Anyone who’s lived in San Jose within the past 50 years has probably had the experience of driving on Highway 87 or Almaden Expressway, looking up and wondering, “What’s that round building with a globe and a cross on top of it?” The smart-aleck — but correct — answer is the Church on the Hill.
The church is celebrating its 175th anniversary on June 1, going back to when it was founded as the First Baptist Church of San Jose in May 1850 by Rev. Osgood Wheeler, who had already founded the First Baptist Church of San Francisco before moving south.
“It is a few months older than the state of California. It has experienced many highs and lows over the decades while growing with San Jose, and we are eager to share our history in the city with the community,” Outreach Pastor Susan Ellis said.
It’s quite a history, too, and one bolstered by resilience. The church’s first building in downtown San Jose was destroyed by fire, as was its second. The rebuilt church on Second and San Antonio Streets was even home to KQW, the world’s first broadcast radio station, in the mid-1920s, with the antenna tower located right on the church property. The congregation grew into the thousands over the decades, but faith alone couldn’t keep the aging building from being red-tagged by the city.
Dr. Clarence Sands, who was the church’s pastor for 35 years, and its board set about rectifying that problem. The church purchased 33 acres of hilltop land south of downtown near Curtner Avenue and Almaden Expressway that was home to the short-lived, nine-hole Ironwood Golf Course. It opened an amphitheater there and in July 1963 held its first-ever outdoor services. The first services were held at the new house of worship — with an auditorium that could seat more than 2,000 people — on Oct. 25, 1970. The following year, First Baptist Church started advertising itself as “The Church on the Hill,” and the name stuck.
The church continued its tradition of hosting city-wide Easter Sunday sunrise services and was a gathering spot for musical performances by Christian bands or to watch fireworks on the Fourth of July. More than 2,500 people showed up — including a substantial crowd from nearby Cathedral of Faith — to celebrate the church paying off — and burning — its multimillion-dollar mortgage in 1994. The Rev. Jim Cook even kept a promise to climb to the church’s rooftop and preach from there.
Today, the church offers services in Spanish and Vietnamese, as well as English. Scott Simmerok, who has been lead pastor since 2005, said its not uncommon to see a young family checking out the church for the first time as well as a greeter who’s been there for nearly 70 years.
“We believe a healthy church creates hope-filled people who offer hope to a city, and what city doesn’t want a little more hope?” Simmerok said.
PAYING IT FORWARD: Jenny Dearborn, a former SAP executive who was named one of the 50 most powerful women in tech for five years in a row, knows a lot about the struggle women still face to get equal pay. That’s a big part of why she was an investor in “Lilly,” a new film written and directed by Rachel Feldman that stars Patricia Clarkson as equal-pay pioneer Lilly Ledbetter. Dearborn, who lives in Palo Alto, hosted a private screening of the movie last Tuesday at the Cinemark Century 20 in Redwood City.
Ledbetter’s story isn’t just history, Dearborn says.
“Even here in Silicon Valley, women are still struggling to earn equal pay for equal work. This is an important lesson and a very timely lesson, and I really encourage everybody to go see this film,” she said. “I felt incredibly lucky to be part of this team of female executives from around the country that came together and invested in this film.”
Dearborn, who currently serves as Chief People Strategy Officer at BTS, a global consultancy, is the author of the bestsellers “Data Driven” and “The Data Driven Leader,” and has another book coming out this summer. “The Insight-Driven Leader: How High-Performing Companies are Using Analytics to Unlock Business Value,” which she co-wrote with Kelly Rider, will be published June 25.
GIVING THEM THEIR DUE: Time magazine published its inaugural list of the 100 Most Influential People in philanthropy and while there are many famous names in there — including Mackenzie Scott and Dolly Parton — there are a few that’ll be especially recognizable to Silicon Valley readers.
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Steph and Ayesha Curry made the list, as did Netflix founder Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin. Lisa Sobrato Sonsini was recognized for her leadership role with Sobrato Philanthropies, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation CEO Nicole Taylor was honored in the “innovators” category for work in spurring philanthropy in the valley.
HOOP IT UP AGAIN: Basketball will be the name of the game in downtown San Jose thanks to the Slam Jose!, a 3×3 tournament and festival that’ll takeover Plaza de Cesar Chavez on June 21-22. The San Jose Sports Authority teamed up with Hoop It Up and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley on the tournament, which will include $22,500 in prizes. There are divisions for men, women, wheelchair athletes and boys and girls from under-10 to under-18.
“This effort came together because all the old memories of Hoop It Up in San Jose were so filled with affection – and we are still a perfect town for outdoor 3×3 hoops,” said Boys & Girls Clubs CEO Steve Wymer, who hopes the tourney becomes a signature event for the city as the original Hoop It Up series was back in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Even if you don’t play, you might want to check out the sneaker and vintage clothes expo taking place at the park during hte tournament. Registration, which closes June 17, is $250 per team. Get more information at www.slamjose.com.