At Southside Presbyterian Church, worshippers pray in English, Spanish and Tohono O'odham, and overcome boundaries of faiths to find strength and help others.
The church, 317 W. 23rd St., will celebrate its centennial Sunday.
During those 100 years, its members fought vigorously for social justice and racial equality.
"Being in this church is hard; it takes a lot of understanding and energy and love to be open to how other cultures function," said church elder Teena Cross, who grew up in the area and always has been a member of the church. "We are God's rainbow."
Built as a mission church for members of the Tohono O'odham Nation, the congregation was a major player during the civil rights movement in the 1960s and the Sanctuary movement in the '80s.
In recent years, it has participated in coalitions such as No More Deaths, Samaritans and Humane Borders.
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It also established assistance programs for the city's homeless and other people who live in unfortunate circumstances.
"There's been a lot of changes, but it's always been interactive, nondenominational," said Sandra Parvello, whose great-grandfather was one of the founding members of Southside. "It's always been a church about people."
Currently led by interim pastor Gretchen Larson-Wolbrink, the congregation will nominate a pastor next year, who members hope will carry on the church's mission.
"Centennials are a good time to remember and renew those kinds of commitments," said the Rev. John Fife, who was the church's pastor between 1970 and 2005. "It isn't really about politics, it's really about faith."
It's an approach elder Josefina Ahmumada described as "civil disobedience with a halo."
"It's not just about saving our own skin," she said. " It's about having social responsibility."
This approach has led to clashes with the law, including legal charges against two No More Deaths volunteers. Southside is a member of the group, which provides aid for border crossers. The charges were dropped earlier this year.
Fife led the congregation during the Sanctuary movement. Between 1981 and 1990, he said, at least 13,000 refugees from Central America found shelter in the church.
Fife was convicted in 1985 for bringing Latin American refugees into the United States.
Members stood united behind those projects, he said, "because of their faith, because they understand that all the people of the Earth belong to God and that they have to be involved in the whole of the community."
Many people joined Southside during the Sanctuary movement. Among them is Barclay Goldsmith, who said he became a member in 1984 for the church's "deep roots of community and diversity."
"It's an example of how diverse a church can be," he said.
During the civil rights movement, the church teamed up with other congregations and protesters to fight segregation in Tucson.
They wrote letters and formed picket lines until public places committed to treating people of all races equally, recalled the Rev. Casper Glenn, who was a pastor at the church from 1956 until 1964.
When he came to Southside, most members were American Indians, Glenn said. By the time he left, there were many races and denominations.
"Southside has set an example of what a church should be like — a fellowship of people that are concerned about the community."
The church's agenda changes often and aligns with current pressing issues in Tucson, Glenn said. An issue it is addressing now is homelessness. The church put up a building where homeless people can shower and do laundry twice a week.
In addition, day laborers use the church parking lot as a place to gather before they're picked up for work.
Southside has taken an important initiative in working with congregations that offer different services, said Raymond Rodriguez, a leader with the Pima County Interfaith Council.
The church takes action to help the unfortunate, while most other congregations educate the public and encourage people to take a stance, he said.
South
If you go Southside Presbyterian Church will celebrate its centennial at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at the church, 317 W. 23rd St. Two former pastors, the Rev. Casper Glenn and the Rev. John Fife, will be at the service. For more information about Southside's programs, contact the church at 623-6857 or go online to www.southsidepresbyterian.org.
