# data[].attributes.body
On January 13, 2023, my friend, and ordained clergy sibling, Deacon Leanne Elliot died in a car accident. She had completed seminary, was ordained and called to be the Director of Faith Formation in 2022 and was preparing to be accepted into the Deaconess Community with me in 2023. She believed so much in our ability as leaders in the church to discern and accompany others on their faith and spiritual journey. She taught me so much about being present, deeply listening and reflecting the aspects of G-d we see in the people we spend time with. She is deeply missed by her family, her religious communities and her partner Kelvin.

# data[].attributes.body
On January 19, 2023, Elder and Chaplain Jesse Green was able to see his Savior’s face and rest from his labor as a Servant of G-d. Elder Green was the representation of G-d’s love and compassion, always uplifting others with  a good word from scripture. Born April 24, 1974, Beloved by his family, wife, Erica, children, friends and colleagues from hospital chaplaincy.

Two scripture readings Rev. Jesse shared on my ordination day; James 4:8 Draw closer, nearer to God and He will draw nearer to you… Let everything about you become about Him and you’ll lack nothing… and Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

My friend, I think of you often. Especially how I could always see the face of the creator in you, and how you thought me to evangelize what is on my heart because that is what G-d called me to say. You are a blessing and are deeply missed.

# data[].attributes.body
In memory of all who died from AIDS

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Dr. Maya Angelou speaking at Glide Memorial Church

# data[].attributes.body
Dr. Maya Angelou was born to Vivian Baxter and Bailey Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. She passed to her Heavenly Reward quietly on May 28, 2014 in her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is survived by her son, daughter-in-law, two grandsons and two great-grandchildren, a nephew, a niece, grandnieces, great-grandnieces, grandnephews, great-grandnephews and a host of beloveds.

From the time she was a child, Dr. Angelou proved that she was a unique individual with amazing commitment and focus. The birth of her son when she was seventeen did not prevent her from continuing in pursuit of her dreams for a creative career. From her start as a singer in San Francisco’s Purple Onion and Hungry I in 1953 to the installation of her portrait in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. in 2014, she was continuously on a dramatic, musical or political stage.

She was a dancer, a singer, an actress, a poet, a writer, a magazine editor, a playwright, a film director as well as a college lecturer, full Professor and a fearless, outspoken activist. She never let her various vocations inhibit her activism or her willingness to speak out against injustice and inequality. She performed in a number of major productions. She was in both the 1954 International Touring Company and the subsequent movie of Porgy and Bess. She was also in the 1977 television series of Alex Haley’s Roots and in the 1995 film How to make an American Quilt. She was in too many other productions to name. She directed the films Georgia, Georgia and Down in the Delta.

Her first book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was published in 1970. She went on to write thirty-three other books including autobiographies, poetry and essays. A number of her works were best sellers and were published in number of languages.

Throughout her life Dr. Angelou’s activism never flagged or waned. In 1959, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, she headed the New York office of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Next, she worked for the Arab Observer News Magazine in Cairo, Egypt, which was the premiere English language magazine in the Middle East. Later she moved to Ghana and met Malcolm X. She returned to the United States to work for him, but he was assassinated four days after her arrival in New York. She continued to be a voice of humanity, speaking out against anything that fettered the human spirit. Her life and her body of literary work trumpet the importance of love, tolerance and forgiveness. She was a warrior for truth, justice and love.

-Obituary https://mayaangelou.wfu.edu/story/family-obituary/

# data[].attributes.body
The 24-year-old San Francisco community organizer was often shy about his struggles, but now he told loved ones he was unable to get a housing spot he’d long been pursuing, had been turned away from multiple shelters, and was forced to sleep on the train.

Brown’s friends and family suspect he was severely exhausted and hungry on 27 April when a security guard at a downtown Walgreens confronted him for allegedly shoplifting – and fatally shot him. Brown, who was unarmed, had reportedly tried to take snacks from the store.

Excerpt from - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/10/banko-brown-death-san-francisco-walgreens

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
anko Brown's messages had become increasingly desperate in recent weeks. The 24-year-old San Francisco community organizer was often shy about his struggles, but now he told loved ones he was unable to get a housing spot he'd long been pursuing, had been turned away from multiple shelters, and was forced to sleep on the train.

Brown's friends and family suspect he was severely exhausted and hungry on 27 April when a security guard at a downtown Walgreens confronted him for allegedly shoplifting - and fatally shot him. Brown, who was unarmed, had reportedly tried to take snacks from the store.

