Better late than never — even with time capsules.

First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara, at 21 E. Constance Ave., has unearthed a time capsule hidden in 1999 and that contains letters, videos, photos and other gifts from former church members to their future counterparts.

Pastor Anne Conklin said the time capsule was meant to be opened last year, but it was forgotten after the church’s former business manager retired and lost track of it.

“We’re a year late, but we did open up the time capsule,” Conklin said. “We pulled it out of where it had been placed back in 1999, and then we saved it for a few days until after worship a week ago.”

Conklin, who was not at the church in 1999, said the new business manager, Alison Hansen, found some paperwork discussing the capsule and showing where to locate it. The box had been stored in the women’s restroom in the Christian Fellowship Center behind the trash can installed in the wall.

The capsule, a yellow metal box, was hidden in the wall by the contractor during construction.

“She was going through some of the files here and came across a file that said time capsule on it,” longtime church member Jeffrey Long said. “Otherwise, we never, probably never, would be able to figure out (where) it was.”

He said the idea to make a time capsule came about during the construction of the fellowship center. The building was completed in 1999.

The capsule contained letters from former members of the congregation, recordings of sermons, directories of past members, and old records. It also included cassettes of the church’s choir.

Conklin said her favorite item in the collection is a book called “The Greatest Generation” by Tom Brokaw. The book was gifted by a retired FBI agent and his wife of 50 years to remind future generations of the people who fought in World War II.

The capsule also contained recordings of world-renowned composer Emma Lou Diemer, who was an organist at the church. Diemer died in Santa Barbara in 2024 at age 94.

The church’s history goes back to 1869, when settlers were arriving from the East Coast. The church originally had a building on Anapamu Street, but it moved when the building was no longer earthquake-safe. The new site was purchased by the church in 1966.  

The new church school and office were completed in 1971. The 800-seat sanctuary was finished in 1973.

Cheryl Long, who is married to Jeffrey Long, was a member of the church and on session when the time capsule was originally buried.

She said seeing the time capsule again has brought up memories of people she knew from 1999 who have passed away, or kids who are now raising their own families.

The items that have resonated with her the most, Long said, are the letters from past members of the congregation who were writing to their kids and future generations. One letter that stood out was from a mother who hoped their kids would celebrate their milestones at the church.

“I think she had gotten married here as well,” Cheryl Long said. “So, she was hopeful that her children also had been celebrating their marriages and baptizing their children here and all of those things that had been important to her growing up.”

Other letters came from the church’s youth group detailing the popular music and movies of the time. Some letters also discussed their concerns from the future, which Cheryl Long said was interesting because of how they seemed so similar to modern teens.

She said the lesson she took from seeing the capsule and messages from previous generations is the importance of carrying on the faith and the church’s message to future generations.

“I (think) the continuity of faith is important,” she said, “and the people that were there before you, the shoulders that we are standing on and the love that those people had for one another is like the foundation. The love they had for Jesus is the foundation we are still growing on.”