Altogether, the fires destroyed fourteen houses of worship, according to the Rev. Amy Aitken, pastor of Pasadena FUMC. On the night of the fire, FUMC opened its doors to evacuees and, in the weeks that followed, distributed food, water, and masks while continuing Meals on Wheels service.“ We just opened the church,” Rev. Aitken said. The story has repeated elsewhere. Rev. Aitken says surviving congregations across the area made room where they could. Two United Methodist churches lost in the fires— Altadena United Methodist and Pacific Palisades United Methodist— are worshipping in
Left: Pasadena First United Methodist Church held‘ A Service of Hope’ after the fire to comfort fire victims.
Above: First United Methodist Church volunteers distribute emergency aid. borrowed church spaces while planning to rebuild.
The PJTC plans to rebuild and is working with designers, as well as city and county planners. The new design will offer a view of the mountains from the prayer space and from a rooftop space. Pieces of the campus will feel familiar, although it is designed for modernity.“ Judaism has changed a lot in 100 years,” Levy said.
On the eve of the fire’ s one-year anniversary, PJTC congregants gathered in the campus parking lot. Holding lanterns, about 400 people walked together onto the building site, where the new footprint had been marked with tape. The ceremony was hard but healing, Levy said.“ We built a Mishkan,” she continued— a“ dwelling,” a portable sanctuary.
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