Firefighters are still struggling to win the week-long battle against deadly wildfires in Los Angeles. The fires have consumed 40,000 acres and killed at least 24 people. An estimated $20 Billion of property has been damaged. As of current writing, more than 200,000 residents have evacuated and many churches have been burnt. Unfortunately, some houses of worship, such as Altadena Community Church have been destroyed.
Pastor Rev. Paul Tellström says that in addition to the church building, many churchgoers have been displaced. “It’s shocking,” said the pastor. “It’s a reminder to us of all of the fragility of life.” He made a post to Facebook chronicling the damage and posting “WE are the church! We can worship anywhere.” He admitted This is a big blow, but it will not impede our progress. The most important takeaway is that we are the church — not the building.”
Another local Church, Altadena United Methodist Church, also burned to the ground. Rev. J. Andre explained “Our building is gone,” he wrote. “But YOU and US, are the church.” While many churches were damaged, one Palisades church says it is bearing “witness to the goodness of God” as the church escaped the deadly fire. Justin Anderson, shared images on social media of the undamaged faculties.
He is the lead pastor of Calvary Church of Pacific Palisades, which meets in a 70,000-square-foot structure. He made posts on X which stated “If you are tracking the LA fires at all, you might know that the worst of it is in the Palisades. In fact, the fire started just about a mile from the church and put the church (and the adjoining school) in immediate danger.”
He wrote “I was finally able to get back to the church this afternoon to assess the damage. We’ve probably lost the sanctuary and will have to rebuild it. But miraculously the rest of the property is nearly untouched.” He went on to say, As bad as the sanctuary is, the fact that this is the only damage is an actual miracle. The rest of the campus and the home we are supposed to move into were both surrounded by fires but were saved.”
The pastor recognized that many had been devasted by the fires and offered up prayers. He stated “I’d love for you to pray for those who have lost most of their worldly goods. The pain and shock are real and won’t be fully realized for years.” He also asked the community to pray for Calvary Church of Pacific Palisades and their mission work.
He wants the church to act as a “resource for those in the area” and they “can get back to our mission.” Anderson added “This is the time for that community to bear fruit. This is the time for those bonds to really come into fruition, to really come into action because we are going to need each other more now than we ever have.” He went on to state that his church needs lean on each other for support during a difficult time.
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She shared “It is the strength of our community and the mercy of God that is going to get us through this whole process.” He concluded by saying, We are in this together Calvary. We are going to mourn together. We are going to rejoice together. We are going to rebuild together when the time is right. And every step along the way we are going to bear witness to the goodness of God.”
Featured image: Screen shot from embedded video.