San Francisco – Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi announced today that Rev. Devon Jerome Crawford, Senior Pastor of Historic Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, will be her guest for tomorrow’s State of the Union address.
Rev. Crawford is a nationally respected faith leader and organizer whose work sits at the intersection of faith and moral leadership, public policy and grassroots advocacy. As Senior Pastor of Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, he leads a historic congregation dedicated to the pursuit of community.
“Rev. Devon Jerome Crawford represents the very best of faith in action. His leadership reflects a deep moral clarity and an unwavering commitment to justice, dignity and the belief that our nation can be better than it is,” said Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. “Throughout his ministry and public service, Rev. Crawford has brought people together to confront some of the most urgent challenges of our time—including the work of building a more inclusive democracy.”
Speaker Emerita Pelosi continued: “Rev. Crawford’s voice reminds us that faith is not meant to be passive, but active and demanding, calling us to stand up for the vulnerable and to act with courage and compassion. I am honored to recognize him as my guest in Washington tomorrow, and to lift up his example of service rooted in love, justice and the pursuit of a more perfect Union.”
“With gratitude to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, I come to the State of the Union as a witness to a nation in moral crisis, where trust in our institutions has been eroded and righteous indignation is the rightful response to a broken and unaccountable governance,” said Reverend Devon Jerome Crawford, Senior Pastor of Historic Third Baptist Church of San Francisco. “We have watched American citizens killed in the streets defending their neighbors, children terrorized by state violence, and elders held hostage in budget battles that strip dignity and life from the most vulnerable.
Reverend Crawford continued: “In this moral moment, I stand anchored in a higher allegiance, to the sovereign God who has made of one blood all people to dwell upon the face of the earth, and to the uncompromising demand of love and justice that refuses to yield to fear, refuses to capitulate to division, and refuses to bless systems that deny the sacred dignity of every human life.”
A Birmingham native, Rev. Crawford previously led the Multifaith Initiative to End Mass Incarceration—founded by Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock—served in leadership roles at Morehouse College and Harvard Kennedy School, and has guided national efforts on racial equity, voting rights and public safety reform.
