About
We imagine a world where no one has to face the night alone. Where each person can be seen, heard, and valued for who they are.
For six decades, San Francisco Night Ministry has been listening in the hardest places — on the streets, over the phone, and in sacred community spaces. We believe care and belonging are human rights, not luxuries.
Our values guide us: compassion, connection, community, presence, and growth.
San Francisco Night Ministry was born in 1964, when two ministers decided the church belonged on the streets at night, not locked inside buildings. On their very first walks, they befriended bartenders and drag queens, showed up for runaway kids, and reminded people they were worthy of love.
From the start, we’ve been on the side of those who were ignored or cast out. In 1965, our ministers and Care Line coordinator were at the historic California Hall Drag Ball when police raided the event — and smuggled out the evidence that helped spark reforms protecting queer San Franciscans.
When AIDS devastated our city, Night Ministers were among the first clergy to take public HIV tests and to sit at the bedsides of the dying. We officiated funerals no one else would, told churches the truth about their poor behavior and responsibility to care for their queer community members, and stood with the Imperial Court and queer community in grief and in celebration.
our story
Over six decades, our work has expanded:
Care Line answers calls every night of the year with an expanding, diverse volunteer base
Night Ministers walk the streets, listening with compassion and grit
Programs like Open Shabbat, Open Sangha, Open Cathedral, and Queer Tarot Happy Hour create sacred space where it’s least expected.
Training through Clinical Pastoral Education and the Ambassador Program equips new caregivers for the work ahead.
The city has changed over the years, but our heartbeat hasn’t: everyone is loved, and no one should face the night alone.
Our Mission
San Francisco Night Ministry provides spiritual care and multi-faith community at night on the phones and in the streets of San Francisco. We do not judge. We do not convert. We meet people where they are and offer the radical gift of undivided attention and loving presence.
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1964: Founding
On September 1, 1964, San Francisco Night Ministry began as a ministry of the San Francisco Council of Churches. Rev. Don Stuart was our founding Night Minister conducted the first night walk. Don quickly befriended members of the LGBTQ Tavern Guild, and bartenders quietly referred underage queer youth and runaways to him for care and counseling. His reassurance that they were loved and worthy helped launch a pattern of radical presence that continues today. Rev. Don also contributed to founding Larkin Street Youth Services.
1965: Historic Drag Ball
Assistant Night Minister Rev. Chuck Lewis (who eventually became our second Night Minister) and his best friend, Care Line Coordinator Jo Chadwick supported and attended the California Hall New Year’s Ball, the city’s first public drag ball. When police raided the event, Jo smuggled film rolls (hidden in her bra!). The photographs became evidence that helped catalyze reforms to protect San Francisco’s queer community.
1960-70s: Crisis Line and Queer Alliances
Jo Chadwick established the Crisis Line (now the Care Line), staffed by dedicated volunteers. Some worked until dawn in our tiny office. National lesbian rights advocates Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin were not only friends of SF Night Ministry, but supporters who regularly provided both wisdom and courage.
1980s: AIDS Ministry
As AIDS ravaged the city, Rev. Chuck Lewis preached inclusion in churches, and specially reached out to persons living and dying with HIV/AIDS, visiting Ward 86 in San Francisco General Hospital. Rev. Chuck was photographed in his clerical collar and published in news media taking an HIV test to destigmatize AIDS testing. Night Ministers sat at bedsides, officiated funerals, and bore witness when families and churches would not. We also cultivated relationships with LGBTQ+ philanthropic organizations, such as the Imperial Council of San Francisco and the Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco.
1989: Incorporation
Night Ministry formally incorporated as a California nonprofit, growing into a multifaith organization.
1990s: Continuing Witness
Third Night Minister, Rev. Don Fox, expanding our outreach and care to increasing numbers of unhoused neighbors amidst San Francisco’s homelessness crisis. We partnered with Rev. Glenda Hope for the first (and now annual) Vigil for the Homeless Dead, a yearly outdoor memorial still held at City Hall by local non-profits in memory of our homeless neighbors. Rev. Fox’s presence was as likely at the graveside as it was at Aunt Charlie’s (with a martini in hand, of course).
