ybvdadminuser(RNS)—Like many of their neighbors, leaders of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center watched in horror as the wildfires destroyed homes, businesses and entire neighborhoods, with the destruction playing out on social media and television news.
Among the destroyed buildings was the temple, whose entire building was lost to the fire on Wednesday (Jan 8).
“We are unable to access the neighborhood to confirm, so can only watch the news along with you, and hold each other tightly,” the temple’s leadership wrote in a letter on the center’s website. “We want to assure you that last night, we were able to rescue all our Torah scrolls from the sanctuary, chapel, and classrooms. They are safely in the home of one of our congregants.”
Many of those congregants had also lost their homes to the fire, according to the synagogue’s leaders. The temple’s cantor told the New York Times that she’s raced to the building to save the congregation Torah scrolls before fleeing. “The smoke was so dense that we had to get out of the building,” she told the Times.
The Pasadena Jewish Temple was one of a number of houses of worship lost to wildfires raging in and around, which have killed 5 people, destroyed 2,000 buildings and forced 130,000 residents from their homes, according to the Los Angeles Times. They include a mosque, a Catholic parish and several Protestant churches, according to news reports.
In Altadena, the Masjid Al-Taqwa was burned to the ground, with images of the still smoldering mosque site posted in social media. A GoFundMe site to raise funds for rebuilding the mosque, which has been in existence for more than 30 years, has already total more than $85,000. A pair of Protestant congregations, St Mark’s Episcopal Church and nearby Altadena Community Church, across East Altadena Drive from each other on the same block, burned in tandem.
“It is with a broken heart that I share with you the news that our church building is lost,” the Rev. Carri Grindon, rector of St. Mark’s, wrote in an Facebook update Wednesday “It caught fire at around 6:30 this morning and is gone.”
Grindon added that church members also lost their home to the fire. The church also lost two rectories to the fire.
“We will need one another in the days ahead as we face these devastating losses,” she wrote. “I am here for you, and I know our community will hold together, and love and support one another through whatever lies ahead.”
Altadena Community Church, a red-tiled roofed United Church of Christ with a bell tower, known for its community outreach, also burned in the fire. “It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of our church building to the Eaton fires,” the church’s social media announced Wednesday. “Many of our members have lost their homes too. Thank you to those who have reached out to us with prayers and help. We will regroup to find our path forward.”
Church leaders asked for prayers for the food pantry, pre-school, and choral that used space in the church building as well as to others affected by the fire.
“To all the faith communities, including Pasadena Jewish Center and St. Marks Episcopal across the street who also lost their buildings, we send our love and condolences and always our prayer,” a note on the church’s Facebook page read.
In Pacific Palisades, another community affected by the wildfires, Corpus Christi Catholic Church and its school was lost in the fire, according to the National Catholic Reporter. The church’s website features a photo of the burned-out frame of the church, accompanied by words of mourning: “I have no words. Our beautiful church in Pacific Palisades, as of this morning.”
According to NCR, nearby St. Monica’s Catholic Church was spared from the fire and served as a gathering place for people fleeing the fire. Other parishes also offered shelter, reported Angelus News, a news site run by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, while 65 Catholic school were also closed down due to the fire. St. Andrew’s School in Pasadena also offered a gathering spot for people displaced by the fire. The school’s principal, Jae Kim, tried to offering a listening ear and a bit of comfort to those affected by the fire.
“You can hug them, pray with them, listen to them as best you can,” Kim told Angelus News. “What else is there to do?”
Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church was also damaged in the fire, with photos of the smoldering church side posted on the church’s Facebook page. While the church’s bell tower still stood, much of the rest of the building appeared to be in ruins. The Rev. Grace Dawn Park, the church’s pastor, also posted images of the burned-out church building in her Instagram feed.
“My beloved church,” she posted.
Eon Walk, a staffer at the Pasadena Church of Christ, recounted seeing the church go up in flames. Walk told the Christian Chronicle newspaper that she’d gone to check on the building and some burning brush nearby. Then the fire spread to the church itself.
“One of the windstorms blew, and it was like a fireball, and it blew straight toward me,” Walk told the Christian Chronicle. “All I could do was just back up, and that was it. I had to get out of there.” News cameras would later show the entire building ablaze.
At least two United Methodist churches were destroyed in the fire: the Community United Methodist Church in Pacific Palisades, whose burning building was photographed by the LA Times, and the Altadena United Methodist Church, according to an update from the California-Pacific Conference of the UMC.
“Today we are facing trouble as fires rage in our cities,” Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank said in a video message posted on the conference website. “As we work together to care for those who are fleeing for safety, we remember God’s help and strength; we lean on each other for courage and encouragement; and we are grateful for every life saved and for the outpouring of love.”
The Salvation Army, the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, and Atheists United in Los Angeles, are among the groups collecting funds to aside victims of the wildfires.
