Pasadena Faith Leaders Embrace ‘Sacred Resistance’ During Pride Month

As Pasadena prepares to hoist its Pride flag for the fifth consecutive year today, some progressive religious leaders throughout the city are fundamentally reimagining their approach to Pride Month. What was once primarily a celebration has transformed into what they now call “sacred resistance” — a deliberate strategy to defend LGBTQ+ rights against what they perceive as mounting political threats.

“The specific challenge we face in 2025 is shifting from continuing to move forward, to forming coalitions to prevent the clock from being turned back on the hard-won rights for members of the LGBTQ community,” explained Rev. Canon Susan Russell of All Saints Episcopal Church, her voice carrying the weight of urgency that seems to characterize this year’s Pride events.

This defensive posture represents a reverse evolution for some of Pasadena’s faith communities. 

First Baptist Church of Pasadena and All Saints Episcopal Church have emerged as central figures in this transformation, developing approaches that blend theological perspectives with practical support services. Their efforts include interfaith coalition-building, enhanced pastoral care, and therapeutic resources.

The theological foundation for this approach, according to Russell, is deeply rooted in Christian tradition. 

“Our commitment to sacred resistance comes from the part of our baptismal covenant where we promise to persevere in resisting evil and to respect the dignity of every human being,” she told Pasadena Now.

This progressive stance contrasts to Fuller Seminary’s recent re-stated position. The Pasadena institution’s Board of Trustees reaffirmed its “commitment to its historic theological understanding of marriage and human sexuality as a union between a man and a woman and sexual intimacy within the context of that union,” while acknowledging that “faithful Christians—through prayerful study, spiritual discernment, and lived experience—have come to affirm other covenantal forms of relationship.”

Pastor John Jay Alvaro of First Baptist Church of Pasadena emphasizes that LGBTQ+ inclusion must transcend annual acknowledgements like commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall Riots. 

“It would be a real tragedy if the only time of the year we paid close attention to our gay brothers and sisters was during June,” he said.

First Baptist has formalized its inclusive position, stating: “First Baptist Church of Pasadena invites all persons who profess that ‘Jesus is Lord’ into the FULL covenantal life of our community, including but not limited to baptism, family blessing, membership, marriage, leadership, and ordination.”

The church has integrated mental health professionals into its ministry structure. 

“We have a lot of therapists in our congregation, and they’re well integrated into our leadership, and so trying to keep an eye on the patients needed. When you’re doing that kind of internal or repair work, … you create a soft landing space without a lot of pressure or obligation,” Alvaro explained.

First Baptist also serves as a bridge between religious perspectives, with Alvaro noting that their Baptist identity enables them to act as translators between traditional and progressive congregations, occupying a “middle space” where they maintain relationships with churches that aren’t fully inclusive while providing referrals for LGBTQ+ individuals seeking affirming communities.

Despite the gravity of their work, faith leaders point to the need and urge for joyful engagement.

“We have a kind of quirky joyousness about our congregation, and so that’s what we try to offer. Whether that’s showing up with a Carnival popcorn machine and bright buttons and our most gregarious members, that’s the thing that we can bring into those spaces is the kind of levity and winsomeness,” Alvaro said.

Russell describes this year’s approach as balancing “celebration and solidarity,” noting the need for “equal measures of both to do the work we have called to do.” She references former rector George Regas’s challenge to “set audacious goals and celebrate incremental victories.”

Today’s political context driving this strategic shift is central to Russell’s thinking. 

“At a time in our nation when the toxic theology of Christian Nationalism is contaminating our civic discourse, we believe it is essential that we center the work of finding common ground on questions of our shared humanity across the differences of our varied theologies,” she said. 

Russel particularly emphasized supporting transgender youth facing increased political hostility.

Pastoral care has taken on heightened importance, with Altadena Pride organizers creating dedicated prayer spaces and mental health resources, inviting affirming clergy to provide support. This emphasis on wellbeing addresses both the recent wildfire trauma in the community and current political tensions.

The Pride flag raising is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Monday at Pasadena City Hall, continuing a tradition that began in 2021 following a request by the late Councilmember John J. Kennedy.