2000s: Castro Presence
Our fourth Night Minister, Rev. Lyle Beckman joined us, and we expanded our ministry further into daytime Open Cathedrals, as well as hosting fellowship residents who each later shaped and further led Night Ministry: rev. Valerie McEntee, Rev. Monique Ortiz, and Rev. Diana Wheeler. Assistant Night Minister Diana Wheeler began a dedicated LGBTQ ministry on the streets of the Castro, accompanying the drag, Imperial, and Ducal Court communities. This ministry later came to be called Sacred Space, and today lives on as Faithful&Fabulous, led by Programs Director and Faithful&Fabulous Minister John Brett.
2010s: Securing the Legacy
Night Minister Rev. Lyle Beckman and Rev. Don Fox arranged queer icon José Sarria’s funeral to be held at Grace Cathedral, ensuring proper honor for one of San Francisco’s most notable queer leaders.
2014: Training the Next Generation
Night Ministry celebrated it’s 50th anniversary at Grace Cathedral, with Anne Lamott as guest speaker. Our Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program launched, under the Direction of Rev. Rod Seeger, with the support of Rev. Lyle Beckman and Board Chair Mary Von Zomeren. Our CPE program was fully accredited by the Association of Clinical and Pastoral Education (ACPE) in 2017. In 2024 we celebrated our program’s 10th anniversary! Rev. Valerie McEntee became our fifth Night Minister, and first female Night Minister.
2019–2021: Organizational Evolution
In 2019, Rev. Trent Thornley became Executive Director, and by 2021 the organization shifted from the single role of The Night Minister into a nonprofit structure with an Executive Director and Program Directors overseeing each area of ministry. This allowed us to expand volunteer opportunities and draw more diverse people into the work of spiritual care.
2020s: Expansion and Change
The pandemic forced new adaptations to the Care Line, enabling counselors to serve from home and expanding our volunteer community. In 2022, Rev. Johnny Leggett became our first Director of Night Ministry Services, reshaping night walks into a team effort. Rev. Johnny passed away in 2024 and is remembered with deep love.
Today
For 60+ years, San Francisco Night Ministry has kept the same heartbeat: providing compassionate, non-judgmental care every night of the year, on the streets, on the phones, and in community spaces.
Annual Reports
Organizational Chart
SF NIGHT MINISTRY DIRECTORS
Rev. Trent Thornley
Executive Director, CPE Director
Rev. Trent (he/him) is an ordained minister in the Metropolitan Community Churches, a progressive Christian denomination with an outreach to the LGBTQ+ community. He is also an ordained Buddhist Dharma Leader in the Nyingma lineage of Anam Thubten. He holds a M.A. in Buddhist Studies from the Graduate Theological Union and a Certificate in Buddhist Chaplaincy from the Institute of Buddhist Studies. Trent is an Accredited Professional with the International Enneagram Association, and he is past president of the IEA Board of Directors.
Chp. Shelly Webb
Night Ministry Services Director
Shelly (she/her) is an ordained Buddhist chaplain in the Shambhala lineage. She has served as a chaplain resident in two San Francisco hospitals after completing her first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Night Ministry in 2020. Shelly holds a Masters of Divinity from Harvard University. She has years of experience working for faith organizations, schools and non-profits. Shelly lives in Oakland with her partner Martina and her dog Andy and enjoys traveling up and down the coast of California.
Benjamin DeShazo-Couchot
Care Line Director
Rev. Benjamin (he/him) is a community minister, educator, and national board-certified health & wellness coach (NBC-HWC) from Sonoma County. He is ordained in interfaith community, and he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership (A Phenomenology of Holistic Coaching) at Concordia University, Chicago. Benjamin's previous studies include a B.A. in Music from Sonoma State University, an M.Th. from The New Seminary for Interfaith Studies, and an M.A. in Music (Church Music & Liturgy; Conducting) from the Rensselaer Program at Saint Joseph’s College, Indiana, where he completed his capstone research paper on communal grief processing rituals.
John Brett
Programs Director, Faithful & Fabulous
John (he/hym/hys) began work with the SF Night Ministry in 2014 as part of our first CPE cohort. He is a seminarian within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Prior, John has accompanied unhoused neighbors in a variety of settings, including as the former Program Director of The Gubbio Project. John completed his BA in Spanish and Performance Studies at Dartmouth College, and he served as the Executive Director of a regional legal aid program in Washington State. His favorite ministry experience to date involves offering spiritual care while in drag at a taco truck. Each year John chaplains at Burning Man through Camp ReligiousAF.