California’s wildfires have ravaged the LA area, leaving a trail of destruction that seems almost too vast to comprehend. While the fires take homes, land, and lives, they also claim something profoundly irreplaceable—places of worship.
Churches that once stood as pillars of hope and refuge have been consumed by the flames, leaving behind charred ruins, broken hearts, and congregations unable to gather. What comes next?
When I consider the devastation and toll of this fire, it is hard not to see it as symbolic of so many other things. The flames and destructive power of fire have swept through institution after institution that I remember as strong and enduring.
This is not about nostalgia for an America that once was, nor about a longing for a “greatness” rooted in a culture of the past. This is not a MAGA moment.
Rather, it feels to me like grief for those who have lost so much, as I have written elsewhere. The ashes are real.
Yet, within the ashes lies the opportunity to rise.
Read it all in The Anglican
The Lost Churches of California
- St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Altadena
- Altadena Community Church in Altadena
- Altadena United Methodist Church in Altadena
- Community United Methodist Church in Pacific Palisades
- Pasadena Jewish Temple in Pasadena
- Pacific Crossroads Church in Santa Monica
- Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Pacific Palisades
- Kinneloa Church of Christ in Pasadena
- Altadena Baptist Church in Altadena
- St. Matthew’s Episcopal School in Pacific Palisades
- Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Christian School in Altadena
- Lifeline Fellowship in Altadena
- Altadena Church of the Nazarene in Altadena
- Pasadena Church of Christ
- Fountain of Life Church in Altadena
- Mater Dolorosa Hermitage in Sierra Madre
- St. Mark’s Episcopal School in Altadena
- Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church in Pacific Palisades
- Jewish Chabad Center in Palisades Village
- St. Elizabeth Catholic School in Altadena
- St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church twin rectories in Pacific Palisades Theosophical Society Library in Altadena
- Altadena Baptist Church in Altadena
- Scripps Home Gloria Cottage at the MonteCedro
- Episcopal Retirement Community in Altadena
If I have overlook any church or synagogue, please let me know