‘Unbelievable’ loss: Historic First Lutheran finds strength in God, church

A corner in Altadena, Calif., reflects the devastating effects of the Eaton wildfire on Wednesday, Jan. 29. The fire, which began on Jan. 7, is now 100% contained. (LCMS/Sarah Hjulberg)

From LCMS’ “Reporter by Sarah Hjulberg

LOS ANGELES – On Jan. 7, a wildfire broke out in the foothills of Angeles National Forest, just north of Altadena, Calif. The Santa Ana winds, blowing at record speeds, rapidly spread the flames. Within hours, entire neighborhoods in Altadena were ablaze.

The Eaton fire would become the second most destructive wildfire in California history, burning over 9,000 structures and displacing tens of thousands of people. Together with the Palisades fire, which began on the same day 30 miles to the southwest, the two wildfires would burn nearly 60 square miles and leave 29 people dead.

As of Feb. 1, almost a month after they began, the Eaton fire and the Palisades fire are both 100% contained.

“Grieving with those who grieve”
Pauline Daniels was with her elderly mother, Shelly Daniels, when she saw a police car go down the street. She heard only the tail-end of an announcement the officer was making over a megaphone. Then, a neighbor filled the Daniels in: they needed to evacuate. Thankfully, the next day both Shelly and Pauline heard that their homes had escaped the fire — Shelly’s thanks to a neighbor who stayed behind to keep the fire at bay with a garden hose.

The only warning Harriet and Michael Dickens received was a neighbor’s knock at the door in the middle of the night. The power was out, so they had trouble finding the essentials, but they grabbed what they could and fled. The next morning, they found out their 100-year-old home had burned.

Bernadette Hendry stopped by the grocery store on her way home from work in Pasadena. “I’m driving home, and I just see this orange sky,” she said. Within about an hour of getting home, she and her husband, Greg, got evacuation notices on their phones.

“All my groceries are now in ashes,” Hendry continued. They heard the next day their home of nearly 30 years was gone.

“For me as pastor, there was a total feeling for about the first four days of total helplessness,” said the Rev. Christopher Schaar, pastor of Historic First Lutheran Church in Pasadena, Calif., where the Daniels, the Dickens and the Hendrys are all longtime members. “There was absolutely nothing anybody could do, and [everything] just seemed so unbelievable.”

All in all, six families at First Lutheran lost their homes, and an additional six families (who are former members or immediate family of current members) have also had total losses. One former student of First Lutheran’s school died in the fire.

As they grieve the loss of their homes, many of these families also grieve the loss of their neighborhood: Altadena’s historically Black community is a tight-knit place, where most residents — and generations of families — had lived for decades. For instance, four generations of the Daniels family, many of whom have been baptized, confirmed and married at First Lutheran, all live in Altadena. Three of the five homes in their family were destroyed.

“Yet I will praise Him”
On Sunday, Jan. 12, just days after the fire, God’s people gathered in record numbers for worship at First Lutheran, including members who had lost their homes.

“Remember when the young Jesus was in the temple and His earthly parents were looking for Him?” said Harriet Dickens. “He said, ‘I was in my Father’s house.’ So we knew we had to go to our Father’s house, where we could be loved, prayed for, supported.”

“[I’ve been] encouraging [the congregation] that we need to be together around Word and Sacrament,” said Schaar. “People are recognizing that we need to be together at a time like this, and, as Scripture says, to grieve with those who grieve and to rejoice with those who rejoice.”

Schaar said that Psalm 42:5, “Yet I will praise Him,” continually comes to mind. “The psalms are just full of that refrain. It seems like every single psalm talks about some kind of tragedy. And yet, ‘I will praise Him!’ … God is going to be at work through all this in some way.”

In the four weeks since the fire, God has been at work through His people: Schaar said he has seen his congregation come together and be the Body of Christ to each other in many ways, such as cooking meals for each other, helping victims with insurance paperwork, and replacing Bibles for members who lost theirs in the fire. The congregation has also given generous financial support to their members who lost houses, as well as to another family who lost their livelihood in the fire.

“The church is a family,” said Johnnie Douglas, who is a former Lutheran school teacher and an alumnus of Concordia Teacher’s College in Seward, Neb., now Concordia University, Nebraska. Her home was also destroyed by the fire.

The Rev. Dr. Ross Johnson (right), director of LCMS Disaster Response, meets with the Rev. Christopher Schaar, pastor of Historic First Lutheran Church, Pasadena, Calif., in front of the burnt remains of a member’s home on Jan. 29 in Altadena, Calif. (LCMS/Sarah Hjulberg)

Response efforts underway
The congregation has also raised thousands of dollars to purchase Target and Visa gift cards to help victims (both their own members and those in the community) kickstart the process of replacing lost belongings.

“When I give the gift cards to our members,” said Schaar, “I say, ‘When you give this to your friends, tell them it comes from your church, and that we care about them. Whatever needs you have, we’ll try to meet them, physically as well as spiritually.”

LCMS Disaster Response provided an additional $10,000 in Visa gift cards so the church could continue to support their community, as well as an initial $25,000 grant to help with emergency rehousing needs.

Many of First Lutheran’s families plan to rebuild. The Daniels, Hendrys, Dickens and Johnnie Douglas all said their insurance companies have been helpful and supportive so far. But in the meantime, semi-permanent housing is a serious need.

“All of L.A. County has been in a severe housing crisis for years, especially affordable housing. I don’t know where 8,000 or 9,000 households of people are going to go,” said Schaar.

The Rev. Dr. Ross Johnson, director of LCMS Disaster Response, is also working with Schaar to come up with a plan so that renters, homeowners who don’t have house insurance, or other underserved people don’t fall through the cracks as recovery efforts progress.

Johnson was also able to visit the congregation and provide spiritual care to fire victims. “We look forward to the resurrection, not to the things of this world, to find comfort,” he told First Lutheran members before praying with them. “Forgiveness isn’t based on how I feel or what is going on in my life, but on the promises of Jesus.”

Support the response
LCMS Disaster Response
LCMS Pacific Southwest District