Glide

Having moved to the Berkeley over the weekend we took the BART to SF on Sunday morning and did the Glide experience. Ok, our son was doing a mission trip with El Segundo UMYF serving meals to the homeless, so we wanted to check it out.
I had known about Glide UMC since I was a youth, hearing both rave reviews and grave ones, depending on the reviewer. But here we are in the Bay area, so we stopped in.
It's a popular place. Before 10:30 there was line half-way around the city block. On entering, we walked up a flight of stairs to the sanctuary, where the rosette and south-facing columnar stained glass windows poured soft rosing light on the antique pews. It was warm, and some folks were handing out fans, which could be kept for a small donation.
A jazz band was warming up on stage left. Men and women were casually greeting each other. Eventually the band began playing a mix of cool jazz and gospel, and the Glide Ensemble trouped onto the spare platform.
The service proceeded with the energy and sponaneity of a camp meeting. In the middle Cecil Williams performed a child "baptism". I am sceptical. Yes, water was used. By my theology it was a nice blessing or christening service with all the warm fuzzies of a toddler at center stage. No questions about renunciation of sin and evil, no Christological affirmation, no Trinity. O well.
The preacher for the day was very energetic, mustering all the marvelous rhetorical devices of African American preaching, and the ethnically mixed congregation ate it up. He wove themes from 2 Kings and the gosple of John, about Elisha receiving bread from the angel and Jesus as the bread of heaven. He noted that Elisha recognized that to get to Mount Sinai he had to go through the wilderness. Weaving the church's hermeneutic of addiction recovery (drug, alcohol, sexual addiction, etc), he urged the people to recognize their wilderness and focus on Sinai.
While the service was carrying on at the main floor, homeless folks were lining below for baked chicken lunch. San Francisco style. Looked good.
--georgos










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