An aerial view of All Saints Church in Pasadena (Photo – allsaintschurch)
All Saints Church Pasadena will unveil a permanent plaque acknowledging and lamenting the parish’s participation in Jim Crow segregation during a public act of remembrance at noon on Monday, September 14, 2026.
By News desk
The gathering will take place at All Saints Church, 132 N. Euclid Avenue. Clergy from All Saints will be joined by leaders from local faith and community organizations to recognize the church’s history of segregation as part of Pasadena’s broader history.
The plaque will be installed near the cornerstone of the church’s current building, laid in 1923. Its inscription honors “the African Americans and people of color who were turned away from All Saints Church by its white parishioners during the Jim Crow era in Pasadena.”
The inscription also recounts how eight African American women responded to that exclusion by meeting in their homes over several years to create a worship space of their own. Their efforts led to the founding of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, now located a mile away in northwest Pasadena.
“We acknowledge and repent of these racist actions, and we ask forgiveness from the descendants of those excluded,” the inscription states. “Today, as we commit to living out our mission that all are welcome, we recognize our history so that such racist actions may never be repeated.”
“This plaque is a significant outward and visible sign of the reckoning we are undertaking at All Saints with our past participation in discriminatory and racist practices,” said the Rev. Tim Rich, priest-in-charge of All Saints Church. “If we are to live more fully into the beloved community of belonging we hope to become, we have to truthfully acknowledge the sins of our past.”
The unveiling stems from All Saints’ Telling the Whole Story project, established in 2023 to examine portions of the parish’s history that had not been fully acknowledged. The project has included historical research, education and spiritual formation, relationship-building between All Saints and St. Barnabas, and an examination of the economic harm caused by segregation.
Organizers said the September 14 gathering is intended to create a shared public memory of this history and affirm that honest remembrance must lead to continuing repentance, relationship and repair.
All Saints Plaque Unveiling and Act of Remembrance Monday, September 14, 2026 12:00 pm Location 132 N. Euclid Avenue Pasadena, CA 91101
I’m glad that All Saint’s is doing this. This church’s actions back in the day was a significant contributor to the north/south racial divide in our city. Owning it is a step in the right direction.