San Jose’s Church on the Hill to celebrate its 175th anniversary

Anyone who s lived in San Jose within the past years has supposedly had the experience of driving on Highway 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 th anniversary on June going back to when it was founded as the First Baptist Church of San Jose in May by Rev Osgood Wheeler who had already founded the First Baptist Church of San Francisco before moving south It is a meager months older than the state of California It has experienced multiple highs and lows over the decades while growing with San Jose and we are eager to share our history in the city with the neighborhood Outreach Pastor Susan Ellis stated People congregate in the lobby of Church on the Hill which was founded as the First Baptist Church of San Jose in and is celebrating its th anniversary on June Courtesy Church on the Hill The front exterior of Church on the Hill which opened in on the site of a former golf subject in San Jose The church also known as the First Baptist Church of San Jose is celebrating its th anniversary on June Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group The front entrance of Church on the Hill also known as the First Baptist Church of San Jose which is celebrating its th anniversary on June Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group A globe and cross on its steeple are part of the iconic design of Church on the Hill also known as the First Baptist Church of San Jose which is celebrating its th anniversary on June Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group The design elements of Church on the Hill in San Jose are typical of the mid- s era in which it was designed The church also known as the First Baptist Church of San Jose is celebrating its th anniversary on June Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group The sign for Church on the Hill visible from Ironwood Drive in San Jose The church also known as the First Baptist Church of San Jose is celebrating its th anniversary on June Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group An undated photo of the First Baptist Church of San Jose which was at Second and San Antonio streets downtown until Courtesy of Church on the Hill Show Caption of People congregate in the lobby of Church on the Hill which was founded as the First Baptist Church of San Jose in and is celebrating its th anniversary on June Courtesy Church on the Hill Expand 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- s 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 years and its board set about rectifying that dilemma The church purchased acres of hilltop land south of downtown near Curtner Avenue and Almaden Expressway that was home to the short-lived nine-hole Ironwood Golf Lesson It opened an amphitheater there and in July 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 people on Oct 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 people exhibited up including a substantial crowd from nearby Cathedral of Faith to celebrate the church paying off and burning its multimillion-dollar mortgage in The Rev Jim Cook even kept a promise to climb to the church s rooftop and preach from there In the present day the church offers services in Spanish and Vietnamese as well as English Scott Simmerok who has been lead pastor since noted 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 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 stated PAYING IT FORWARD Jenny Dearborn a former SAP executive who was named one of the largest part 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 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 crucial lesson and a very timely lesson and I really encourage everybody to go see this film she noted I felt incredibly lucky to be part of this company of female executives from around the country that came together and invested in this film Dearborn who at the moment serves as Chief People Strategy Officer at BTS a global consultancy is the author of the bestsellers Material Driven and The Figures 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 GIVING THEM THEIR DUE Time magazine published its inaugural list of the Majority Influential People in philanthropy and while there are a large number of famous names in there including Mackenzie Scott and Dolly Parton there are a meager that ll be especially recognizable to Silicon Valley readers Related Articles San Jose Walls general art festival sets its sights on Japantown San Jose loses another neighborhood gem in Park Station Hashery Stanford Theatre celebrating th birthday in classic fashion Priceless ers helmet gets another Hall of Fame autograph San Jose s Levitt Pavilion effort gains steam as it rolls into summer 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 Group 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 contest in downtown San Jose thanks to the Slam Jose a tournament and festival that ll takeover Plaza de Cesar Chavez on June - 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 in prizes There are divisions for men women wheelchair athletes and boys and girls from under- to under- 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 hoops stated 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 s and early s 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 is per crew Get more information at www slamjose com