as the nondenominational The Church We Hope For. On January 7, the fire killed 17 people and destroyed 9,414 structures. It also left the three congregations—and their collective 270 members—with no place to worship until the building could be professionally cleaned. Less than two weeks later, leaders from MDS reached out to the Pasadena Mennonite Church to see how MDS could help. The MDS California Unit funded half the cost of professionally cleaning the building, and the three churches raised the rest. Now the congregations, working together, are back into their space—and helping their communities recover. Not just “rich people” In the community of Altadena—just five blocks from the church building—recovery is only just beginning. “Altadena has always been a special place,” said Sharp. “It’s diverse racially and socioeconomically in ways that aren’t found in the rest of Los Angeles County.” Sharp and others who live in Altadena realize they can’t rebuild their community exactly the way it used to be, and that there are many challenges in rebuilding,
Altadena homeowner and Pasadena Mennonite Church member Anne Tipton stands in front of her burnt down residence. She knows the community can’t be the same—too much is gone—but she wants the people who make up the heart of the community to stay and rebuild. “What I want people to know is that, here, the average family is still trying to live their lives every day,” she said.
PRAYING FOR WISDOM EVERY DAY
Juan Pablo Plaza prays for wisdom every day. As a husband, a father of two young girls, and a pastor for the Conexion Church of the Brethren in Pasadena, California, he’s trying to care for a lot of people. Plaza lost his home—a parsonage owned by the church—to the Eaton Fire in January. Since then, he and his family have been living an hour’s drive away from the church, and an hour’s drive from the girls’ elementary school. But Plaza is glad to make the drive. “Our daughters have already lost their home,” he said. “We didn’t want them to lose their school and their friends as well.” The Eaton Fire, which burned more than 9,000 structures in California’s San Gabriel Valley, has affected the entire Hispanic community, especially in the unincorporated community of Altadena, where the parsonage was located. “Fire has no social class,” Plaza said. “A lot of people from my church had jobs cleaning houses—and those houses burned, so they have no jobs now.” He has observed that people who were economically vulnerable before the fire are struggling to survive in a recovery that will take years. Two months after the fire, Plaza reflects on some deep realizations. “I have learned it’s okay to feel sad and feel a sense of peace at the same time,” he said. “The fire has also bought me closer to God.”
“ You realize in times of crisis how important it is that we work together.”
including obtaining permits in California, the ever-rising cost of building materials, and the toxic mix of ash and debris still covering the ground. Yet Sharp, who retired as a civil engineer for the Los Angeles County Department
DAN SHARP WILDFIRE SURVIVOR ALTADENA, CALIFORNIA
of Public Works, sees reasons to have hope. “We know a lot of best practices to help make homes more fire resistant,” said Sharp, who is attending MDS leadership training in mid-March. Several members of all three churches have completely lost their homes, and many families are displaced because their homes are still full of toxic smoke and ash. “It’s not just the rich people,” Sharp wants everyone to know, speaking out against stereotypes that everyone who lives in Los Angeles County is affluent. The three congregations—which before the fire had already periodically gathered for joint services—have grown even closer together, added Sharp. “You realize in times of crisis how important it is that we work together,” he said. “We want to keep the original, eclectic character of Altadena.” But he worries that people will lose hope and leave before long-term recovery can even begin. “People have so many needs—and many of them don’t know help is coming.”
Snowdrifts of ash, an acrid smell, a lung-burning toxic cocktail hanging in the air. After the Eaton Fire devastated communities in California’s San Gabriel Valley, the interior of the Pasadena Mennonite Church building was unrecognizable. “Piles and piles of ash—ash on every horizontal surface,” described church member Dan Sharp. The building, constructed in 1957, is not only home to the Pasadena Mennonite congregation but also the Spanish-speaking Conexion Church of the Brethren, as well From California ashes rises unity
In the Los Angeles County community of Altadena, recovery is just beginning.
See a video of Juan Pablo Plaza and fellow Altadena community members who endured the wildfire: youtube.com/MDSMennonite
STORY: SUSAN KIM PHOTOS: PAUL HUNT
10 behind the hammer
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