While attending the final sessions of an inaugural cohort with the Center for Reconciliation and Christian Community Coalition, we received word that Councilman John Kennedy had died the previous week. I knew he had been ill, and we were praying for his health and his leadership on some important items in front of City Council.
His death was a shock to our cohort gathering, especially given the focus of our learning as a group. We had spent the last six months exploring what a racially just Pasadena might look like, hearing from local and national voices and collaborating together as local pastors and faith leaders. Councilman Kennedy was known for his public leadership around issues of justice, discrimination, poverty, and many other areas of our common life together. He had served as a leader in the Pasadena NAACP. He championed issues long before they were popular, and before political pressure caused many of his colleagues on council to take notice.
Early in my time as pastor in Pasadena, I was invited to a small meeting with Councilman Kennedy and a few other faith leaders. We were there to talk with him about his commitment to equitable housing, and share our concerns as pastors and citizens at the lack of affordable housing in our area. Normally these meetings follow a formula, and it can feel a little stale and formal in such settings. But in strolls John J. Kennedy, fresh off a workout and still in his sweats! I liked him immediately (not just because we share such a similar name), but because he gave us his real attention and presence. He was honest about the challenges and long-range thinking he had applied to these issues. I left grateful that he was the representative for the district the church building calls home. I did not know this would be our first and last meeting. His name has been on a sticky note in my office to contact after his election.
Pasadena has lost an important voice and presence with the death of Councilman John J. Kennedy. Advocates and activists spanning lots of different causes lost a friend in the struggle. Council meetings will feel different in his absence. I am grateful to have spent an hour with him. As you read the tributes to his life and leadership, you will hear many versions of the same. Join me in prayer for his family and church community, and for the work left unfinished at City Hall. As we would say to him if he were reading, Pasadena is…
Less without you.