Church congregants return to site of destroyed church for first time ahead of Easter

Community members in the Pacific Palisades area in Los Angeles County returned on Good Friday to the site of a 103-year-old church that burned down in January during the Southern California wildfires.

And while the Community United Methodist Church’s building is nothing but rubble and ashes at the moment, Pastor John Shaver told Fox News Digital Saturday it will remain a “community without walls” until it’s rebuilt. 

“As many share familiar ancient words worldwide, ‘Christ is Risen!,’ we know these words of hope are for the Pacific Palisades Community United Methodist church family, the people of Pacific Palisades, the Altadena community and all who need the strength to keep moving forward worldwide,” Shaver said. “This great gift of hope gives us the fortitude to rebuild, and, in the meantime, we will strive to be a faith community (even without walls) that is a center of hope and healing for our neighbors near and far.”

Shaver, who had led the church for just six months before it burned down, three years after its centennial celebration, gathered with a handful of community members at the site Friday before they embarked on a cross walk through the neighborhood. 

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They stopped at nine locations in the devastated neighborhood, reading Bible verses at each stop to represent a different part of Jesus Christ’s path. 

“On this Easter Sunday, even though we know there are still significant challenges to come, we give thanks for the hope God gives us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Shaver told Fox News Digital. 

He added that the Community United Methodist Church “wants to share God’s love and hope through our words and service to everyone. We hope that by being the hands and feet of Christ, we can build bridges of unity with others throughout the amazing city of Los Angeles.” 

The church was built by the same people who founded Pacific Palisades more than a century ago and, over the decades, it has borne witness to weddings, funerals, community gatherings, sports competitions, holiday celebrations and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. 

Inspired by the Chautauqua social movement of the 1920s, the founders started a “peace movement,” building the church and offering arts, music and cultural programs to residents, Shaver told The Associated Press.

The congregation has continued services since the fire at other sites, but it was its first time back to the site Friday. 

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Shaver, along with most of his congregation, lost his home in the Palisades Fire. 

The Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, which was further inland near Pasadena, destroyed tens of thousands of homes and businesses and killed 29 people, including a congregant of Shaver’s church. 

Shaver remembered 85-year-old Annette Rossilli during the cross walk and stopped in front of the rubble where his own house once stood. His family moved into the home last July. 

“It’s also a reminder how much of what we have, we take for granted,” Shaver told the AP. 

And while the church burned down, the community was able to save important parts of it like stone tiles, a metal cross that stood atop its tower and another stone cross.

Shaver said the church will try to find ways to incorporate those items when the new church is built. 

Thomas Knoll, a resident who didn’t attend the church and isn’t religious, told the AP he attended the event because it felt “like sort of a funeral for Pacific Palisades.” 

Knoll also lost his home. 

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 “The whole story of crucifixion and resurrection is appropriate here,” he said. “This town will be rebuilt, but it’s going to take a long time.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.