One of several sprawling wildfires in greater Los Angeles has destroyed St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and School in Altadena, while All Saints Church, Pasadena, offered an overnight shelter for two nights to those fleeing widespread damage. The fires have all been made more threatening because of fierce Santa Ana winds.
“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, Altadena, wrote to her parishioners on January 8. “It caught fire at around 6:30 this morning and is gone. … I have also received word from several members of our community that their homes are gone. We will need one another in the days ahead as we face these devastating losses. I am here for you, and I know our community will hold together, and love and support one another through whatever lies ahead.”
Responding to the news on Facebook, Brian Sellers Peterson remembered taking Archbishop Desmond Tutu to St. Mark’s to see a stained-glass window that depicted Tutu.
All Saints Church first offered shelter to its parishioners, but soon expanded its hospitality to anyone threatened by fires. “We do not have beds, but we can offer a place to be out of harm’s way,” All Saints said on its website. “If you have sleeping bags and blankets please bring them.”
Ryan Carter of the Pasadena Star-News reported from All Saints about the nearly 200 people who took shelter there.
“Dorothy Clark sat inside an office at All Saints Church in Pasadena on Tuesday night, still stunned at what just happened, and uncertain about what comes next,” Carter wrote.
“It’s the strangest feeling,” said Clark, 88. “I’ve never ever had an experience that replicated in any way a wandering soul with no place to go. To go through this kind of experience was just a bit much more than I bargained for.”
The Diocese of Los Angeles has launched a Fire Response and Resources page, and welcomes donations to its One Body & One Spirit Annual Appeal.
The diocese lists several parishes, in addition to All Saints, that are providing relief to those affected by the fires:
- San Gabriel Valley: St. Barnabas, Pasadena; St. James, South Pasadena; Covina, Holy Trinity;
- Los Angeles: St. John’s Cathedral, Los Angeles; St. Mary in Palms, Los Angeles; St. Paul’s Commons, Echo Park; Holy Nativity, Westchester
- L.A. South Bay: St. George’s, Hawthorne; St. Cross, Hermosa Beach; St. Peter’s, San Pedro
- Orange County: St. Michael and All Angels, Corona del Mar; St. Clement’s by-the-Sea, San Clemente
- Riverside County: All Saints, Riverside
- Santa Barbara County: All Saints by-the Sea, Santa Barbara; St. Mark’s in the Valley, Los Olivos
St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, also of Pasadena, announced on Facebook that it has launched a ’Dena [Pasadena] Strong campaign to help provide relief. The parish’s brief Facebook post says: “Show up & show out call-to-action to the Saint Barnabas church family, loved ones & friends to to immediately show our love, Saint Barnabas style!”
