A church rises from racism to celebrate a centennial of triumphs in Pasadena
PASADENA, Calif. — Bishop John H. Taylor followed a glimmering golden cross beyond the white bricks and into St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, where dozens had gathered to mark the Pasadena church’s century-long march through history.
The angelic sounds of choir members draped in lavish robes and colorful stoles reverberated off stained glass windows into pews packed with generations of worshipers, who wished peace unto each other before enjoying one of the church’s legendary feasts.
“It’s a once in a hundred years event,” said Taylor, adorned in cardinal red vestments and a gold-lined mitre as he stepped to the pulpit to pay tribute to the Black women who birthed the region’s first Black Episcopal church and rebuked Pasadena’s Jim Crow-era racism.
Today, that historically Black church is home to a rainbow
