Live Easter Services Return to Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- Easter is a time to celebrate new life and new beginnings and, on Sunday, San Francisco's Glide Memorial Church held its first in-person Easter service in two years. It came at a time of great change.

"My friend, who's in the choir, called me and basically said, get in here!" said church-goer Elizabeth Greenfield. "So, I ran down the street."

"This Easter is more special than any of the other ones because of the pandemic, because we haven't been able to see each other, so this is more special," said 30-year Glide choir member Stacey Pearson.

The church may be undergoing a resurrection of its own. Glide became famous in the 60s and 70s under the direction of Pastor Cecil Williams, the charismatic preacher who attracted a huge audience of the young and disaffected. Now in his nineties, Rev. Williams rarely appears at services and, with the recent passing of his wife and church leader Janice Mirikitani, it appears Glide is entering a new chapter in its history.

"It's a time of transition but it's a time of torch-passing as well," said Minister Marvin K. White. "This is not happening outside of Cecil. Cecil is very much passing this along."

White has become the new church leader and faces the challenge of welcoming back a congregation after more than two years of virtual services.

"It's the first real big gathering since the pandemic began," he said. "So folks are really eager to come and test the waters about reentry and trying to feel what it's going to be like to be back in community."

The flock was noticeably smaller Sunday than in years past and Glide member Sabina Loetscher thinks it's not just the result of the pandemic.

"Even before the pandemic, it hasn't been as filled as it used to be," she said. "It's a transition, I think, having a new pastor and Cecil not here anymore. He built a legacy here and it's hard to follow up and Marvin has to build his own that way."

The church says that, thanks to the pandemic, they now have the equipment to stream their services to the world and they intend to do that going forward as a way to increase the size of the congregation.

Easter is a time for rebirth and that may be what's happening at San Francisco's most famous church.