A bell tower is all that continues to be of Altadena Baptist Church, founded by a Swedish congregation within the Twenties and now a racially diverse faith community.
About 15 families from the congregation also lost homes to the wildfires, said the Rev George Van Alstine, 88, who has been on staff on the church for greater than 50 years.
Van Alstine said a vault containing the church’s history was likely lost in the hearth, including records from the church’s earliest days.
He said congregations locally — each Christian and non-Christian — have often worked together to serve their neighbours, including running the Altadena Congregations Serving Together food pantry, which had been housed across the road at Altadena Community Church and was also destroyed by wildfires.
Van Alstine said church members were gathering online Friday night to examine in and to speak about how one can help their neighbours and plan for the longer term. For immediately, he said, they’re taking things in the future at a time.
“We’re surviving,” he said.
At least 4 wildfires are currently raging in Southern California, based on the Los Angeles Times. At least 24 people have been reported dead and greater than 12,000 structures burned, including no less than a dozen houses of worship. Among them are Pasadena Jewish Temple, Corpus Christi Catholic Church and no less than 10 Protestant churches.
Other congregations suffered fire damage but weren’t completely lost, including Calvary Chapel in Pacific Palisades, where the sanctuary was damaged but not your entire campus.
“We probably lost the sanctuary and may have to rebuild it,” Justin Anderson, who began because the church’s pastor this week, posted on X. “But miraculously the remaining of the property is almost untouched.”
Anderson told Religion News Service that the hearth has been each devastating and unpredictable, with some homes and constructing destroyed and others spared, seemingly randomly. The church had planned to carry a meet up over the weekend for congregation members but needed to postpone it due to changing nature of the hearth. Services on the weekend were to be held online and Anderson said he hopes to remind church members that God continues to be with them.
“We aren’t alone on this tragedy,” he said. The church has also began a disaster fund to assist those with the congregation and their neighbours. Anderson said that the congregation might be of help to other congregations and the broader community during this time.
A hermitage and other buildings on the Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center were also lost to the hearth, based on an update on the retreat centre’s website.
“It makes complete sense to know that our faith is tested on fire!” the centre’s director wrote in an update. “But we’re pilgrims of hope as Pope Francis exhorted us this yr. Hope is not going to disappoint us. We will get better and be back serving you again.”
Van Alstine said Altadena faith communities affected by the hearth will proceed to assist their neighbours and can begin planning for the longer term in the times to return. For now, he said, the church office for Altadena Baptist will likely be based in his house. And he hopes church members will soon have the opportunity to get a have a look at the constructing firsthand.
He also said the bell within the church’s tower was from a former church in Pasadena and was used for summoning volunteer firefighters within the late 1800s and early 1900s. The bell tower still standing symbolises that the church isn’t gone, Van Alstine said, even when the constructing has burned down.
“Maybe we should always have any individual go up there Sunday and ring it,” he said.
© Religion News Service
