By Mary O’KEEFE

“The night of the church fire.” For those who lived in Crescenta Valley nine years ago, this is a night everyone remembers.

On Dec. 20, 2006, the choir at Christian Life Church at the corner of Ramsdell and Montrose avenues was rehearsing for Christmas services when a fire that was later suspected of beginning in the attic ripped through the church. Fortunately no one was injured but the fire ended up destroying the building.
However, it was not its destruction but the church’s resurrection that was the focus of the almost 200 people who attended Sunday’s service.

“We were really excited,” said Pastor Randy Foster.

The church has been rebuilt. Church leaders and the congregation are ready to move beyond the memories of the fire and into the future.

“We are excited about being back on our feet again,” Foster said. “We are going to continue to grow our focus on the community. We want to work [toward meeting] the needs of the community.”

The church members have focused their efforts on local elementary schools including La Crescenta Elementary School.

“We find out what their needs are and if there are any families in need,” he said.

The church has been holding services on the property in a small building but members are happy that they now have much more room to praise God’s name.

“Our worship team did a great job [at Sunday’s service],” he said.

Music filled the church, literally and figuratively.

“We focus on contemporary worship [music] and we have a lot more room to spread out. We added drums and a bass guitar,” he said. “People commented on how much they [liked] the music.”

Although the service was about the new building and moving forward, there were still some memories that lingered.

“It was very emotional, specifically for those who were here in the building during choir practice [on the night of the fire],” he said.  “Sometimes something has to die in order for something to come alive.”

Church services are Sunday at 10 a.m. The church is located at 3013 Montrose Ave. For more information, call (818) 249-5801 or visit www.clcag.net.

  Mary Okeefe