FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
September 2, 2009 Denise Lamott
(415) 381-8793
GLIDE GOES FROM THE ‘HOOD TO THE HOUSE –
A Benefit to Honor Reverend Cecil
Williams’ 45th Anniversary
Featuring Dr. Maya Angelou, Alonzo King LINES Ballet and
More
Thursday, November 12 at the War Memorial Opera House
San
Francisco, CA…Join honorary co-chairs Dr. Maya Angelou and United States Senator Dianne Feinstein
as Glide celebrates Reverend Cecil Williams’ 45th Anniversary at
Glide. In
collaboration with the San Francisco
Opera, From the ‘Hood to the
House will take place on Thursday,
November 12 at the San Francisco War
Memorial Opera House and feature an evening of music, spoken word and dance
from special guests Maya Angelou, Alonzo
King LINES Ballet, San Francisco
Opera Adler Fellows, the world-renowned Glide Ensemble Choir and
Change Band with other luminaries and entertainers. The evening’s concert will be followed by a reception with lavish
hors d’oeuvres and libations.
The evening’s festivities will highlight Glide’s Reverend Cecil Williams and his 45 years of service at Glide. Reverend Williams arrived at Glide in 1963 when it was a struggling congregation. With his determination to celebrate life and bring hope to people, Williams embraced and embodied the spirit of change that was raging through our country at the time. By the late 1960s, Glide had become home for San Francisco’s diverse communities and marginalized populations and was ground zero for the counter-culture’s political and spiritual aspirations.
Over the next 40 years, Rev. Williams, and Glide’s founding president Janice Mirikitani, have built Glide into a thriving church offering a unique and powerful blend of spirituality, principled compassion, and forward-thinking programs for those most in need. As minister, author, social activist, lecturer, community leader and spokesperson for the poor and marginalized, Williams is respected and recognized as a national leader on the forefront of change and in the struggle for civil and human rights.
Often considered controversial and radical, Rev. Williams was one of the first clergy to take a revolutionary stand for same sex couples by presiding over their weddings four decades before today’s struggle to legalize gay marriage.
Williams’ ministry underscores his roots in liberation theology and his vision for the 21st Century church – a church that offers hope, compassion and real help to those in need. With a membership of over 11,000 and located in the heart of the city’s toughest neighborhood, Glide is one of the fastest growing 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.
Each year, Glide’s Annual Holiday Festival raises funds for Mo’s Kitchen and Glide’s programs. Glide’s Mo’s Kitchen serves up three meals a day to San Francisco’s poorest residents – nearly one million meals each year. Tickets for Glide’s Annual Holiday Festival, “From the ‘Hood to the House” will range from $75 - $500 and will be available through the San Francisco Opera Box Office, located at 301 Van Ness Ave, or by calling (415) 864-3330 after August 25. Sponsorships start at $5,000. Please go to www.Glide.org or call 415.674.6117 or email festival@glide.org for more information.
About Glide
Located at Ellis and Taylor in the Tenderloin, one of San Francisco's harshest urban environments, Glide Foundation is an oasis that has served the poor and disenfranchised for 45 years. From serving nearly one million meals a year, to holiday programs helping over 80,000, to operating a professional medical clinic, to youth job training, to offering weekly spiritual celebrations at Glide Church, and much more – Glide is many things to many people. Glide has helped thousands of disenfranchised and poor people get back on their feet and find their way to jobs, housing and spiritual fulfillment.
For more information about Glide’s Annual Holiday Festival “From the ‘Hood to the House,” tickets and sponsorship, please go to www.glide.org/HoldOn.aspx, or call 415.674.6117 or email festival@glide.org. For more information about Glide Foundation please call (415) 674-6000 or visit www.glide.org/HoldOn.aspx.
CALENDAR EDITORS
GLIDE GOES FROM THE ‘HOOD TO THE HOUSE
A Benefit to Honor Reverend Cecil
Williams’ 45th Anniversary
Featuring Dr. Maya Angelou, Alonzo King LINES Ballet and More
Thursday, November 12 at the War Memorial Opera House
WHAT: Glide’s Annual Holiday Festival, From The ‘Hood To The House
An evening to benefit Mo’s Kitchen and Glide’s programs
WHERE: San Francisco War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Ave at Grove Street
WHEN: Thursday, November 12:
Arrival: 6pm
Stage program: 7 – 8:30pm
Reception: 8:30 – 10:00pm
WHO: Dr. Maya Angelou, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows, Glide Ensemble Choir and Change Band; and other celebrity guests to be announced
TICKETS: Individual tickets range from $75 - $500, Sponsorships start at $5,000.
For Tickets contact:
San Francisco Opera Box Office
Monday 10am-5pm, Tuesday-Saturday 10am-6pm
301 Van Ness Ave
San Francisco CA 94117
415-864-3330
INFO: Call 415.674.6117, email: festival@glide.org or visit http://glide.org/HoldOn.aspx
BACKGROUND:
Each year, Glide’s Annual Holiday Festival raises funds for Mo’s Kitchen and Glide’s programs. Mo’s Kitchen serves up three meals a day to San Francisco’s poorest residents – nearly one million meals each year. This year’s Holiday Festival will highlight Glide’s Reverend Cecil Williams and his 45 years of service at Glide.
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