Members of Santa Barbara’s First Presbyterian Church found a sentimental surprise in the most unassuming of places— behind the paper towel dispenser in the women’s bathroom. Church staff unearthed a time capsule from 1999, removing the metal box from a gap behind a wall.
The capsule was intended to be opened in 2024, 25 years after its creation, but it was forgotten until a new administrator found directions to the hiding spot when combing through records. “It was kind of like a scavenger hunt, and it was in the women’s bathroom, of all places,” said Ann Conklin, the church’s pastor.
Cheryl Long recalled putting the time capsule together in 1999. The idea for a time capsule arose when the church underwent significant renovations and constructed a new fellowship center, completed that same year, she said.
“Someone came up with the idea that maybe, since we have this opportunity with all this new beginning, we could do some sort of a capture of the moment, of who we are right now, and send that forward 25 years to our future congregation,” Long said. To this day, she continues to attend the First Presbyterian Church with her husband, Jeffrey Long.
The capsule contained a trove of documents, including church bulletins, sermon transcripts, photographs, and letters to the future from congregation members. Cassette tapes held recorded interviews with church elders, and a VCR tape held footage of a worship service. The box also contained the shovel used in the new development’s groundbreaking ceremony, a copy of Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation, and a foam finger rocket selected by the congregation’s youth.
One letter to the future was written by the church’s organist, Emma Lou Diemer, who achieved wide renown as a performer and prolific composer. Her honors include awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kennedy Center, and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.
“Church music has become a conglomerate of all sorts of styles appealing to all sorts and ages of people. This is how it should be,” wrote Diemer. “Church music should not be allowed to stagnate either in creation or performance.” Diemer died in June 2024. The time capsule included cassette tape and CD recordings of her performances.
An additional musical artifact was found in the time capsule — a clipping of the 1998 popular music charts. The Titanic soundtrack leads in album sales, but comes second to the Beastie Boys’ Hello Nasty in a reader’s poll.
Cheryl Long said the process of sorting through the capsule’s contents was moving and meaningful. She recognized the faces of people who still worship at the church, as well as people who have since passed away, including a cherished mentor, Esther. “It really moved my heart to see Esther again and her voice and her mannerisms,” Long said.
Conklin, who joined the church in 2022, said the time capsule’s discovery has been an exciting way for church members new and old to connect and reflect. “It’s a fun marker in the life of a congregation,” she said. Its contents are on display in the church’s lobby for all to see.
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