Clergy and Homosexual Persons Converge in San Francisco
Exhibit Map
Introduction
Changing social dynamics led to the interaction of the Rev. Ted McIlvenna and other Glide Urban Center clergy with a number of homosexual persons on the streets of the Tenderloin district of San Francisco in 1963-64. The resultant dialogue and development of relationships between clergy and gay/lesbian persons was unprecedented in its day.
A New Urban Ministry
As social change erupted across the U.S. in the early 1960s, cities became the testing ground for new social models. Progressive clergymen took to the streets to connect their ministries with marginalized persons. The Glide Urban Center in San Francisco exemplified this new urban ministry. This downtown Methodist church with a small congregation was transformed in 1962 when the board of its endowment fund hired the Rev. Lewis Durham. Durham hired three other young clergymen, Ted McIlvenna, Cecil Williams and Don Kuhn, to develop and staff programs for the Glide Urban Center.
Homosexual Organizations
Homosexual men and women had been moving to urban areas since the 1950s for greater anonymity as well as to meet kindred persons. Faced with severe social oppression if identified, some persons organized groups for social interaction and mutual support. In 1964, there were four such organizations in San Francisco: the Mattachine Society, the Daughters of Bilitis, the League for Civil Education and the Tavern Guild. The Society for Individual Rights was organized in mid-1964.
Violence and Oppression
In his outreach on the streets of downtown San Francisco, Ted McIlvenna became acquainted with a number of homosexual persons as well as leaders of these organizations. McIlvenna witnessed the oppression and violence these persons faced.
Dialogue
McIlvenna reported his experiences to national Methodist leaders who agreed to support him and the Glide Urban Center in convening clergy and homosexual leaders for an extended dialogue. This first-ever consultation–16 clergyman from across the U.S. and 14 homosexual persons from San Francisco–took took place from May 31 to June 2, 1964, at the White Memorial Conference Center in Mill Valley, California.
