Tournament of Roses’ First Openly Gay President to Speak at Pride Shabbat in Pasadena

The Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center will hold its second annual Pride Shabbat on Friday, June 26, in the borrowed sanctuary of First United Methodist Church — the same evening that marks the 11th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

The guest speaker at the post-service reception, called the oneg, will be Terry Madigan, the first openly gay president of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses in the organization’s 136-year history. Madigan also serves as treasurer of the San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center, according to JEDI Committee Chair Diane Burr.

The service, organized by PJTC’s JEDI (Jewish Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Committee, begins at 7:30 p.m., preceded by Shirah with Cantor Ruth Berman Harris at 7:20 p.m. First United Methodist Church is at 500 E. Colorado Blvd. The event is open to the public.

PJTC has been without its own building since January 7, 2025, when the Eaton Fire destroyed its 1941 Mission Revival campus at 1434 N. Altadena Drive. The synagogue’s entire two-acre site was lost; the congregation has held Shabbat services and gatherings at First UMC since the fire. First UMC voted to become a Reconciling Congregation in 2011, committing to the full inclusion of LGBTQ persons in church life, and voted in 2015 to permit same-gender weddings in its sanctuary.

“We’re really honored to be in a space of interfaith harmony,” Burr said in an interview. “We grieved that community, and there are challenges when you’re using someone else’s sacred space, but FUMC has been so very kind and accommodating and helpful to us. It’s been very nourishing.”

Last year was PJTC’s first Pride Shabbat, Burr said, and the congregation plans to hold it annually.

“Pride Shabbat is a reaffirmation that PJTC is a community that supports everyone and celebrates each of our unique identities,” she said.

Senior Rabbi Joshua Ratner, who joined PJTC in 2025, wrote in responses provided to Pasadena Now that Conservative Judaism reads its commitment to inclusion out of Genesis and Leviticus.

“Conservative Judaism believes that these, and other foundational biblical texts, create an imperative to preserve the human dignity of all people,” he wrote. “Pride Shabbat serves as a way to live out this value by ensuring that LGBTQ+ individuals are not only welcomed but also celebrated.”

The Conservative movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards formally permitted the ordination of openly LGBTQ+ clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions in December 2006. PJTC drew national attention in 2014 when it hired Rabbi Becky Silverstein as Director of Education — reported in the Jewish press at the time as the first U.S. Conservative synagogue to employ an openly transgender rabbi.

The oneg will include rainbow challah prepared by JEDI Committee members, alongside the customary refreshments. “When you braid it, it’s the idea of different concepts coming together, different ideas coming together within this bread,” Burr said.

Ratner said the experience of displacement has sharpened the congregation’s focus. “Since the fire, we have seen first-hand how crucial it is for our members to have the opportunity to come together, to support one another, and to feel a sense of solidarity through community,” he wrote. “This applies to all facets of our programming, from services to social events.”

The service will draw on the Kabbalat Shabbat liturgy — the welcoming of the Sabbath — with what Burr described as “an increased emphasis on diversity and inclusion.” Saturday morning services the following day will read the double portion Chukat-Balak.

The event’s tagline, drawn from PJTC’s standing inclusion statement, is “All Are Welcome! Come As You Are!”

The PJTC office can be reached at (626) 798-1161; the JEDI Committee is at jedi@pjtc.net.

“Our guiding thought is come as you are,” Burr said. “And so I think that’s important if people want to come to just know — come as you are.”