Fires in LA destroy places of worship, but people persevere

FLames were already attacking the campus of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center when cantor Ruth Berman Harris and three companions rushed in to rescue the sacred Torah scrolls.

Physically, this is now all that remains of the 80-year-old synagogue, which was destroyed by wildfires that also destroyed a mosque, a Catholic congregation and a half-dozen Protestant churches. Many members of these communities were among the thousands of Angelenos who lost their homes this week. As the threat of new fires remained, clergy faced the great challenge of providing comfort and considering ways to rebuild and recover.

“There’s absolutely nothing but a few walls and empty space,” said Melissa Levy, executive director of the Pasadena Jewish Center.

Still, hundreds of his parishioners went to the site to say “goodbye” to the places where they celebrated milestones in their faith and family life, Levy added.

Overcome road closures to save Torah scrolls

Berman Harris — along with her husband, another congregant and an administrator — managed to get the Torah scrolls into their cars and reach safety before the synagogue went up in flames Tuesday night.

“It is the heartbeat of every Jewish community,” she said of the Torah. So she rushed in, despite the road closures, to try to save the scrolls after a parishioner who lives near the temple called her to say the flames were getting closer.

Several houses of worship were destroyed in Pasadena and Altadena, including a mosque – Masjid Al-Taqwa – leaving the small, tight-knit community mourning the loss of a popular gathering place. One of its board members lost his house in the fire, along with at least ten believers, said volunteer imam Junaid Aasi.

“So many families called it their second home,” Aasi said of the mosque. It was founded as an African American place of worship and has attracted diverse young families as well as professionals and students over the past 20 years.

The backyard had become a place of communal celebration every night of Ramadan breaking the fast, with children engaging in artistic activities such as painting murals.

“It was a sense of belonging for us,” Aasi said.

Samar Ghannoum, a professor at the University of Redlands, has been praying at the mosque with her family since the 1990s. It was Ghannoum’s daughter who brought attention to the fact that the mosque was being destroyed.

“When she called and said, ‘Mom, the mosque is burned’ and burst into tears, my heart broke,” Ghannoum said Friday.

Earlier in the day, she had gone to midday prayers at another mosque where worshipers were performing “Salat al-Istisqa,” a prayer for rain rooted in the Islamic belief that God’s mercy provides sustenance.

Community fundraising efforts have already begun again, with donations topping $100,000 as of Friday evening. For Friday prayers, Aasi shared a list of neighboring mosques; For Ramadan, believers hope to be able to secure a space to come together as a community again.

The wildfires destroyed the Altadena Community Church and several homes of members of the congregation of about 60, said its pastor, the Rev. Paul Tellstrom.

“It’s shocking,” Tellström said. “It reminds us all of the fragility of life.”

Church service without a building

Built in the 1940s, the church was known for its colorful stained glass and popular choir.

That of the church Facebook page shared images of the building in flames. Another photo showed community members singing outdoors. Underneath it read: “WE are the Church!” We can worship anywhere.”

“This is a big blow, but it will not hinder our progress,” said Tellström. “The most important insight is that we are the church – not the building.”

According to reports, the Altadena United Methodist Church also burned down, as did the homes of many members Facebook posts by his pastor, Rev. J. Andre Wilson.

“Our building is gone,” he wrote. “But YOU and WE are the church.”

Fire thwarts church’s weekend wedding plans

Ricardo Springs II, a church member who came to view the building’s remains, said the congregation had planned to host the wedding this Sunday of a couple who recently joined the church.

The devastation was “just heartbreaking,” he said. “God will get us through this.”

“My sons grew up in this church, my wife grew up in this church,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday. “It’s a great church community.”

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Altadena was also destroyed.

“It is with a broken heart that I share with you the news that our church building has been lost,” Pastor Carri Patterson Grindon wrote on Facebook. She said several parishioners lost their homes and church staff were in the process of building a network of mutual support.

“We will need each other in the days ahead as we face these devastating losses,” she wrote. “I am here for you and I know our community will stick together and love and support each other no matter what lies ahead.”

Prayers – and faith – strengthen affected communities

St. Matthew Parish, an Episcopal church in Pacific Palisades whose campus includes a preschool through eighth grade school, reported that all of its clergy residences were destroyed, but the sanctuary, middle school and other buildings were intact.

The church has hosted online gatherings using the Compline liturgy or night prayer.

“We feel your prayers,” school counselor Rev. Stefanie Wilson said at Thursday evening’s online meeting, responding to concerns from people near and far. “We need you and we want you and we feel that you are with us now.”

In Pacific Palisades, the Corpus Christi Catholic Church was destroyed. His website featured a photo of the church’s skeletal remains, accompanied by the message: “I am at a loss for words. Our beautiful church in Pacific Palisades, as of this morning.”

Also destroyed was Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, which posted photos on its Facebook page showing the church intact before the fire and in ruins afterward.

Across affected areas, faith leaders worried about community members who had lost their homes and found temporary shelter with friends or in hotels. But they find hope in their faith and their communities.

“It hasn’t shaken my faith,” said Melissa Levy of the Pasadena Jewish Center. “If anything, it has been strengthened by the support we have received and can give.”

Synagogues that still exist provide a place for worship

More than 600,000 Jews live in the Los Angeles area, the second largest community in the United States. The Pasadena synagogue also lost its preschool, and fires in Pacific Palisades severely damaged another synagogue and a Chabad center, said Rabbi Noah Farkas, president of the Jewish Federation Los Angeles.

Synagogues that are not in danger will hold weekend services for those congregants who cannot attend their regular temples, and volunteers have helped with everything from food and cash to providing a special text message hotline for hundreds of displaced families , who have no idea what, if anything, most of their homes survived the fires.

“I’ve been here 32 years and literally everyone I know has lost their house,” Rabbi Zushe Cunin said of his Chabad center’s neighborhood. “Apocalyptic is the word I used.”

As clouds of smoke formed in the area earlier this week, Cunin said he and other staff members escorted about 100 children from their school through increasing traffic jams to safety on the Pacific Coast Highway, then raced back to rescue the scrolls. The fire damaged classrooms and other rooms, but the sanctuary is intact.

But while they remain committed to rebuilding, the immediate priority for Cunin, Levy and Farkas is to help their community members and the larger communities that have lost everything they have.

“Even for wealthy people, everything is gone,” Cunin said.

—AP photojournalist Manuel Valdes contributed. Associated Press religion coverage is supported by the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.