The church amid the ruins - January 1994 earthquake in Los Angeles, California

Christian Century, Feb 2, 1994

AS ESTIMATES of the damage from the January 17 earthquake near Los Angeles reached beyond $30 billion, religious groups continued mobilizing to provide emergency relief and longterm rebuilding aid to the area's residents. Churches in southern California opened their doors to provide shelter, assessed damage to their buildings and rallied congregations in response to the deadly quake. Church World Service, relief arm of the National Council of Churches, issued an initial $500,000 appeal and is working closely with the Southern California Ecumenical Council, the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Coalition, the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to determine how churches and other faith groups can contribute to the relief effort.

The quake, which hit in the early morning hours of the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, measured 6.6 on the Richter scale. President Clinton moved quickly to declare the territory around Los Angeles a disaster area. As of this writing more than 50 people have died as a result of the quake. Walter Mees, pastor of Palisades Lutheran Church in Pacific Palisades, reported to a friend on Ecunet, the church-operated computer network, that his house "shook like I've never seen it before."

Archbishop William Keeler, president of the U.S. Catholic Conference, said Catholic churches throughout the nation are responding to the disaster with material assistance and with prayers. "The devastation which has afflicted so many lives has touched everyone in this land," Keeler commented. "So too has the courage and strength with which the people of Los Angeles have faced this trial." Some money has already been dispatched to groups working in the stricken area. The World Council of Churches has sent $10,000, said Kenlynn Schroeder, director of Church World Service Disaster Response.

The United Church of Christ's Board for World Ministries has sent $5,000 to its Southern California Conference for earthquake recovery efforts. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americas Domestic Disaster Response has provided an initial $35,000. And Presbyterian World Service has made a $10,000 emergency grant to the San Fernando Presbytery. Churches in the area continue to respond to the emergency and to assess the damage they sustained.

The Church of the-Brethren announced that two congregations near the epicenter at Northridge had opened their doors and are serving as shelter for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed. Said Allyn Axelton, a United Methodist minister and board president of the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Coalition, after visiting a number of congregations: "Several of our churches and people are using church buildings and parking lots as places to wait until things settle down. There are families living in tents and cars, crowded around bonfires and barbecues. In our communities, many people are immigrants from all over the world, and many live in apartments that are no longer safe, so they've moved out of their places." An estimated 30 percent of the 2 million people living in the San Fernando Valley are refugees, undocumented persons and farmworkers-those often most vulnerable to natural disasters.

Bob Fernandez, executive of the San Fernando Presbytery, said major damage was reported at a number of churches in the presbytery; most severely damaged was St. James Presbyterian Church in Tarzana, where the entire ceiling collapsed.

United Methodist Bishop Roy Sano said between six and ten United Methodist churches will need structural assessments by engineers to determine whether they are safe. And Lutheran disaster officials said as many as 20 Lutheran churches may have suffered some damage. One of the damaged UMC churches was the newly renovated, 700-member Northridge United Methodist Church, located just 200 yards from the collapsed apartment building that claimed 15 lives moments after the quake struck. A $3 million renovation of Northridge had just been completed in September. Pastor David Richardson estimated that the quake damage amounted to at least $100,000.

"We had people living right on top of the epicenter," said Patrick Moody, executive pastor of Shepherd Hills Baptist Church in Chatsworth, just a mile and a half from the Northridge apartment complex. He told Associated Baptist Press that the church, one of the largest Baptist congregations in southern California, suffered damage amounting to as much as $500,000. United Church of Christ officials reported that at least three UCC churches experienced damage.

Leon Phillips of the ELCA's Domestic Disaster Response said congregations in the region are being asked to donate emergency materials to Lutheran Social Services of Southern California, which is working at emergency centers to distribute aid. Items needed include bottled water, sleeping bags, blankets, diapers, and flashlights and batteries. He said food is not needed at this time. Congregations beyond southern California, Phillips noted, are being asked not to send material goods because of limited warehouse space and rapidly changing needs,