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Remembering Cecil Williams: A Great
& Real Religious/Spiritual Leader 04/26/2024 |
A great man died this week on Monday, which was Earth Day and Passover Day. Rev. Cecil Williams, co-founder in 1963 of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District, passed on at age 94. |
A mystic and prophet who knew what healthy religion is meant to be, I think it can be said that Cecil helped redefine religion and church and holiness for the 20th and 21st centuries. It has been said that he transformed his church “into a national powerhouse
for social justice and nonprofit service."* Cecil was a prophetic leader, reaching out to the marginalized by |
The Rev. Cecil Williams and his wife, the late poet Janice Mirikitani, 2014. Photo by Christopher Michel on Wikimedia Commons. |
marching, by cajoling politicians, by offering all kinds of support groups, by raising funds and establishing retirement housing for the poor and by leading a Sunday worship service that was the real thing. When is worship the real thing? When you walk in Sunday morning
and walk out a different person, as a black theologian in Chicago told me years ago. When transformation happens therefore. Transformation is what Williams was about. |
The late Rev. Cecil Williams shares his vision of humanity in this Brief But Spectacular profile. PBS NewsHour. | A PBS profile told of how Williams opened
the church up to jazz music, hippies, addicts, the poor, poets and “anyone else who wanted to come.” He also hosted political rallies and services, including speeches by Angela Davis and the Black Panthers. |
And most notably, he made the then-radical decision to open up his church to LGBTQ people. It was a queer sanctuary before churches did that at all, comments Pam Nole, a 30-year member of Glide. He performed same sex weddings in the 1970’s decades before same-sex marriage became legal in the US. Wiliams, she said, was “all about social justice, all about equity.” Often, if I had a visitor in town, I would take them to Glide Memorial Church for services on Sunday morning. Never did the lively choir and musicians or sermon or experience of profound diversity in a worshipping community disappoint. |
Once I brought Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop and promoter of so many causes for justice around the world, and she was absolutely smitten. She begged me to introduce her to Cecil and the two hit it off immediately. |
People across the Bay Area reflect on the legacy of Glide Memorial Church’s co-founder and longtime pastor, Rev. Cecil Williams. NBC
Bay Area journalists Pete Suratos and Terry McSweeney report. |
She told me she was struck by the “realness” of the experience and thanked me profusely for the opportunity to experience real religion at work. To be continued. |
Martha Ross and Caelyn Pender, “Under Cecil Williams, Glide Memorial became world-renowned for welcoming ‘anyone who wanted to come,’” The Mercury News, April 23, 2024.
See Matthew Fox, Confessions: The Making of a Post-denominational Priest, pp. 304-333, 340, 352, 442.
And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth.
Banner Image: Reverend Cecil Williams (center front) at an anti-eviction rally, January 1977, to save the International Hotel at 848 Kearny Street in San Francisco. Photo by Nancy Wong on Wikimedia Commons. |
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your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialog, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Queries for Contemplation |
What do you find inspiring about Cecil Williams’ story? |
Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)
Matthew Fox’s stirring
autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of
this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self |
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Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation
Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice. |
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In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Cosmic Celebration for Kids of All Ages
The first book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series tells the story of the big bang and how humans fit into the awesome, fantastical,
cosmic picture! With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet. "Matthew Fox has created a narrative, for every parent and grandparent, both spiritual and
scientific, that is a gift for all elders who recognize their responsibility in initiating the young ones into the grandeur of existence." Cosmologist Brian Swimme, Author of Cosmogenesis and The Universe Story "Matthew Fox has given all of us, children included, a wondrous and enchanting view of creation
and all that humanity should aspire to." - Caroline Myss, Author of Anatomy of the Spirit and A Time for Grace Receive a 20% discount when you buy this and one other book from Matthew Fox’s store! Use Promo Code 20% at checkout. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox as he offers the Morning Worship Inspirational Message, “How Christian Mystics & the Challenges of Our Time Build Bridges to Buddhist Wisdom and Deep Ecumenism” hosted by Brentwood Inspired Living Center. Sunday, April 28, 10:00am Learn more HERE. Join Matthew Fox, Mariko Middleton, and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a
free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors, Tuesday, April 30, 4:00-5:00pm PT.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88665302478 Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org |
Join Matthew Fox in a new, live, 7-week video course hosted by the Shift Network, : What Meister Eckhart & Other World Mystics Can Teach Us About Navigating Collective Turmoil. Tuesdays, May 7 – June 25, 5:00pm - 6:30pm PT. Register HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox and Rupert Sheldrake as they discuss their book, Natural Grace: Dialogues on Creation, Darkness and the Soul in Spirituality and Science in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, May 16, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. Join keynote speakers Matthew Fox and Brian Swimme at the 2024 Creation Spirituality Communities Gathering on “Reimagining Our Story, Hope for Humanity,” live at Cape Cod, MA and by livestream. Friday, May 31 – Sunday, June 2. Learn more and register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Ilia Delio and theologian Matthew Fox pick up on their conversation about the viability of contemporary religious institutions in an evolutionary world. They discuss death and resurrection—the enduring challenge of modern approaches to the subject and what we can learn from mystics, past generations and ancient peoples alike. To listen, click HERE. |
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