Out of the Ashes of Arson, Church Is Resurrected

Esther Rasbach still remembers the sick feeling that overtook her four years ago as she sat in her Hollywood living room and watched the nearby Hope Lutheran Church erupt in a pre-dawn blaze.

Within two hours, an arsonist’s fire had destroyed the 1915-vintage building on Melrose Avenue, where Rasbach’s husband, H.K., had served as pastor for 34 years before handing over duties to their son, Mark, in 1981.

Since that day, the gray-haired 68-year-old woman has continued to watch from her front window as the church has risen, literally, from the ashes. First there was nothing more than a giant tarpaulin to shelter the shivering congregation. Later, a rickety scaffolding forced parishioners to wear hard hats during services.

Completion Day

Four years and $1.3 million later, Rasbach sat proudly on Sunday with the other 170 members of the congregation who had gathered inside the freshly painted sanctuary to celebrate the long-awaited completion of their new church.

“I’ve watched it go up every step of the way,� she said. “It’s truly been a miracle.�

Construction on the 15,000-square-foot brown stucco building began more than two years ago, financed mostly by small donations from the Lutheran congregation as well as from the predominantly Jewish community that surrounds the area.

Redondo Beach artist Todd Vander Pluym II generated close to $70,000 by contributing several sand-sculptures, the most recent being a 75-ton, two-story rendition of the Holy Family that stood protected under a blue tarp on the church’s front lawn during the holidays.

And, re-enacting an ancient biblical parable, about $40,000 was raised in eight weeks when Pastor Mark Rasbach handed out $10 bills and told the congregation to make the money multiply. Some baked bread, others made jewelry, a few organized musical shows and one man, who requested anonymity, went to Las Vegas to apply his talents and “did OK.�

“At first, the fire was a really scary thing,� said Leslie Stewart, president of Hope Lutheran’s eclectic congregation. “But the more we looked at it, we saw that it was really a blessing.

“We realized that the congregation is the people in it, not the building the people are in,� she said.

Although the carillon bells in the church’s four-story tower had to be borrowed for the holidays and the sanctuary pews are still no more than folding chairs, most of the people who attended the 207th consecutive Sunday service since the fire seemed to share that view.

Like a Family

“Putting up with the inconvenience does not bother me at all,� said Gerry O’Rourke, 49, of North Hollywood, a congregation member for 15 years. “We’re really like a family. That’s our big thing here.�

“The fact that the congregation stayed together really impressed us,� agreed Jeanette Lambert, 27, who began attending services with her fiance just three months ago. “It showed that there was a lot more to it all than just a church.�

Even Helen Jean Nelson, who was visiting the church on Sunday for the first time, said that she could easily sense the joy of the occasion.

“It’s a very special celebration,� the West Los Angeles woman said. “I just wanted to be a part of it.�

The service, which featured Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) as a guest lay preacher, was intended to kick off a monthlong celebration of the church’s revival, culminating with an official dedication ceremony on Feb. 1.

“We try to show that the church can be very celebrative,� said Rasbach, the 41-year-old pastor. “We celebrate everything, even the church burning down. In it, we know we can overcome.