The killing of a budding activist, and the San Francisco district attorney's decision not to release video footage of the incident or charge the security guard, has sent shockwaves through the city, sparking disgust at the quick use of deadly force by a private guard and protests about the city's continued failures to provide housing, services and basic safety for Black trans youth like Brown.

Banko Brown was a regular presence at rallies and town halls in San Francisco. Photograph: Courtesy of Young Women's Freedom Center

"It hurts me that another trans person of color is gone without being seen," said Juju Pikes Prince, part of Brown's close circle and a trans woman who was previously unhoused. "We can't keep screaming and hollering for Black Lives Matter when we don't all matter. My people are not free."

The tragedy comes as several human rights crises are colliding in San Francisco and cities across the US. As homelessness has reached record highs, calls for a crackdown on encampments have intensified and reports of vigilante attacks have increased. In the past two weeks, a former San Francisco fire official has been accused of " terrorizing" unsheltered people on the city's streets with bear spray, two unhoused people in the university town of Davis, California, were stabbed, and Jordan Neely, an unhoused street performer, was choked to death on a New York subway. At the same time, trans people in the US are facing worsening discrimination and violence, with an onslaught of legislation banning their healthcare and rights to exist in public spaces.

It's still unclear what exactly transpired on 27 April. One day after Brown's killing, San Francisco police arrested the security guard on suspicion of murder, with the SFPD chief telling SF Standard: "You have to use force appropriately within the law."

But two days later, San Francisco's district attorney, Brooke Jenkins - elected on promises to " restore" order to the streets and harshly punish retail thefts - announced she was not pursuing murder charges, saying security footage "clearly shows the suspect believed he was in mortal danger and acted in self-defense".

Activists, community organizersand the state senator Scott Wiener have since demanded the release of the footage, and on Tuesday the city's board of supervisors unanimously passed a resolution urging the DA to disclose police reports, video and other evidence. So far, Jenkins has declined, citing the ongoing investigation.

On Monday, Jenkins did say she was still considering charges in Brown's killing.

Finding family

Charges or not, advocates say, the tragedy that befell Brown is a symptom of the inequality and contradictions of San Francisco, considered an international LGBTQ+ sanctuary, but where the most vulnerable queer people languish in poverty.

Brown grew up in the city and navigated homelessness and the foster care system as a young child, said Julia Arroyo, co-executive director of the Young Women's Freedom Center (YWFC), a California non-profit that has worked with Brown since he was 12 years old: "He was always inquisitive and a deep listener and really invested in other people's lives. Even at a young age, I could see the seed of him being a leader. He did his own research inside of the system."

Like many Black LGBTQ+ youth, who are disproportionately criminalized, Brown ended up locked in juvenile facilities and was keenly aware he was treated differently, Arroyo said: "He said, 'How come everyone gets to go home but me? When is my turn?' He saw it was always Black folks that get left behind.'"

Over the years, Brown formed his own family in San Francisco, building close bonds with other Black trans youth.

Banko Brown with Julia Arroyo (left) and with loved ones at the Young Women's Freedom Center. Photograph: Courtesy of Young Women's Freedom Center

"He came to me and was like, 'You are my mother,'" said Elle Raine Washington, a 24-year-old trans woman, last Friday at a gathering at the YWFC center where Brown's family wept and swapped stories of his trials and triumphs. "He said, 'You make me feel welcome, with no judgments.' And I was like, 'You want to be my son, then that's what it is!' ... In his darkest times, we'd talk about his goals and how to be a better him. He really looked up to me and I really looked up to him."

"All he wanted was family," said Prince, 24, who became Brown's auntie: "I could see the man he was becoming and I knew it was going to be beautiful. Banko was the definition of someone who was breaking through barriers."

Brown found ways to be joyous and funny even while facing hardships. A volunteer organizer at YWFC, he would come into the center a ball of energy, bringing along other youth who needed help or interrupting meetings to show off TikTok choreography. Other times, he'd crash on the couch: "He'd come in hella loud and dancing," said Ari Duarte, a close friend and YWFC organizer, "Or he'd be so tired of searching for rooms and couch-surfing, he'd fall asleep for half the day. I'd make sure no one disturbed him."

In the last month, Brown had grown increasingly distressed, Arroyo said. One organization where he was on a housing waiting list had told him his case manager was on vacation, she recalled: "He showed me all the phone numbers he'd been calling and was just heartbroken. Tears were pouring down his eyes. He said, 'They're on vacation? I'm sleeping on Bart [Bay Area Rapid Transit]. I'm tired. I'm not myself. I want to shower and take care of myself.'"

YWFC connected him to a temporary hotel room, but stable housing remained out of reach.

