They were called each by name, the congregants of Altadena Community Church who have lost their homes: Marlane. Krishna. Andrew. Lily. Patricia. Bill. Arun. Beth and Joe. Elsa. Susana. Nick.
From the pulpit of Montebello Plymouth Congregational Church on Sunday, Rev. Mitchell Young asked if there were any more names to pray over.
Bill Wentzel, 69, using his iPad to stream the service online, paused in filming and said: “Bill. And Martin.”
Wentzel and his husband Martin Lo, 72, may have lost their Altadena home at the Eaton fire on Jan. 7, but this day, they had work to do.
About 100 people attended the service, with a couple more via Zoom, Facebook and YouTube, that brought two United Church of Christ congregations together in the wake of the fire that gutted the historic Altadena house of worship.
“We are not the building, we can worship anywhere, and that’s what true for today,” said Rev. Paul Tellstrom, pastor at Altadena Community. “We can move in whatever direction we want to, with God’s help.”
Lynne Hanamoto of Temple City distributed name tags and pointed guests to a bowl of 1,000 paper cranes, or orizuru, originally shared to signify peace and healing after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Hanamoto has friends from Pacific Palisades and Altadena who have lost their homes.
“What I hope to give here is comfort, prayers, bonding and friendship to our sister church,” she said, gesturing to a row of colorful priestly stoles sewn by church member Naita Young.
Young’s husband, Mitchell, a pastor at Montebello Plymouth, asked Tellstrom to pick several stoles to re-start his 30-year collection of robes and stoles, all lost to the fire. For this service, Tellstrom selected a stole printed with rainbow puzzle pieces, highlighting his church’s advocacy for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families.
Rev. Rachael Pryor, conference minister with the Southern California Nevada Conference of United Church of Christ, said the Altadena church was a place where it was hard to be lonely.
“Community is right there in the name of your church,” she said. “It was a place where people might feel they could become part of a community, a place where people who used to live there wish they could go back.”
Michael Okumura is a retired banker who had to evacuate his 90-year-old Pasadena home on Jan. 7. His parents are members of Montebello Plymouth and he is a longtime congregant at Altadena Community. His home survived the fire even if the church where he was baptized did not.
Okumura would arrive at the 1947 Spanish-style church and open the church for Sunday services, serving as “the sound system guy” at the loft, later sweeping outside the sidewalk. His cellphone photo gallery includes photos of the church’s expansive sanctuary with side arches, Judson Studios-made stained glass windows, the final shots including images of Tellstrom at the altar, and music director Evan Griffith standing by the Casavant Freres organ that has played music at the church for 78 years.
The black cross hanging behind the altar, underneath a round stained-glass window, is wavy at the bottom, Okumura points out.
“It’s not perfect,” he said. “Our journey is in front of us and we are small but mighty.”
Pryor and Tellstrom guided the 24 church members in a post-service discussion of next steps. Tellstrom announced his retirement two days before fire destroyed the church and he has not given a definite last day.
“Remember it hasn’t even been a week since the fires, and the fires are not even put out, so we aren’t trying to have any answers to what happens next,” Pryor said. Church members may not yet be at a place to see the potential and not just the loss.
Patty Judy of Pasadena said the congregation has always evaluated its mission, as its membership demographic changed.
Judy and her husband Juan Dela Cruz, and their three children have belonged to Altadena Community for 25 years.
“I’m sad and hopeful and at the same time grateful for the people who are here supporting each other,” said Judy, a teacher at Sierra Madre Elementary.
She is hopeful they will find items that survived the fire: a marble statue of Jesus they couldn’t quite find a place for in the church, and the oversize marble baptismal font where their children were baptized.
Generations of families have worshipped at Altadena Community Church, Dela Cruz said.
For Wentzel and Lo, the loss of their home on Skywood Circle two blocks from the church sparked a roller-coaster ride of emotions.
“I’m physically and emotionally drained,” the retired material science engineer said. “There are times I feel okay. But mostly, I’m tired. Today helps a lot.”
During the service, Tellstrom nodded to his husband Carl Whidden right before Whidden sang the hymn, “The Anchor Holds” (“the anchor holds, in spite of the storm.”) The couple have been together for 40 years, and married for 10.
Whidden said what has happened in Altadena Community Church’s history will be measured before or after the fires of 2025. His husband has heart enough to lead his congregation in the difficult days ahead, as they bolster him up in his health struggle too. And Whidden points out that the Eaton Fire failed to obliterate one thing.
Photos from the ruined façade of Altadena Community show one word in a simple, sans serif font, still completely legible.
The word is “church.”
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