Members of a modest California church destroyed by the Eaton fire are drawing strength from their faith and hope from the lone remaining structure still standing on the site of their former building: a cross.
The Lifeline Fellowship Christian Center in Altadena was one of thousands of structures destroyed by the Eaton Fire, which ignited Jan. 7 amid strong winds and raced more than 10,000 acres before it was contained.
Members of the congregation now are meeting at a different church building about two miles away as they await the next steps to rebuild.
Amid the ashes and charred rubble of what once was their building, a purple and white cross stands.
Pastor Charles Dorsey told Fox News, “It did give me hope, and I felt strength. And I was happy that the cross still stands because it’s the work of the cross that we are able to be forgiven. It’s the love of the cross, the work on the cross, that we’re able to be redeemed. And it signifies our existence and how we’re able to even have strength in the midst of sorrow.”
Lifeline Fellowship isn’t a church filled with affluent members. It’s a congregation made up of “very diverse, hardworking people.”
Days after the fire, more than 40 people entered the church’s new temporary home, ready to worship the God who spared their lives. The theme that Sunday was “beauty in ashes.”