A shortage of beds

It's a challenge many young trans people in the city face. Brown was killed blocks away from the Transgender District in the Tenderloin neighborhood, considered the world's first legally recognized trans cultural district. The city also has a trans initiatives office, a commitment to end trans homelessness by 2027 and a guaranteed income pilot program for low-income trans people.

"We've made this amazing progress, but it doesn't help everyone," said Aria Sa'id, one of three Black trans organizers who founded the trans district.

She noted San Francisco's reputation of being awash with resources and the "best" place to be unhoused, yet every night 7,750 people in the city are unhoused, according to the 2022 count, a single-day estimate that is considered an undercount. Trans groups struggled to stretch "morsels of crumbs from the city's budget and philanthropy", Sai'd said, and young people on the streets still resorted to stealing food and toiletries to get by.

When Sa'id came to San Francisco in 2009, she was unhoused and did sex work, the most common survival gig among her peers. The luckiest Black trans women, she said, worked as makeup artists or in HIV prevention. She said there were more resources these days, but still not enough to meet the growing need.

Our Trans Home SF, which runs housing programs for trans and gender-nonconforming people, has roughly 150 people on a waiting list for rental subsidies, said Sathya Baskaran, the housing director. Anecdotally, he said, he had observed an influx of young trans people migrating to San Francisco from states passing anti-trans laws restricting life-saving medical care and other basic rights. When they got to California, they might find themselves feeling unsafe or unwelcome at some shelters: "Trans youth face a really compounded struggle."

The homeless count found 1,073 unhoused youth under age 25 in the city, with surveys estimating more than 400 are LGBTQ+.

Citywide, however, there are roughly 45 housing spots designated for LGBTQ+ youth, said Sherilyn Adams, executive director of Larkin Street Youth Services, a youth housing program: "We still have a long way to go."

'Banko was home'

Emily Cohen, spokesperson for San Francisco's homelessness and supportive housing department, said the city had expanded youth programs, with 891 beds and units and 346 subsidies for youth ages 18 to 24. She also noted a 16% decrease in the homeless youth population in the last five years and pointed to the city's plan to buy a 42-unit building meant to provide housing for historically marginalized young adults leaving homelessness.

San Francisco police declined to comment. The DA did not respond to interview requests, but said in a statement that releasing the footage would be "unethical", and added: "Banko Brown's killing was a tragedy that has deeply impacted our city and our diverse communities. My heart goes out to Banko's family and friends."

Brown's loved ones said they wanted him to be remembered for his resilience and selflessness - how he'd gone to the state capitol to advocate for foster youth, fought to close the youth jail, was a regular presence at rallies and town halls.

Elle Raine Washington, Ari Duarte, Julia Arroyo, Juju Pikes Prince, and Carlos Santiago Magaña (front), part of Banko Brown's San Francisco family, at the Young Women's Freedom Center. Photograph: Sam Levin/The Guardian

Seated at YWFC, Arroyo scrolled through her texts with Brown, revisiting chats where he had celebrated his first bank account, showed off a new haircut, requested help paying for hormones, and admitted he felt unsafe in a housing situation. She said she was thinking about the estimates that the city spends $1m a year to jail a single youth and how transformative that funding could be for someone like Brown.

"Banko made everyone feel at home. Banko was home," said Carlos Santiago Magaña, 23, another close friend. He said the killing was hard to process and sparked fear: "Who's next? Me? You?"

Next to him, Washington wore around her neck two photos - one of Brown and another of Ivory Nicole Smith, a best friend and a Black trans woman and advocate who also died this year: "We're all we got."

A few blocks away from the center, a makeshift memorial stood outside the Walgreens, with photos of Brown plastered on a fence and signs saying "Justice for Banko" and "Gone But Never Forgotten". Inside the crowded store, a long line of customers were waiting to check out. Near the door, an armed guard stood watch, his gun visible in his holster.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Walgreens guard killed a Black trans organizer. His community wants answers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Death of Banko Brown, 24, sparks outrage and calls for resources for San Francisco's unhoused queer youth: 'My people aren't free'

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Sen. Diane Feinstein at Glide Memorial Church

# data[].attributes.body
The longest serving Senator from California and Former San Francisco Mayor, Diane Feinstein.

# data[].attributes.body
Beloved East Bay music icon, John Turk passed on October 13, 2018. He is survived by his loving family.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Oct. 20 to Oct. 22, 2018.

