Remembered Light - Glass Fragments from World War II - The McDonald Windows

The opening of Remembered Light - Glass Fragments from World War II - The McDonald Windows, at the Veterans Gallery, 401 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco on Saturday, August 27, 2022. The exhibit at the Veterans Gallery has been extended! The exhibit will be open from November 25 to December 23, 2022, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 6 pm. Admission is free.​​

Girl Scout Sunday Interfaith Service

​Interfaith Center at the Presidio board member and coordinator for religious recognition for the San Francisco Girl Scouts, Tara Mochizuki, welcomed Girl Scouts to the Presidio Chapel for their annual Girl Scout Sunday Interfaith Service on March 6th. 10 girls earned religious recognition badges. The keynote speaker was Sister Frances Myers who spoke about her Girl Scout experience during World War II.  Congratulations to the Girl Scouts!

Rita Semel's 100th Birthday

​Our founder, Rita Semel, turned 100 on November 15th. The Interfaith Center at the Presidio Board of Directors honored her with an Interfaith Service in the historic Presidio Chapel, on Thursday, November 18th. The Keynote Speaker was the Rt. Rev. William E. Swing, Founder and President, United Religions Initiative, Seventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California (Ret.) Also present were Faith leaders, public officials, family, and friends. Rita Semel's mantra is the Hebrew "Tikkun Olam" (Repairing the World), a reflection of her Jewish Faith. Her life and work are living proof of those famous words uttered by Margaret Meade sixty years ago, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has". What is most astonishing is that Rita, at 100, is still at work in the vineyard!  She is, without question, the best of us.
 
A Short List of Rita's Faith, Interfaith & Humanitarian Work and Honors
  • First Associate Editor, Jewish Community Bulletin
  • Public Relations – America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Israeli Consulate, and March of Dimes
  • San Francisco Conference on Religion and Race
  • Associate Director and Executive Director, Jewish Community Relations Council
  • Founder, Interfaith Center at the Presidio, Member of the Board and Treasurer
  • Founder and Board Chair, San Francisco Interfaith Council
  • First Chair, Global Council for the United Religions Initiative
  • Catholic Charities CYO, Member of the Board
  • Family Services America, Member of the Board
  • San Francisco Resource and Leadership Council, Member of the Board
  • Friends of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, Member of the Board
  • Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Member of the Board
  • San Francisco Children’s Rights Coalition, Member of the Board
  • San Francisco Family Service Agency, Member of the Board
  • San Francisco Homelessness Board, Member of the Board
  • Intergroup Clearinghouse, Member of the Board
  • Board of Trustees, Graduate Theological Union
  • Honored by Islamic Society of San Francisco, Bay Area Cultural Connections, and United Muslims of America
  • Honored by the California State Assembly, Woman of the Year 13th District
  • United Way’s Mortimer Fleishacker Jr. Volunteer Award
  • National Council of Jewish Women’s Hanna G. Solomon Award
  • Women in Community Service Rosa Parks Award
  • Delegate to the fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in China
  • Honored by Islamic Society of San Francisco
  • San Francisco Foundations’ Community Leadership Award
  • Honored by Catholic Charities CYO Loaves and Fishes Gala
  • Clinic by The Bay, Member of the Board
  • Congregation Emanu-El, Member of the Board
  • Grace Cathedral, Member of the Board
  • In-Home Health Service Public Authority, Member of the Board
  • Commissioner, Human Services Agency Human Services Commission, City & County of San Francisco

Programs 

Presidio Chapel Open House/Docent Tour 
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 The historic Spanish Colonial Revival style Presidio Chapel, built by the Army in 1931, with a breathtaking view of San Francisco Bay, is open on select days throughout the year. Please see our event calendar for dates and times. It is home to a 33’ mural by Victor Arnautoff, a protégé of Diego Rivera, and stained glass windows by Willemina Ogterop, the first woman stained glass artist west of the Mississippi to be inducted into the Stained Glass Artists Guild.
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The Interfaith Center at the Presidio welcomes many visitors each year to the historic Main Post Chapel (Presidio Chapel). Many of these visitors were once stationed at the Presidio or lived at the Presidio with their parents when it was an Army base. They were married or worshipped in the Main Post Chapel. They wish to see the Chapel and relive those memories and moments. One of our recent visitors came to the Chapel with her photograph album containing a few precious photos of her parents wedding in October 1943. She knew they were married in San Francisco before her father shipped out to the war in the Pacific. She believed they were married at the Presidio Chapel. When I looked at her photographs I realized that the building in the photographs was not the Chapel. I know what the other chapels on the Presidio look like and it was not the chapel in her photograph. I googled the Chapel at Fort Mason, and it matched the Chapel in her photographs. She was so happy to have found the Chapel where their wedding took place. You cannot imagine her joy. It was our pleasure to direct her to the Fort Mason Chapel, less than 2 miles away.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee's Memorial and Nationwide Tribute to Remember and Honor the Lives Lost to COVID-19
The Interfaith Center at the Presidio participated in the Presidential Inaugural Committee's Memorial and Nationwide Tribute to Remember and Honor the Lives Lost to COVID-19 on January 19, 2021 at 2:30 pm PST by ringing the historic Presidio Chapel bell.