‘A Test of Faith’: In Altadena Congregations, No Family Untouched by Fire

ALTADENA, Calif. (RNS) — The Rev. George Van Alstine recalls having to evacuate his Pasadena home as flames from the Eaton fire drew closer. He’d been assured his nearby parish, Altadena Baptist Church, was still standing. But by the following morning, his grandson sent him video of the church engulfed in flames.

The footage was “dramatic and sad,” said Van Alstine, the church’s associate pastor. He could hear his grandson crying as he captured flames emerging out of a church window. “We never expected the fire to sweep across the center of Altadena like that,” said Van Alstine, 88, whose home survived.

On Friday (Jan. 24), Van Alstine walked past the rubble and charred debris of the church. He observed the bell tower that remained intact, and approached the gutted Altadena Children’s Center, which served as a day care on the church property for more than 40 years. He pointed to what used to be his office, where he stored a vast collection of books and where he spent time writing the church newsletter.

The Eaton fire consumed the sanctuary of Altadena Baptist Church, one of at least a dozen houses of worship destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles County. The fire also destroyed the homes of about 20 church families and forced approximately 20 others to vacate their houses due to ash and smoke exposure.

“The family journeys are going to be hard. We have some older people whose family wealth is tied up in their houses. Rebuilding in Altadena is going to be a lot more expensive. … Property taxes are going to be a lot higher,” Van Alstine said. “Rebuilding is going to be fits and starts.”

Debra Blake, the deacon chair for Altadena Baptist, lost her home of nearly 30 years to the Eaton fire.

“This is life, and for me, I don’t even see it as a step back. It’s actually a test. He tests those he loves. I just have the faith. There’s a purpose for this, and we’re going to grow and move on from this,” Blake said.

Included in the destruction was a vault chronicling the history of Altadena Baptist Church, a merger with a Swedish Baptist church that dates back to 1920. The LGBTQ+ affirming church — which racially integrated in the early ’70s – is part of an interfaith network that administered a food pantry and did outreach for the unhoused.

“It’s a test of faith, right? We’ve said for years: ‘The church is not the building. It’s the people.’ Now’s our chance to prove it,” Van Alstine said.

In historically diverse Altadena, where more than 9,000 structures were destroyed in the fire, clergy and faith leaders are reeling from the scale of devastation. Some are mourning the loss of their buildings. Others are trying to reach a dispersed and demoralized congregation. Most have multiple congregants who have lost homes. All are facing tough questions about their future.

First AME Pasadena still stands but the homes of at least 54 of the church’s families burned to the ground. Another 12 families can no longer live in their fire-damaged homes. And as of last Thursday, church leaders were still trying to locate a number of their seniors who only had landlines, said the Rev. Larry E. Campbell, the church’s senior pastor.

“Our first service that we had (after the fire), we questioned God. Then we came to the conclusion (that) it was OK to question God and even be mad at God,” Campbell told RNS. “We had to really go through that as a congregation.”

The city’s first African Methodist Episcopal Church, founded in 1887, First AME Pasadena has about 425 members, Campbell said.

Since the Eaton Fire wreaked havoc to the east of the parish, the church has hosted a free legal clinic with representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on hand and has served as a distribution center for those affected by the fires.

A day of service was held outside the church on Saturday, with hygiene kits and grocery bags arranged by a range of organizations such as the South Los Angeles Muslim Council and the Halal Project. The church also lent its space for Friday prayer to Masjid Al-Taqwa, whose place of worship was lost in the fire.

The Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church held a news conference on Thursday at the Pasadena parish to express its commitment to help rebuild parishioners’ homes.

Bishop Francine Brookins said that while their focus is on the Black community, they are committed to a “redevelopment process that encompasses the entire community.” Brookins said the council was in Southern California for a previously scheduled meeting and decided to tour Altadena after realizing that many church families were impacted.

“I could see brand-new homes being built. I could see intentional community developments where grocery stores and gardens and intergenerational community partnerships are built, and where Altadena goes back to its dream,” said Brookins. “Altadena was a dream community … and it was intentional about bringing people of all backgrounds and all faiths together.”

At the news conference, attendees such as Drexell Johnson — of the Young Black Contractors Association — urged FEMA to be more transparent in how it selects developers and contractors because “it’s almost impossible for Black people and Black contractors to get a fair shake.”

NAACP Pasadena Branch President Brandon Lamar also attended the news conference and stressed that funding should go to Black families.

“These are not just homes. These are generational homes. This is generational wealth, and they are gone. We must make sure that we come together as a community and make sure that every house … is rebuilt into the capacity that we will be here for generations to come,” Lamar said.

Lamar said the NAACP Pasadena Branch is advocating locally and nationally “to make sure that everybody understands that we will not accept any vultures in our community.”

Campbell, the pastor of First AME in Pasadena, said he knows “we are going to lose some people.” Campbell noted that some seniors will likely go live elsewhere with their children. That’s why, he said, they’re looking for ways to connect their members with senior housing in the community.

“There are some who are not going to be able to rebuild, but we want to keep them in the area,” Campbell said.

Connie Larson DeVaughn, lead pastor of Altadena Baptist, sees rebuilding efforts as an opportunity for the church to center the needs of Altadena residents. Decades ago, the church addressed the need for child care with the Altadena Children’s Center. With rents soaring in Los Angeles, Larson DeVaughn said, church members will discuss a range of possibilities, including providing low-income housing on their property to be proactive.

For now, the church is accepting financial donations to help church members who were displaced and to go toward the rebuilding of their new structure.

On Sunday, Larson DeVaughn read notes of encouragement from children and announced donations from other churches during the service, held in the bottom floor of nearby Highlands Church in La Crescenta.

Church members grieved as one recalled visiting his childhood homes that were all lost in the fire. They also highlighted good news, with one member sharing she found an apartment after losing her home to the fire.

In tears, Larson DeVaughn delivered a prayer for those whose lives have been disrupted.

“We pray for all the children who are scared and have nightmares from fleeing in the night. We pray for the elders who struggle with changes and for everyone in between,” Larson DeVaughn said, adding, “We pray for our own Altadena Baptist Church for direction and vision. We pray for the decisions that need to be made and the resources needed.”

Parishioners stood up, raised their arms, and recited lyrics of “Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer.”

“As I labour through the storm/ You have called me to this passage/ And I’ll follow, though I’m worn,” they sang.