Glide Memorial Church, church in San Francisco

Glide Memorial Church is a nondenominational church at Ellis and Taylor Streets in San Francisco's Tenderloin. The tan building has a central facade with a round window above four arched windows and three recessed entrance arches; a tower on the left rises through an arcade of five arches to an open belfry and a dark reddish-brown pyramidal roof with a small circular lantern. The name "Glide Memorial Methodist Church" appears in dark letters at the lower left.

Lizzie Glide, a Methodist philanthropist, bought the land at Ellis and Taylor Streets in 1929 and founded the Glide Foundation as a memorial to her cattleman husband H.L. Glide of Sacramento. The church opened in 1930, and its first pastor, J. C. McPheeters, served from 1931 to 1948. In 1966 the church staff merged with the Glide Urban Center under Cecil Williams, who led until 2023. Glide left the United Methodist Church in November 2020 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.

The church became a gathering place for the LGBTQ+ community starting in the 1960s, offering support when few other spaces did. Its open approach to faith and people made it a destination where individuals from different backgrounds and walks of life felt they belonged.

Glide Memorial Church stands at the corner of Ellis and Taylor Streets in the Tenderloin. The entrance is through three large recessed arches on the central facade; the church name appears in dark letters on the lower left. The site is served by nearby bus and streetcar lines, and the surrounding blocks include services for homeless residents.

The Glide Ensemble grew out of the church's 1960s turn from traditional hymns to jazz and blues. Its message of unconditional love and acceptance drew figures such as Quincy Jones, Marvin Gaye, Bono, Maya Angelou, Robin Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Sharon Stone and Warren Buffett to the church.