Glide - Where grace and radical inclusivity meet 4/26/09

I'm at my second stop on this whirlwind tour of alternative communities who have something to teach the rest of us about Jesus and his gospel. This one is in San Francisco, the place where Tony Bennett left his heart, and I fear I will leave a piece of mine as well. It is, without question, one of the most diverse cities in the world, but as Pastor Donald Guest said in his sermon at Glide this morning, diversity by itself doesn't necessarily create community. Only intentional relationships can do that, and Glide United Memorial Methodist Church is all about creating true community.

Glide's mission is "to break the multigenerational cycles of dependency, poverty, and low self-worth by providing a spiritual home of unconditional love." Everything at Glide begins and ends with unconditional love. I arrived at their building on the corner of Ellis and Taylor about 40 minutes before the 11 am "Celebration Service" was to begin, and a line had already formed outside the entrance. From the looks of those standing in it, the line could have been a line to a soup kitchen, a rock concert, or the opening of an art exhibit. But it was a queue to get into a worship service. I took my place in the line as it stretched the length of an entire city block. There was energy and expectation and genuine warmth in that line. People recognized one another and hugged, introducing friends to one another. It seemed that everyone had brought a friend, someone who, like me, had never been to Glide before. In that line with me were black, white, yellow, and brown people, tall, short, fat, and slim people, gay, lesbian, straight, and transgender people (don't ask me how I knew), and of course people who defied all categories.

At about 10:45, the line began to move and we were each welcomed by a Glide usher or two as we hurried into a dusty old second floor sanctuary to get the best seats possible. There's a jazz ensemble that leads the music, a 7 piece outfit that boasts a number of hot area artists. They were tuning up and plucking around as the excited throng poured in. I started a new pew about four back from the front and on the band side. As I looked around, it seemed that everyone was hugging and smiling - not mere Presbyterian handshakes, and not the cold awkward hugs I'm used to. These were the "welcome home" hugs of long lost friends who know just how much each has been through since they were last together. Folks willing moved down to create room and squeezed as many folks in as possible, for this was a celebration meant to be experienced toegether.

Without fanfare or introduction, just after 11, the band hit their first riff, the audience sprang to their feet, and clapped rhythmically as about 40 folks dressed in black and representing that same cross-section of America I'd encountered in the line streamed in to the risers by the band, and the celebration was underway. It felt like the beginning of Bruce Springsteen leaning forward to catch that first glimpse of the Boss as he barks his "One! Two!" except we were singing "Do not pass me by" and "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms."

Between a couple songs, one of the pastors said that "We are here to celebrate life! We are here to affirm that life is good. We are here to affirm love and to love each other so that afterwards we can go out and change the world!" The music rose and fell, ebbed and flowed as various soloists from the black-clad ensemble lead us in powerful praise and affirmation. A middle aged woman named Deane was baptized in the name of "Unconditional Love." "All we do here is about love and acceptance." And that's just what it felt like. The pastors then introduced and welcomed some guests and groups from Seattle and Chicago and South Africa. He welcomed us all saying, "Here we do not let anything divide us. All are welcome. We need everyone. We need you, each of you, to expand our vision, to challenge our thinking, to confront our assumptions, and to expand our love."

That said it all for me. Glide "gets" it - what so few if any of the rest of church folks seem to grasp - that we simply can't be the family of faith, the community of disciples, by gathering with only those who think, look, earn, or practice as we do. When they got around to the offering, a choir member took the mic and said he gives to Glide because he believes in the 87 programs the church houses and runs - everything from feeding programs for the homeless to tutoring children to free health care and recovery programs. I gave about 5 times what I usually give at offering time, and my hunch is that others did as well.

When Pastor Don Guest took the pulpit to begin his message, we had all been there for an hour and five minutes, and yet the anticipation was just as intense as when we'd all arrived. His message would be based upon three readings - one from the Christian New Testament, one from the Hebrew Scriptures, and one from the Holy Koran. He began talking about Abraham and Sarah, whom all three monotheistic faith acknowledge and learn from. He summarized God's challenging call to them while they were tribal people and very narrow in their focus and world view. "I want to show you something bigger!" Guest yelled. "Come with me and I will show you how to live without bigotry, without this familiar ghetto you've known all your life. I'll show you how to live with and love white folk and black folk, gay folk and straight folk, rich folk and poor folk...Are you with me?" The Glide crowd shouted their life affirming "Yes!" with "Amen's" sprinkled in. And I thought of the great eschatological banquet spoken of in scriptures where men and women will come from east and west, north and south to sit at table with the Lord. And I was there. Right there.

We closed with "We shall overcome" with held hands lifted above our heads. We'd been to the mountain top. We'd seen the Lord. It was time to change the world. As I made my way downstairs I peaked in a hallway where a group of Muslims were handing out bagged lunches to the homeless folks, many of whom were in the worship service with me. And behold, it was good.