Relief Underway at Church Sites Hardest Hit by Northridge Earthquake
Episcopal News Service. January 27, 1994 [94010]
Bob Williams, Director of Communication for the Diocese of Los Angeles.
In the aftermath of what is being described as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, Episcopal Church relief efforts continue after the January 17 earthquake centered in Northridge, California. As many as 60 people died as a result of the earthquake, more than 8,000 people were injured and an estimated $30 billion in damage was spread over three counties in the Los Angeles area.
First-round relief checks are being forwarded through the Diocese of Los Angeles to Episcopal congregations and outreach programs in areas hardest hit by the earthquake. Within 24 hours, the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief sent a $25,000 emergency grant to the diocese.
"Los Angeles seems to have had more than its share of challenges in recent months, and we are grateful for the caring and prayers of many people," said Los Angeles Bishop Frederick Borsch following the quake.
"We have again learned much about self-reliance and about interdependence and cooperation," Borsch added. "We have stories of courage and sharing to tell. Despite all the wrongs and selfishness we know are in our world, we can marvel, too, at the kindness and willingness to sacrifice."
Most severely affected congregations in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, Santa Clarita and Santa Monica are responding to scores of displaced parishioners and severely damaged church buildings, while the bishop's commission on AIDS ministry is helping to relocate a number of seriously ill clients left homeless by the tremor and numerous aftershocks. As with last fall's firestorms and other previous disasters, diocesan relief efforts focus on financial contributions, leaving collection of food and clothing to the Red Cross and other service agencies.
New information from local reports has given a clearer picture of the damage. For example, Trinity Church in Fillmore has shifted on its foundation, according to senior warden Laura Bartels. The congregation is also at work assisting displaced families.
In Granada Hills, several parishioners of St. Andrew and St. Charles' Church (the parish serving Northridge) were displaced. One family escaped from a collapsed apartment building in Northridge. Chet Page Sr., 79, was rescued after the ceiling of his bedroom fell, leaving him 18 inches beneath the rubble. Page's son climbed through three floors of the destroyed building in order to rescue his father.
Borsch visited parishioners and clergy the day after the quake. The church is structurally sound after jolts that toppled the altar and pews, but the parish hall cannot be used due to a fallen ceiling, according to the rector, the Rev. Gregory Frost. Contrary to early reports, the rectory was not destroyed.
"Our faith does not promise that if we adhere to it life will be trouble free most of the time," Suffragan Bishop Chester Talton told parishioners in a sermon at St. Andrew and St. Charles' on January 23. "We believe that in the long run of this life, good will ultimately prove more powerful than evil. And we are called to nudge that good into reality."
The facade of the historic Church of the Advent in the West Adams district of Los Angeles has collapsed, stained glass windows rolled out of their frames, the altar triptych was badly damaged and other parish structures have moved from their foundations, according to the rector, the Rev. Canon Lewis Bohler, Jr. The congregation had recently completed an $89,000 project to strengthen the structure against earthquake damage. At Project New Hope, a nonprofit agency in downtown Los Angles established by the bishop's Commission on AIDS Ministry, staff are helping to relocate clients with HIV/AIDS who have been left homeless.
The Rev. Lynn Jay, vicar of St. Stephen's Church in Santa Clarita, conducted on-site services on Sunday, January 23, outside the congregation's sanctuary that sustained substantial structural damage, including shattered plate glass windows. "God does not make earthquakes or landslides or deformed babies," Jay told parishioners at the service. "God doesn't decide there is going to be an earthquake in Northridge... God doesn't do that kind of work. God does work by helping people cope with disaster."
At St. Augustine-by-the-Sea in Santa Monica, the roof was damaged where it attaches to the walls of the building, causing an estimated $100,000 in damage, and the pipe organ is extensively damaged. Structural engineers have declared the church to be essentially sound, and the sanctuary was reopened after being closed for a week.
Yet, despite the damage, the congregation and the wider community have gathered around the parish with a determination to rebuild, according to the rector, the Rev. Fred Fenton. "It has energized the congregation. Spirits are high and there is a real sense of determination to continue the witness of this caring and outreaching congregation," he said. Individuals from across the diocese and the state have telephoned with offers to help and "it is wonderful at such a time to know that you have meant a lot to parishioners and the wider community," Fenton added.
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