, and it seems like it must be wonderful to be part of the project. They have a health center and all kinds of interest groups it seems. These people strive for a supportive community. So am I reborn? Do I believe, as a result of going to Glide Memorial? Yes But not in God. In people. Glide Memorial showed me a whole mess of plain old good people. read more

This review is specifically for their donor management. Be warned - if you give money to Glide, you will never be removed from their mailing list. Eight years after a single donation, I receive at least one solicitation from them per month. Repeated phone and letter requests to be removed from their list have been ignored. As someone who has worked in non-profits for many, many years, I am well aware of the cost of unsolicited mailings. Money spent on unwanted mail could be better spent on services. Regardless of the value of their social programs - and I believed in that value when I donated - I have to question the fiscal responsibility of any charity that cannot manage something as simple as a mailing list. read more

January 15, a re-birthday. . . In memory of a prophet, a poet, a parent, a man, a human being. Thanks to Martin Luther King Jr. for fighting with the biggest heart and so much love, a commitment to humanity bigger than all the stars in the universe. Love indeed is the answer. THERE IS HOPE PEOPLE! I've wanted to attend the celebration mass at Glide. I woke up this morning. . .while laying in bed thinking about my day, I decided today I was not going to think about going to Glide, I was going to go to Glide, and I'm so glad I did. Tomorrow is Martin Luther King's birthday. Today at Glide they celebrated freedom, love, acceptance, hope, and being human in this world. I've never been to another celebration mass so I have no idea if it's always like this but today was really special. I walked to Glide this morning. Seeing all these people on the streets made me feel incredibly lucky for what I have; a roof over my head, food to eat. Arriving at Glide is like an oasis (literally one for many homeless people who depend on Glide for a meal each day). The sanctuary was full, and a nice lady asks me if I'm alone. I say yes and she finds me a cozy seat in a pew with a bunch of people. I squeeze in and mass begins. Music, hands in the air, clapping, hips shaking. . . One of the men in the choir says a wonderful prayer about love and unity. He tells everyone to hug. Strangers hug me like they know me. I hug back just as tight. We begin mass by holding hands to come together as a group, mission accomplished. Grasping the hands of total strangers is intimate but, it also reminds me that we must all connect more if this world is to become a better place. All we have to do is reach out to one another. The next hour and fifteen is spent singing, dancing, praising life. The vocalists where awe inspiring. Tears of joy ran down my face at moments. There were personal family photos of Martin Luther King with his wife and kids, pictures of MLK quotes, marches, quiet moments. There were photos of Rev. Cecil B. Williams over the past forty years. Just the most inspiring visuals. After much singing, Rev. Williams ended up saying a thirty minute sermon about freedom, love, taking action, sharing, peace, unity, acceptance, and loving each other just as we all are at this moment. He spoke about surrender and explained how you win, once you surrender. He was talking in terms of war but then also the wars we all have inside of ourselves sometimes in life. The word lucky has been popping in my mind for the past month. Today I felt so lucky to be a part of this celebration. The mass ends by everyone joining hands again and raising them to the roof and singing praise for life. I can't speak for everyone but, I know many people are close to death be it spiritually, emotionally, physically. . .today, I gave thanks for being alive. I can't begin to explain how touched I was by this whole experience. If you have not been to a Glide Celebration mass, you should go. Everyone is welcome. read more

This past weekend I was invited as a guest to Glide Memorial's Sunday Celebration, and while I would not define myself as a religious or spiritual person, I was honored to have this special invite. For the past month I have been working closely with the Glide Organization to plan a Benefit to raise funds for the incredible work they do within the San Francisco Community. Through this I have been able to meet some remarkable people, who have graciously offered me insight into a very different looking glass to view this city I call home. Our set of eyes Can and Should always be expanded to embrace the views of others, and as I fall deeper into the roots of this city by the bay, I am constantly reminded that we are indeed, in this together. The Celebration, not mass, was an uplifting and eye opening experience into what should always be celebrated, the human spirit. That which drives us to constantly move forward. If the doors of Glide act as open arms, then surely, the music and spirit within it's halls that morning was the heart that kept it alive. This is an organization that feeds thousands of people every day, strives to cure disease not with health care but with human care, and stands on the principle of one simple philosophy, "No, to nobody." In a world that is constantly moving too fast to embrace the uniqueness of each individual, Glide offered me a beautiful reminder that 'belief' is not a foreign notion, but a true reality. We must at all times, believe that in the end, the human spirit, that which should always be celebrated will be there to provide the perspective of our most basic ideals. There is much that divides us, but in the end, I believe the common strands of our humanity will remind us all to give back, as Glide has so wonderfully demonstrated. So I hope you will come out to the Glide Benefit on April 9th, and help us celebrate, none other, than you. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=59143591371 http://www.yelp.com/events/san-francisco-glide-benefit-with-cold-shot read more

Dude! Helping to serve food in the cafeteria takes a lot of work! I need to go back to my job for a vacation. I stood in place for about 2 1/2 hours as part of an assembly line of volunteers. My job was to place clean mugs onto the trays. Even for a cool winters day after a heavy rainstorm, I was sweating my butt off. I felt sorry for the guys standing next to the steam tables. The trays kept coming almost non-stop for the entire time. I really wanted to snatch up a chili dog from one of the passing trays, Homer-style... Yoink! Nice to see the cafeteria packed... nice to see people pitching in to help. read more

