From California ashes, sense of unity rises

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 Connexiones Church of the Brethren, as well 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 Mennonite Disaster Service (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 busy helping their communities recover.

Not just “rich people”

In the community 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, 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 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.

“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.”