25 Aug GLIDE
One of my first authentic American experiences as an English exchange student in San Francisco was attending a gospel choir in Tenderloin which runs the charity GLIDE. Although I would not consider myself religious in any way, attending this sermon turned out to be a surprisingly inspirational experience. As an atheist, I was sceptical about participating in a Christian practice, but nonetheless I knew the singing would be incredible. As we took our seats, I could instantly tell that this church was radically inclusive, as the choir and audience was filled with a variety of genders, races and physical abilities, this was a good sign for me.
GLIDE successfully manages to spread its knowledge of empowerment, community and acceptance through its music and talks. It teaches to remain angry about the amount of discrimination and scrutiny individuals continue to face from our Western society, but how to stay peaceful and positive at the same time. For me, GLIDE introduced a sense of spirituality, peace and unconditional love, which can be easy to lose touch of when moving to large new city.
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