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Covenant Churches in Southern CA Report on Fires
SAN DIEGO, CA (October 27, 2003) - Fires in Southern California have caused at
least 13 deaths and burned nearly 850 homes by Monday morning.
As of Monday at noon (CDT), none of the physical structures of Covenant
churches or retirement facilities had been directly affected. That
includes Oak Hills Covenant Church of Vista; Community Covenant Church,
El Cajon; Clairemont Covenant Church, Canyon Springs Covenant Church and
College Center Covenant Church, San Diego; Rancho Vista Covenant Church,
Chula Vista; Grace Covenant Church, Spring Valley, and Mt. Miguel
Retirement Village, Spring Valley. However, families from various
churches have already felt the effects of the fires.
Here is information from some of those locales:
- Jack Hawkins, pastor of Canyon Springs Covenant Church, says that
the fires have cut right through the area near their church. He isn't
able to return to his home. The church of 500 canceled Sunday services
at a local elementary school. "At 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, a guy told me
that he had to grab the shirt off his back because the flames were
coming over his house. We prayed, we packed up and went home and we
canceled the second service. We're meeting at 5 p.m. (PST) today to
pray," Hawkins says.
- Youth pastor Eric Johnson of Oak Hills Covenant says that the local
schools have been evacuated because of the poor air quality in San
Diego's North County.
- Marc Bellaart, associate pastor at Community Covenant Church in El
Cajon, says that the East County fire is within two miles from the
church as of Monday morning. Many families in the area are being evacuated.
- Pastor Greg West at Clairemont Covenant Church states that many
people who attend the church have had to evacuate their homes.
- Pastor Mike Wilson of Grace Covenant says, "It's almost like living
on another planet. The sun is completely hidden from all of the smoke
and ash. Pretty much everything in San Diego County has been shut down."
- Pastor John Rose of Rancho Vista Covenant reports that parishioners
from his congregation have had their homes saved for now by the fact
that there are lakes near their residences.
- Kathleen Jenkins, from the Covenant Retirement Communities office in
Chicago, reports that the Mt. Miguel campus is not in immediate danger,
with the closest fire about five miles from them. But the residents and
staff are staying indoors and wearing masks, activities and events have
been canceled, off-campus transportation has been limited to
emergencies, and everything outdoors is being covered with white ash.
Many staff members have had to evacuate their homes, and others are
unable to get to them because of road closures.
According to a Monday story by the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper,
this is the largest fire in San Diego County in 33 years - it has swept
across nearly 200 square miles.
Flames have forced entire communities to evacuate and shut down several
major highways, leaving the region virtually paralyzed. Mild winds on
Monday have helped calm things a bit, but many San Diego County cities
have evacuated voluntarily.
Fires have gotten so bad that the San Diego Chargers professional
football team has offered the use of Qualcomm Stadium as an emergency
site for those who have been evacuated from their homes. The team's
Monday night game against the Miami Dolphins has been moved from San
Diego to Tempe, Arizona, (where the Arizona Cardinals play) after San
Diego's Mayor Dick Murphy urged the National Football League to move or
postpone the contest.
Earlier in the weekend, fires hit San Bernardino County, near where
Alpine Covenant Camp is located in Lake Arrowhead. According to Wilson,
Alpine officials evacuated the camp and have told others not to drive up
in that area.
At the Evangelical Covenant Church of Simi Valley, located in Ventura
County, the fires have not burned homes or affected the physical
properties of parishioners. However, many attendees are firefighters and
police officers and they have been extremely busy. The church conducted
worship services but associate pastor Bruce Bruns shortened the service
and had an open prayer time for the church to minister to each other.
Fires are more concentrated on the east end of Simi Valley, a city of
more than 100,000, said parishioner Arvid Krueger.
More about the fires and their effects on Covenant congregations can be
found by checking www.covchurch.org.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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