I haven't been to church since the late 80's. I grew up being forced to attend the Baptist church in my town (sunday school, morning church, youth group, evening church all in one day, for years), which pretty much soured religion and spirituality of any kind for me. Church makes me anxious. I hate it. I avoid it at all costs. But then I let some pals talk me into checking out Glide. Well, right on, praise be, and stuff!! Glide was AWESOME. The music is spectacular. Really groovy and powerful ... it'll make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and you'll feel like crying for no reason whatsoever (don't worry, they hand out kleenex) except you're just overcome with...well...joy or something. That's hard for me to admit because I spent the whole time trying not to look like I was having fun. Old habits are hard to break, people. No heavy message, no quilt tripping, no sinner be damned here. Just acceptance and love and good vibes. No matter what your background or beliefs, you're welcome at Glide. Why can't all church services be this uplifting?! read more

First I must say, as a vocalist, the Glide Ensemble is sooo very impressive... Their passion and spirit hoodwinked me into believing this was going to be a spirit-filled church. I plan to join their choir. - However they seem to have strayed from method and become Universalist. NOTE: there's nothing wrong with Universalists, its just the Glide calls itself Methodist. Its great that they want to be all-inclusive, but there must be some kind of focus. I know it was a "heaven-sent" feeling for me, so I can relate to someone who has Never experienced such warm inclusion, but then what? read more

One more review before I hit the highway home. Rick Santorum does not speak for me. I am Catholic by tradition and forever and always be sitting and kneeling and kneeling and kneeling. Rick, you need to come here and learn a little about acceptance and just being a human. read more

I'm as atheist as they come, and really not a fan of believing in things that I can't prove scientifically. With that said, as hypocritical as this may sound, I do think that there's a place in the world for karma and the power of positive energy and good will. I recently attended a Sunday sermon at Glide at the request for support from a of good friend. I expected to feel skeptical and excluded with all the "God Talk"...and chanting....and praying for things that are looked at as "bad", but in reality, are natural behaviors for human beings. I realize now that these were expectations that I had as a result of my 'Catholic upbringing', and not a realistic expectation for this safe haven in the middle of the rough and tumble streets of the tenderloin. Glide is a friendly, warm, open place where people of all walks of life (rich, poor, gay, straight, happy, sad, addicted, sober, etc...) can come and feel positive energy, sing upbeat songs, feel love and acceptance from fellow members of the community. Yes, it's a church, and yes, they talk about God. But it's subtle and discussed in a context that can be very easily translatable to someone who's beliefs are on the other side of the spectrum of faith, like myself. So, when ever in need of a positive 'pick-me-up', give Glide a try, it really is a special place. read more

Amen. Hallelejuah. Right On. Shalom. Salaam. Namaste. I cry everytime I go here, because I'm surrounded by so much beauty... read more

Great place to volunteer. I've been serving the homeless at glide for the past decade. I've never volunteered any where else that has made me more grateful for what I have. read more

This is not a good place for a traditional Christian. You know that kind that thumps the bible in our ear loud and clear, but can't figure out how to really love like Jesus? This is a great place for EVERYONE else. It's also a great place to take out-of-towners for their Sunday morning church fix. It's like killing two birds with one stone; you'll get a good taste of organic SF flavor and the church chore out of the way at once. read more

I came to San Francisco for a week away from Boston after a very stressful spring. It was the kind of trip that I booked and left the next week...I had to get away and get a fresh perspective...see the sunset, take in the view from Mt. Tam, and all the other things I love about the Bay area. I was raised Catholic, but haven't been to church in years. One of those "spiritual but not religious" people. I read about Glide in a tour book and heard about it from a friend. I read what other people wrote on Yelp and thought that I could use some uplifting. I got there 30 minutes before the "celebration" (not "mass") started and the line had already begun. I was expecting great music, but I could not have anticipated that the sermon would have been so incredible. I was actually moved to tears by both the music and the general message of the celebration. It seems so simple: love others unconditionally; do the same for yourself. Of course they put it way more eloquently than I ever could. Hugs and hand-holding and lots of love. That's all. I needed some uplifting and I got it here. Mission accomplished. read more

Yo this church be poppin and panEmymin Jewin and jivin Hindu'n and been do in. Monkin and funkin Go here and be sure to be clear God is near read more

One time I came for the Sunday service and Sharon Stone was having her kids baptized. Another time Nancy Pelosi came to celebrate passage of the Affordable Health Care Act. Every time I visit the people sitting around me were the most diverse cross section of San Francisco I have ever seen -- all incomes, faith traditions, genders, ethnicities... if you can find it in San Francisco it will find its way to Glide. After the service, I walked outside to find a line of 100+ people waiting to receive one of the warm meals Glide makes available for free every day of the year. The music was incredible, the message was short and afterwards you can check out the Union Square galleries and shops nearby... or perhaps volunteer to help out in the soup kitchen. read more