# data[].attributes.body
The Reverend Lloyd Keigo Wake died peacefully in San Francisco on December 27, 2017.

Rev. Wake was born on January 12, 1922 in a four room farmhouse in Reedley, California to Japanese immigrants Yempei and Hisayo Wake, the fifth of their eight children. While incarcerated in 1942-43 at Poston Camp II he was drawn to leadership roles among the Christian youth. Eventually he answered the call to the ministry, finishing two years at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky before returning to California to finish his studies at Berkeley Baptist Divinity school, marry Marion Yamabe and serve as student pastor at Berkeley Methodist United Church.

In 1950 he was appointed to be pastor of Pine United Methodist Church of San Francisco, known as the mother church of Japanese Methodism in the United States, where he served for 17 years. He and Marion devoted much time and energy to programs for children and youth.

In 1967 he was appointed Minister of Community Life at Glide Memorial Methodist Church. He immersed himself in the issues of the day: supporting and supervising the alternate service of 30 Conscientious Objectors; performing "Covenant Services" for gay, lesbian and transgender partners; supporting students and faculty during the Third World Strike at SF State.

During his 23 years at Glide he mentored and supported hundreds of community activists - always with kindness, humility and optimism. He helped establish the Asian Law Caucus, serving on its Board for 21 years and as chairperson from 1993-1997; chaired the Wendy Yoshimura Fair Trial Committee; was arrested for a sit-in protest against martial law in the Philippines; participated in human rights support trips to South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Okinawa; taught at the Pacific School of Religion; supported Redress and Reparations for Japanese and Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII.

Excerpts from Obituary - Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Jan. 31 to Feb. 4, 2018.

# data[].attributes.body
Janice Mirikitani, the beloved GLIDE Co-Founder and Japanese American Sansei poet, whose activism helped define the social justice culture of San Francisco, and whose verse illuminated her struggles with ethnic identity and personal adversity, died on Thursday, July 29, 2021. She was 80.

Excerpt of Obituary -Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Aug. 6 to Aug. 15, 2021.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Guy Johnson's Celebration of life was held at Glide Memorial Church this year.

# data[].attributes.body
Mr. GUY JOHNSON was born on September 8, 1945, in San Francisco, California, the only child of Dr. Maya Angelou. Mr. Johnson was a lover of life, family, adventure, writing and poetry, and community activism. He would often say that "although I write from the African American perspective, I want my writing to have the common denominator of humanity."
Excerpt from obituary - Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Aug. 28 to Aug. 29, 2023.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Dave Richmond working outside Rev. Cecil and Janice's office at Glide Memorial Church

# data[].attributes.body
Dave Richmond, the husband of our beloved church staff member Vicky Lee, died in 2023.  Dave wrote for Rolling Stone Magazine and worked at Glide for 33 years.  Here is what Janice Mirikintani wrote about Dave, when he retired from Glide:

"Dave has been with Glide for more than 33 years.   During his time with us, Glide has grown our dozens of programs, built three permanent affordable housing buildings, and organized dozens of city- and nationwide coalitions, marches, and has become an internationally renown destination for people from across the country and the world.  Dave has been at the center and often times in the forward ranks of all efforts undertaken by Glide.

He has worked with both of us as the tireless organizer, the communications point, the writer, and even a ghost writer for Cecil's first autobiography; the journalist for all of our beginning collateral materials, newsletters, and press announcements.    He has stood beside Janice in helping with key events such as Mayor Willie Brown's inaugural celebration which was a huge undertaking of bringing together entertainment and audiences from around the Bay Area.  He has marched with us in causes for desegregation and justice not only in the City of San Francisco, but as far as Cummings, Georgia and San Angelo, Texas. Dave has been the essential glue that has helped us build our issue-focused coalitions to support political prisoners, parents in segregated neighborhoods, funding equity for small CBO's, and building the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebrations of Northern California.

At Glide, Dave has been a central source of information, support and communication to essential partnerships in developing our first programs such as the Jobs programs, the Recovery programs, and bringing together the necessary elements for the now world acclaimed Glide Ensemble.

Dave Richmond has been our most trusted, loyal and hardworking colleague.   He has been like the steady beacon, getting things done quietly, always with humility and kindness.   He has been tireless in his work.  His talented pen has captured history, brought out our realities and made them sing as stories on paper.  He also brings people together, and has helped Glide become a model organization it is today of compassionate service, exciting Celebrations, and innovative programs, for the nation and the world.   Dave has helped us all to keep from falling down, and has been the dependable hand to help pull us up when we needed him.

He has been with us in circumstances of great danger and great joy, of creation and even healthy deconstruction.   We will gravely miss Dave Richmond, but know you join us in celebrating him, and wishing him every success and joy as he launches his new journey."