Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church

Floor Speech

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Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and commemorate the 100th anniversary of Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California. This historically Black Church has played a vital role in the community and has been a beacon of faith, perseverance, and resilience for a century.

The founding of Saint Barnabas Pasadena is rooted in the ``Great Migration'' of African Americans from the South in the early twentieth century. These individuals sought better lives and opportunities in California, but were confronted with racial segregation and discrimination.

Existing Jim Crow laws prevented African Americans from worshiping where they wished, including at All Saints Church in Pasadena. Undeterred by this adversity, a group of determined individuals met on June 16, 1909, at the home of Mrs. Georgia Weatherton on South Fair Oaks Avenue to organize a Black Episcopal mission. This mission, known as Saint Barnabas Guild, quickly gained support, and the members sustained their ministry through food sales.

By 1911, services were being held in the Grand Army Hall on Colorado Street, and the seeds of Saint Barnabas Church were sown. Finally, in 1923, eight remarkable women, including Ellensteen Bevans, Rosebud Mims, and Georgia Weatherton, officially founded Saint Barnabas Church. The church had come a long way from its first services, which were held in Georgia Weatherston's home on Del Mar Street, with as many as 29 members in attendance on Sunday mornings. Over the course of the following decade, the church grew steadily and in 1932, the Saint Barnabas Congregation was admitted into the Episcopalian Archdioceses, signifying its growing significance and influence.

The Saint Barnabas Church helped strengthen and shape the character of the City of Pasadena with many of its church leadership playing important roles in the community, such as Reverend Jesse D. Moses, II, who served as the first Black principal of the Pasadena Unified School District. Today the church has become an essential pillar in the San Gabriel Valley, transcending racial boundaries and fostering unity. Its current congregation is a diverse community that is dedicated to serving others. The church supports local youth by sponsoring the Northwest Pasadena Little League and granting scholarships to Pasadena Unified School District graduates. It also uplifts vulnerable families by providing meals to the homeless, maintaining a community food pantry, and hosting Alcoholics Anonymous groups.

Over the last century the Saint Barnabas Church and its congregation have overcome racism and adversity to strengthen the Black community, build the City of Pasadena, and uplift all communities in the San Gabriel Valley. They are a remarkable institution and embody the best qualities of the 28th Congressional District.

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