PopcornReel.com Events Spotlight: Glide Memorial Church and "The Pursuit of Happyness" special benefit for Glide's Mo's Kitchen and other Glide programs

If you live in, or will be in San Francisco on December 8, contact Glide for more information on this very special event by telephoning Glide's events information center at 415-674-6055 or e-mailing mstevens@glide.org, or visiting www.glide.org.

Helping hands: Janice Mirikitani, San Francisco's poet laureate, author, executive director of the Glide Foundation and president of the Janice Mirikitani Center, with children at Glide Church during the 1980's. The Reverend Cecil Williams, CEO, Founder and Minister of Glide National and International Ministries. Reverend Williams and Ms. Mirikitani have been married for over 25 years. Reverend Williams welcomed a homeless Chris Gardner into Glide in the 1980's. Right photo: Pastor Douglass Fitch, known as a highly charismatic preacher, who has worked to include diverse faces, races and persuasions at Glide. (Photos: Glide) Not pictured is co-pastor Donald Guest, who recently joined Glide in June 2006.

Pastor Douglass Fitch, Reverend Cecil Williams (center, wearing wig for the 1980's Cecil for the film) and Janice Mirikitani, during filming in October 2005 at Glide Church in San Francisco for "The Pursuit of Happyness", which opens on December 15. Behind them are the Glide Ensemble Choir. "Pursuit" director Gabriele Muccino's film crew hired Glide staff personnel and homeless people as extras for the film. The film's special benefit premiere is on December 8 in San Francisco. (Photo: Brant Ward/San Francisco Chronicle)

Chris Gardner, now a multi-millionaire businessman, stands in Mo's Kitchen, the place at Glide Church where he used to eat free meals when he went to the church while homeless on the streets of San Francisco. In his book, whose title the film borrows as its own, Gardner writes of Mo's Kitchen: "There were no questions, no interrogations or credentials required for being needy. It didn't feel like a handout. It was more like someone's mother wanting to feed you -- Boy, you sit down and get something to eat. And when we got to the food, it was an ample serving, not skimpy, but hearty and tasty." (Photo: Liz Hafalia/San Francisco Chronicle)

Will Smith (as Chris Gardner) with real-life son Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (as Gardner's son Christopher) in Gabriele Muccino's "The Pursuit of Happyness", inspired by Chris Gardner's true life story. The film opens on December 15 and is being released by Columbia Pictures. (Photo: Zade Rosenthal/Sony)

The Popcorn Reel will review "The Pursuit of Happyness" and bring stories related to the film and its release soon. Keep logging on at www.popcornreel.com

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Founded by the Reverend Cecil Williams, the very man who opened his arms to Chris Gardner when he was homeless in the 1980's, providing him shelter, bedding and feeding him and his son Christopher, Glide has thrived for many years. Mo's Kitchen is directly responsible for feeding hundreds of thousands of people a year and millions at Glide Church since the 1960's. In his book "The Pursuit of Happiness", Chris Gardner writes of Mo's Kitchen: "When you left, you were never hungry, and it wasn't just that you weren't hungry, you felt better. You felt better because you couldn't wear out your welcome at Glide. You couldn't wear out your welcome at Mo's Kitchen." In the years since, Gardner has not worn out his welcome at Glide. He has been a significant contributor to their many programs with his monies, which along with contributions from everyday members of the church helps Glide maintain the vital programs that have helped many hundreds of thousands. Gardner acknowledges Glide as a key stage of his road to redemption and rebirth and is known to frequently appear at the church's Sunday services, on numerous occasions making six-figure donations to the church and its programs.

During the nearly three-month principal photography on the film, the "Pursuit" film crew spent three weeks filming at Glide Church (see photo immediately below) during September and October of 2005. The crew hired Glide staff personnel and homeless people as extras for the film, which is set in San Francisco, circa 1980, during the roughest times in Chris Gardner's life in the City by the Bay. One extra, Theo White, was paid to perform one of his favorite stunts -- balancing upside down on his head on a narrow plastic bottle. The Reverend Cecil Williams, along with his wife of over 25 years, Janice Mirikitani, San Francisco's poet laureate, author, president of the Glide Foundation and executive director of Glide's 86 programs that help the local community in need, appear in the film in a cameo. Pastor Douglass Fitch (also pictured directly below, on the left) also appears in the film. The Reverend donned a wig (center) for the film's 1980's focus. On this particular Sunday in October 2005 he preached a sermon for the people and for the film's cameras.

As for the December 8 special event, Will Smith and Chris Gardner will attend as will several other local and national dignitaries. A VIP reception, followed by the special screening of the film, followed by dinner and dancing. The screening is to be preceded by remarks made by Mr. Smith.

Written by Omar P.L. Moore/TPR

The red carpet welcome arrives in San Francisco this weekend (Friday, December 8) for the special benefit premiere of Gabriele Muccino's "The Pursuit of Happyness", the upcoming film (opening on December 15) inspired by the true life story of Chris Gardner, a formerly homeless man in San Francisco, whom before that point endured many traumas, trials and tribulations. Gardner is now a multi-millionaire stockbroker and businessman and he regularly donates money to the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, the church located in the toughest part of downtown San Francisco, the Tenderloin district. For more than 40 years Glide has fed, clothed, sheltered, counseled and offered all kinds of counseling, including HIV/AIDS counseling and free AIDS tests to anyone who asks. There are literally dozens of other programs to help the needy and less fortunate that Glide has, as well as support groups and networks. For every single day of the year for well over 40 years, Glide feeds any hungry person, homeless or not, three times a day, and 365 days a week. For free. Glide Church has served over one million free meals a year.

In addition, Glide's health care, mental health services, childcare, recovery services and training and employment programs that are particularly targeted to youngsters and young adults, are all offered free of charge. Glide has also been a major force in getting people to end their drug and alcohol addiction, as well as financing educational paths for those same recovering addicts as well as for children who have the abilities to thrive but not the finances to put them in a position to succeed. Glide provides school scholarships to kids, some of whom were in dire straits with violent gangs before being rescued from the perils of the streets by Glide. Despite having the word "Methodist" in its title, Glide is a multi-denominational church, inviting people of all faiths, all beliefs (religious or non-religious), races, creeds and sexual orientations through its doors.

(Recently "The Pursuit of Happyness" ran the "Pursue IT!" Ultimate Intern Contest and picked seven winners to intern at one of eight corporations of their choice. The corporations were: The Gap, Morgan Stanley, NBC, National Football League, People Magazine, Sony PlayStation, and Yahoo!)

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