Soboba Church to celebrate 100th anniversary

The Rev. Earl Henley is the pastor/chaplain of St. Joseph Mission Church, which is celebrating its centennial.

Sitting inside St. Joseph Mission Church takes some parishioners back in time to important moments in their lives and memories of family members.

The church on the Soboba Indian Reservation is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its chapel Saturday and Oct. 17 with activities open to the public, including a special Mass, which will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Oct. 17 by Auxiliary Bishop Rutilio del Riego of the San Bernardino Diocese.

The church is publishing a commemorative book to help make the community aware of the church, its purpose and activities and the culture of the Native Americans who helped build the church.

"I had catechism class here, first communion, I got married here," remembered Marian Chacon, 74, a member of the centennial planning committee. "The bus used to drop us off here after school."

In 1888, a Catholic priest established the St. Rose of Lima mission church in a wooden building. It was replaced in 1910 and renamed St. Joseph. Historic accounts indicate that St. Rose of Lima was damaged by an 1899 earthquake, and a crack in the St. Joseph church is a vestige of a 1918 earthquake.

St. Joseph has concrete walls 14 to 16 inches thick, the Rev. Earl Henley, pastor-chaplain for American Indians in the diocese, said. In the past eight years, heating, air conditioning and a stained-glass window have been added
Before the renovations, Chacon remembered a ceiling with exposed beams.

The only other 100-year-old church building in the diocese is St. Bernardine Church in San Bernardino which is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, John Andrews, director of communications for the diocese wrote in an e-mail.
The diocese has many parishes, or congregations, that are over 100 years old, including St. Anthony in San Jacinto and Precious Blood in Banning, which celebrated centennials in 1990.

St. Joseph when packed seats about 100, and Rev. Henley expects another 250 people outside who will be able to hear the Mass from an outdoor sound system. Donna Bergstrom, who is a parishioner of Our Lady of the Valley in Hemet but has experience organizing special events, is the chairperson of the centennial committee.

"Right at the go get, I felt very peaceful, very relaxed," said Henry Gonzales, 69, of San Jacinto, who considers himself the "new kid" because he started attending in 2002. "You feel very much at home in comparison to a very large church." Some people find the mission because it's across Soboba Road from the Soboba Casino.

"My dad sat in that spot," said Hector Flores, 46, whose father, Martin Flores sat in the back of the church

An in memoriam list compiled by the church committee makes a special mention of the elder Flores who died July 22. He had attended St. Joseph's since 1948, worked as custodian at Our Lady of the Valley, and prepared the alter for Mass at St. Joseph's every Sunday, including ringing the outside bell and taking up the collection plate for decades.

The younger Flores remembers sitting at the back with his parents and five siblings. "If we made any noise, there was a pinch from Mom," he said. He brings his wife and three daughters to church where they also sit in the back.