Amid LA Wildfires, Houses Of Worship Serve Communities Devastated By Destruction
For 28 years, the Kehillat Israel synagogue building has stood as a symbol of resilience. Despite being located in an area vulnerable to the Pacific Palisades fires that started earlier this month, the structure has remained intact — a stark contrast to the homes of Senior Rabbi Amy Bernstein, her colleagues and many congregants, more than 200 of whom lost their homes.
“The cantor, who’s been here for 40 years, remembers when they built the building 28 years ago,” Bernstein said. “The guy who was building it said, ‘I’m going to build you a synagogue that won’t burn.’ And here we are.”
Though the synagogue itself is currently inaccessible and will likely remain so for the next several months, Kehillat Israel continues to provide support through partnerships with Sinai Temple and the Cayton Children’s Museum. The congregation’s focus has shifted to meeting urgent needs; it’s raised over $300,000 in grants to support affected members with housing, medical expenses and more.
As flames continue to sweep across Los Angeles, the impact on local faith communities has been profound. Yet, the catastrophe has also highlighted the spirit of generosity and solidarity among Angelenos. Many congregants, displaced by the fires, have found refuge in the homes of fellow members, while others have offered their properties at cost to help those who’ve lost everything.
Bernstein’s home was in the Highlands of the Palisades. After the destruction, she and a German Shepherd mix she had rescued “four weeks before the world burned down” were welcomed into the home of a congregant in Santa Monica. Eventually, they had to evacuate farther south to another friend’s house in Venice. Now, Bernstein has returned to Santa Monica and been assured that she and her dog can stay as long as needed.
While about a third of synagogue’s families had their homes destroyed, the majority of the other 900 families had to evacuate.
“At first, we just had to find a place to lay our heads,” Bernstein said.
She and her congregants did just that. They scattered across Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, San Diego, Playa Vista, the desert and into parts of central California.
But many of these situations were temporary. For families who had lost their homes, the next objective was finding a place to rent.
“The competition for that was fierce, but people were very generous,” Bernstein said.
Several congregants who owned extra properties decided they couldn’t profit from renting them out while their neighbors were homeless, so they offered those spaces for rent at just the cost of property taxes.
Despite the synagogue’s stability, it remains inaccessible, and it is likely to remain unusable for a minimum of 6–8 months while the fires are brought under control and cleanup takes place. Bernstein expressed gratitude for Sinai Temple, which has allowed them to use their sanctuary, and for the Cayton Children’s Museum, which has committed to letting the congregation use their space free of charge for the foreseeable future.
She said that even after the six to eight months, much would still be uncertain. “Even if we get into the building, our people won’t be in the neighborhood. The whole neighborhood burned down — the whole city burned down. So even if we get in, who are we serving?”
In the meantime, the congregation knows there are many to serve. And most victims could use cash. For many, their destroyed house was their largest asset. “We’ve raised over $300,000 to give grants to people in the community who need it,” Bernstein said.
Impact on the arts
While LA may be known for its elaborate mansions owned by well-to-do movie stars, many who live in the Palisades make modest salaries — even those in the film industry. Joel Pelsue, founder and president of Arts and Entertainment Ministries, a discipleship program that teaches Christian artists to be salt and light in mainstream industries, shared some stories of congregants who lost everything.
Pelsue told Religion Unplugged about a friend, an editor in the Palisades, who had “worked on everything from political campaigns to MTV to videos for hip-hop stars — he’s done it all. But he lost everything. He’s not a wealthy guy, and he’s taken out extra jobs to put his son through school.”
Another of Pelsue’s friends, a screenwriter, inherited his home from his parents, who bought it 80 years ago. “He could never afford that house today — it was his parents’,” Pelsue added.
“It’s so hard to take in,” Pelsue said. “Every day, you go from going about your business to being on the verge of breaking down in tears, talking to people who’ve lost everything.”
Bernstein echoed this sentiment.
“People think of the Palisades as being only for wealthy people,” she said, “but it’s not. When the Palisades was built, it was Yemensville. A lot of people bought their homes for $30,000.”
Buying a new place in L.A. is not an option for many of these original homeowners. Selling those homes with their added value would have been the only way to afford a new one.
Miracles and response
There are also miraculous stories. A family's unshaken faith emerged in the form of a lone statue of The Virgin Mary left untouched by the relentless flames and teams of chaplains helping to feed survivors and firefighters. The famed Getty Villa, which houses an extensive art collection along with 40,000 antiquities and church art like stained glass and statues, was spared the fire’s fury, yet remains closed.
In other parts of the city, communities less directly affected by the fires are doing what they can to help.
“Our initial response was just to try and check in with everyone we could in our church,” said Jeremy Treat, pastor of Reality Church of Los Angeles. “I was just scrambling to figure out who’s OK — where are people?”
Treat told Religion Unplugged that Reality Church doesn’t have many members in the worst-hit areas, but some members had lost their homes, and many had to evacuate. The church’s first priority was to find out who had lost their homes and match them with members willing to house them.
While Treat’s family remained safe, a few days ago, they were right on the edge of the evacuation zone and unsure whether they would have to “get the kids out of bed and go.”
Treat added: “I set an alarm every two hours throughout the night and woke up to check my phone each time.”
Reality Church meets every Sunday at Bernstein High School and also owns a small building nearby called the Hope Center. While fires continue to ravage neighborhoods surrounding them, the school and the Hope Center have managed to avoid the flames.
When Los Angeles Unified School District shut down, the church pivoted to using the Hope Center, holding four short services there. While many churches facing similar challenges decided to meet online, Treat felt it was important to be with people in person.
He explained that unless people were evacuating, they were advised to stay in their homes due to the poor air quality. “We really wanted to come together in person and just ask people face to face, ‘How are you doing?’ It was so good to have that space to collectively grieve and look to the Lord together.”
The Hope Center is used year-round to serve the homeless, providing 1,500 meals each week from Monday to Friday. The fires have introduced a new wave of grief to confront for Reality Church, accustomed to alleviating the everyday tragedy of hunger — but it’s is doing its best to help.
Treat explained that the church’s three main focuses moving forward are families without homes, churches that have lost their buildings and foster children. The church has started a relief fund, which members have already begun donating to.
“I know several churches throughout the city who lost their buildings,” Treat said, “and we would love to make sure that as these communities rebuild, churches are at the heart of them.”
Foster care is also a key priority for Reality Church, as many families in the congregation foster or have adopted children. The church runs an annual foster care camp for kids across Los Angeles and has an ongoing mentorship program for foster children. “The idea of packing up your bags and needing to leave immediately — that would be more triggering to a foster child than anyone else,” Treat said. “So we want to show extra care and support for foster families during this time.”
Despite the challenges ahead, Treat is encouraging his congregation to take time to grieve.
“Grief is a pathway to hope,” he said. “This is a really hard time for our city, but I see God at work in the midst of it all. When I look through the story of Scripture and history, we often see God showing up and working most powerfully in the most difficult times. So, while I’m grieving loss, I’m also expectant and hopeful for what can come from all this for our city.”
Matthew Peterson is Religion Unplugged’s Podcast Editor an d Audience Development Coordinator.