Bishop William Swing Forum: An Unusual Swing

William E. Swing Forum: An Unusual Swing
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

In his sixth book, An Unusual Swing: A Bishop's Follow-Through, William E. Swing—the seventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California and founder of the United Religions Initiative—reflects on the first twenty-five years of the global interfaith movement he launched, as well as the personal journey that transformed him from an Episcopal bishop into one of the world's leading advocates for cooperation across religious traditions.

Dedicated to "all the people who arrived at the border of an ancient, modern, or very personal hostility and bravely crossed a boundary or a bridge to live in the demanding uncharted landscape of peace," An Unusual Swing is both a memoir and a meditation on reconciliation. It offers a deeply personal account of the courage, imagination, and persistence required to build relationships across lines of difference. At a time when religious and cultural divisions continue to shape our world, Bishop Swing's story offers enduring wisdom about the possibilities that emerge when we choose dialogue over distrust.

Join Malcolm Clemens Young for a conversation with Bishop Swing about the experiences that shaped his remarkable vocation, the lessons he has learned from a lifetime of interfaith leadership, and why the work of building peace across religious and cultural boundaries remains as urgent today as ever.

Bishop William E. Swing also preached at Choral Eucharist at 11 a.m.

Recorded at Grace Cathedral on September 13, 2026.

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About the Guest
William E. Swing is a retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California. Ordained to the priesthood in West Virginia, he served there before becoming the seventh rector of St. Columba's Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. From 1979 to 2006 he served as the seventh bishop of California, overseeing the vitality of congregations, cathedral, camps and conference centers, a hospital, and a capital development bank in the five counties of the San Francisco Bay Area. His special concerns included AIDS, for which the American Foundation for AIDS Research presented him with the Award of Courage. The San Francisco Chronicle designated him a finalist for their Visionary of the Year award in 20218 for his achievements as founder and president of the United Religions Initiative, the world's largest grass-roots interfaith organization. He lives in San Mateo, California, with his wife Mary, near their two children and three grandchildren.

About the Moderator
The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young is the dean of Grace Cathedral. He is the author of The Spiritual Journal of Henry David Thoreau and The Invisible Hand in Wilderness: Economics, Ecology, and God, and is a regular contributor on religion to the Huffington Post and San Francisco Examiner.

About The Forum
The Forum is a series of stimulating conversations about faith and ethics in relation to the important issues of our day. We invite inspiring and illustrious people to sit down for a real conversation with the Forum's host and with you. Our guests range from artists, inventors and philosophers to pop culturists and elected officials, but the point of The Forum is singular: civil, sophisticated discourse that engages minds and hearts to think in new ways about the world. Learn more about The Forum here:
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