While Rev. Canon Susan Russell was evacuated from her home, she joined her parish at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena to open its doors for the victims of the Eaton Fire in Altadena.
In the wake of a disaster, Russell said they no longer had to ask themselves, “What would Jesus do in this moment?” They were living it.
“Over these last few weeks, I’ve seen a congregation I’ve served for 22 years rising to its full stature and living into its best self,” Russell proclaimed.
The blaze reached over 14,000 acres, destroyed 9,418 structures, with an additional 1,073 damaged, and left 17 casualties, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
Of the families who lost everything, 72 are part of the All Saints Church congregation.
In the middle of the night on Jan. 7, the church made its space available for fire victims who had nowhere to go.
“We didn’t have cots or blankets, but we had space,” said Russell. “It started with a dribble, and we ended up with 180 people in, overnight, for two nights.”
They provided internet, made phones available and distributed food and water. She said it reminded her of the parable of Jesus feeding the 5,000. At first, the church didn’t have the resources to feed everyone, but the community “miraculously” showed up, with resources to meet their neighbors’ immediate needs.
“Entering a new year, where the headlines are so much about polarization and division,” said Russell, those two nights at the church exemplified unity across divisions and were “all about being the human family together, trying to take care of each other.”
Carrying Each Other Forward
“When I think about the altar where I celebrated my first mass as a priest, it doesn’t exist anymore,” said Russell, whose first job after being ordained in 1996 was as the deacon and chaplain to the day school at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Altadena.
“There’s so much grief and loss at this moment, not only for people who’ve lost their homes, but also for people who’ve lost community, who’ve lost jobs, who’ve lost a sense of safety,” she said.
Altadena is a town with “its own zeitgeist,” Russell added, a place that “carved out its identity, by those who’ve been red-lined out of Pasadena, and created a community that was intentionally diverse.”
All Saints Church is now figuring out how to serve the community as it mourns and looks toward the future. This entails directing folks from immediate needs to places where they can get longer-term needs met – resources that the city, county and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are providing. But, this also means “building up within the congregation, the resilience we need to be with people for the long haul,” said Russell.
They are establishing opportunities for spiritual care and respite care, where parish members can provide companionship for those who need it. This includes simple acts such as walking with someone or helping keep track of paperwork.
“Some of our older parishioners who are single, just need that extra helping hand, not necessarily a trained professional, but someone who will just be their partner in the journey,” said Russell.
Moving forward, she envisions the church being used as a space not only for supporting those in mourning, but also where the community can address questions of how to rebuild and grow together with grace and unity.
A Call for Unity in a Divided Nation
Russell was born and raised in Los Angeles, under the Episcopalian diocese, which she describes as a place that “both afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted.” A space that serves all people regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status or sexual orientation.
“When I was a young adult coming out in the early 90s, I came out in a church, in a diocese, that embraced me for who I was,” said Russell. “Not every queer kid who thought they wanted to be a priest or pastor either had or continues to have that experience.”
Beyond her duties as a priest at All Saints Church, Russell is also part of LA Bishop Harvey Taylor’s diocesan staff as a canon for Engagement Across Difference. Her role is to create and foster opportunities that “bring people together to talk across all the differences that threaten to divide us, so we could become a people who celebrate difference rather than fear it.”
Many within the Episcopal Church have worked “to offer an alternative to the rhetoric that comes from the religious right,” said Russell. “And, on Tuesday in the National Cathedral, we heard a very brave bishop willing to speak truth to power in a way that makes clear, that there are Christians in this country who want to live lives in a line of love, justice and compassion. Not hatred, injustice and condemnation.”
Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, delivered a 15-minute sermon calling for unity grounded in faith during a time of immense political division, at the national prayer service on Jan. 21, held at Washington National Cathedral.
Since the sermon, Russell said they have been fielding calls from people wanting to learn more about the Episcopal Church.
“Honestly, I’ve been proud to be an Episcopalian before, but I’ve never been prouder than I was on Tuesday,” said Russell. “It was a moment of opportunity, [and] I felt like she rose to it in a pitch-perfect way.”
At the end of the sermon, Budde delivered a plea to newly-elected President Donald Trump, who was sitting in the front row, to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”
Some gay, lesbian and transgender people fear for their lives, Budde said, adding that a similar fear looms over hard-working immigrant families.
“The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras and temples,” said Budde. “I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.”
In 2016 the Episcopal Diocese of LA declared itself a “sanctuary diocese” that will support members of the community who are being targeted by hate due to immigration status or some perceived difference, and resisting the mass deportation policy proposals of the Trump administration.
“What we’re up against right now in this country are voices that tell us that differences are to be feared rather than celebrated, and that is antithetical to the E Pluribus Unum ethos that this nation was founded on,” said Russell. “It isn’t only about people of faith claiming their theology. It’s about Americans claiming their democracy.”
Russell believes Budde’s bravery will inspire others to stand up and fight for their democracy.
“My hope is that we can form coalitions of power and grace that will empower each other to create a world where my grandchildren are not going to have to wonder what it would be like to live in a world where ‘liberty and justice for all’ was not just a pledge we made, but a reality we lived,” said Russell.
“I think it’s within our grasp, but I think it’s going to take hard work, and I think it’s probably going to take all of us with our shoulder to the plow,” she continued. “I’m grateful for people like Bishop Budde, who are helping light the way.”
For more information about the efforts at All Saints Church to support those impacted by the Eaton Fire go to: www.allsaints-pas.org/fire-relief-efforts-and-resources-at-all-saints-church.
Talking the talk and walking the walk. “They will know who we are by out love for one another.”