Altadena Community Church

Altadena Community Church was a United Church of Christ church in Altadena, California, built by the architect Harry L. Pierce in 1947 in a Spanish Colonial Revival style. The church was a progressive Christian and open and affirming church and was the thirteenth church in the United Church of Christ that openly accepted LGBTQ people.
History
Congregation
The Altadena Community Church congregation was founded in 1940. The first pastor was M. K. W. Heicher, for whom the fellowship hall was later named. Wynn B. Norton and Julius H. Krueger were among the leaders in organizing the congregation. They met in homes, a local tavern, and the Masonic Temple in their early years.
The church was known for hosting cultural and community events. In 1949, they held a three-day concert series featuring Pasadena organist David Craighead on one of the evenings. In 1959, the church held a "dramatic" Thanksgiving Day service, in seventeenth-century costumes, with men and women seated on separate sides of the sanctuary, a drummer, a sermon by minister Charles MacMillan Houser titled "Five Grains of Corn." In 1969, the congregation produced "The Swinging Saints", a musical revue.
The church was affiliated with the Los Angeles Association of Congregational Christian Churches beginning in 1942,
Building
The congregation purchased land near the intersection of Altadena Drive and North Lake Avenue before 1945, and began construction on a church building in 1947, under direction of the architect Harry L. Pierce, who is known for his revival structures in the area. Above the portal in a Romanesque Revival style was a rosary window, crafted by Judson Studios. and for its popular choir.
2025 Eaton Fire and aftermath
The church and homes of approximately 60 congregants were destroyed by the Eaton Fire in January 2025, and its pastor, Rev. Paul Tellström, retired shortly after.

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