Why History?
Pasadena Covenant Church is approaching its 100th anniversary. We’ll be spending the year leading up to our centennial looking back at the church through twelve different lenses. Each month we’ll consider a different topic: property and buildings, ethnicity and language, worship through music, cross-cultural ministries, family, prayer, worship through media and the arts, evangelism, leadership development, service to neighbors, worship through preaching, and community. With each, there are great stories to tell.
As we do so, you might want to put our reflections in the context of Pasadena’s history. When the church was founded in 1922, the population of Pasadena was about 45,000. Now the population is more than 141,000. Pasadena started off as a resort town for wealthy East Coast and Midwest families and our members were mainly their domestics. In 1940 the Arroyo Seco Parkway linked it to downtown and the rest of that post-WWII decade brought technology ventures here, including JPL—Pasadena had become a city now, not just a town.
Our city has had its share of turmoil. In the 1960s, school desegregation caused a tragic exodus from our public schools, and the 210 freeway was built along a controversial corridor in the 1970s. Other changes were received more positively such as the 1990s’ revitalization of Old Pasadena, and the opening of the Metro light rail line in 2003.
Each decade (or less) brings new challenges and changes. For example, over the past five years the cost of the average home in Pasadena has increased over 50%, pricing out most young families and those new to the area.
Sometimes looking back on history makes us nostalgic; other times, sad—we miss people and events. Sometimes looking back on history makes us relieved—we are thankful that things are different now.
Sometimes looking back on history makes us realize that problems are recurrent. (As the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, there is nothing new under the sun.)
Consider these two examples, both relevant to our present context: The senior pastor’s report in 1957 commented: “A decrease in attendance in Sunday school can be explained by the excessive flu epidemic.” Again, members coming and going have always been a hallmark of Pas Cov; for example, in the 1961-2 annual report, the membership section listed people moving to Oregon, Minnesota, Iowa, Washington DC, and northern California.
But we look back not for the sake of finding interesting facts or being sentimental. The purpose of this deep dive into our history is to look for God. It is to remind ourselves of how God worked in the past and, perhaps more importantly, to anticipate how God will continue to work in the future.
On Sept 19, 2021 the worship service included a chat with three church members who value history. To listen, click the link (and move to ~15:00).
“Biblical faith takes history very seriously because God takes it very seriously. He took it seriously enough to begin it and to enter it and promises that one day he will bring it to a serious close.”