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LOS ANGELES — <\/span>Rabbi Amy Bernstein says the wind-whipped fire in January 2025 that scorched much of the Pacific Palisades, destroying her home and damaging her synagogue, \u201cblew everything open\u201d for the community\u2019s faith leaders.<\/p>\n \u201cIf our hearts must break, let them break open,\u201d said the rabbi, who leads Kehillat Israel where 300 families out of 900 lost their homes. \u201cThis tragedy has really pushed us closer to one another. We’re working to change the things we need changed.\u201d<\/p>\n Faith leaders both in the Pacific Palisades and in Altadena and Pasadena \u2014 devastated by the pair of fires<\/a> that tore across Southern California \u2014 have relied on interfaith and community partnerships to rally congregants who are picking up the pieces 16 months later<\/a>.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve had to learn on the fly about insurance coverage and local land use regulations while still trying to keep their scattered flock together and raising money for basic needs. Pastors in Altadena have had to fight to protect the rights of Black people who decades ago found pathways to home ownership<\/a> in that community despite redlining \u2014 but now risk losing their land to outside developers who sense an investment opportunity.<\/p>\n And throughout this span, faith leaders have had to cater to the emotional and spiritual needs of their communities and think about how they want to rebuild their sanctuaries that were lost or damaged in the fire. More than a dozen houses of worship burned<\/a> to the ground or were damaged.<\/p>\n This would have been difficult for faith leaders to handle but for the interfaith relationships that became closer and stronger after the fires, said the Rev. Grace Park, associate pastor at Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, which burned down.<\/p>\n Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, Jews and yogis have not just found common ground in human suffering and loss, but have learned how to lean on one another in a time of dire need, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a sense of mutual affection and respect, learning from each other and leaning on one another,\u201d Park said. \u201cWe\u2019re sharing the joys and the deep valleys of what it means to lead through a time of tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n Brother Satyananda, a senior monk at the Self Realization Fellowship, lost his living quarters and belongings in the fire. Much of the campus, started by Paramahamsa Yogananda who brought ancient spiritual practices from India to the West, fortunately survived the fire. <\/p>\n Satyananda recalls one day when Bernstein picked up on his sadness and offered him \u201cmotherly compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe share the same profession where we\u2019re tuned to people in need,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, our relationship has changed because we\u2019re tuning into each other. There\u2019s a greater level of trust.\u201d<\/p>\n Pastor BJ King, who leads LoveLand LifeCenter, worked with the late Rev. Cecil B. Murray to heal communities and build interfaith coalitions after the 1992 Los Angeles riots<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBack then, there was a choice whether or not to get involved,\u201d he said. \u201cBut with these fires, there is no choice. It has affected everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n King\u2019s congregation has switched to online services after their leased church building in Altadena suffered smoke damage. Twelve families lost their homes. In addition to helping meet people\u2019s basic needs, King has created a program organizing gatherings to connect therapists with those in need of mental health.<\/p>\n \u201cMany people didn\u2019t even know they needed that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n One of the most powerful roles faith leaders have played after the fire is to \u201ccontinue to talk with power, people in charge,\u201d said Pastor Jonathan DeCuir, who leads Victory Bible Church in Pasadena. He and others in the region have continued to meet with local officials and even conferred with Gov. Gavin Newsom to keep things moving for their communities.<\/p>\n DeCuir chairs the board of a nonprofit called Legacy Land Project, which provides financial aid, legal support and guidance on building contractors, as well as medical care to those affected by the fires.<\/p>\n The disaster has brought a level of camaraderie that DeCuir says he has never seen among the region’s clergy.<\/p>\n \u201cDenominational lines have been crossed,\u201d he said. \u201cEven if we have different theological stances or approaches to ministry, we are all now looking at how to care for our people and community. If we don\u2019t come together, Altadena will never ever be the same. The people won’t be there anymore. That, to me, is terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n While a church is more than a building, physical churches do appear as \u201cbeacons of hope\u201d in traumatized communities, said Pastor Mayra Macedo-Nolan, executive director of Clergy Community Coalition in Pasadena. Her group has lobbied for houses of worship to be prioritized on the same footing as businesses in the rebuilding plan.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen people start seeing churches rebuilding in Altadena, they\u2019re going to feel like it\u2019s going to be OK because the churches are coming back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n On April 26, the Altadena Fountain of Life Church broke ground to build a new sanctuary after their house of worship, which had stood for over three decades, was destroyed in the fire. Pastor Jonathan Lewis, who ministers to about 75, hopes the church will be ready in time for Easter next year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be a Resurrection Sunday for our church, too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Alexis Duncan, who grew up in Altadena attending that church, came to the groundbreaking with her 6-year-old daughter. She lost both her home and her church building.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means everything to me that they\u2019re rebuilding because I want the church to be there for my daughter as she grows up,\u201d she said. \u201cThis new beginning gives me and my family hope and the encouragement to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n Some churches like Altadena Community Church, a United Church of Christ congregation, are pausing to rethink their future purpose. The Rev. Michael Lewis, who took over in February after the previous pastor retired, said the congregation is looking into several possibilities for the one-acre lot, including affordable housing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that a church is not intended to be a landlord and the pastor is no property manager,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, we\u2019re also thinking about who is able to return to Altadena? How will this rich, economically diverse community that was scattered by the fire come back?\u201d<\/p>\n The church has been around since the 1940s. A haven for actors, poets and musicians, the former sanctuary also served as a vibrant performance space. Lewis said they hope to incorporate a performance stage into the new facility.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll look different from what we had before,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce we figure out how to build community, we can decide what physical structures will help us support that community.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Kehillat Israel, on May 15, members will carry their Torah scrolls back to their sanctuary, marking one of the first returns by a house of worship to the Palisades since the disaster.<\/p>\n Judaism has had \u201ca long history of starting over,\u201d Bernstein said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s encoded in our cultural approach to the world, that there are things that can always be taken away from you,\u201d she said. \u201cBut what you become can never get taken away.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration<\/a> with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n