What a day.
Late yesterday afternoon a wildfire went from birth to fast-moving inferno in just a few hours. I had never seen a wildfire so close up before - and seeing it roaring down the hills - seemingly right on top of us in downtown Santa Barbara was just plain surreal.
Smoke first colored, and then blotted out, the full moon and soon we could see the impossibly tall wall of flames racing over the hill crest toward so many homes...I felt powerless and awed. I stood in the courtyard outside our sanctuary watching the flames and feeling torn by all the things I needed to do - calls I needed to make - people I needed to make sure were okay. And I thought, "What can I possibly do in the face of something like this?"
The power went out just then, and we stood in the dark. After a while I noticed that the choir, which was there rehearsing, had not come out when we lost power, so I went in to check on them.
And how beautiful!
They were sitting in the vast dark womb of the sanctuary singing, "Silent Night" in a small flickering pool of candle light. Their voices were soft and prayerful and yet filled that big empty space to the brim. How beautiful....
I went to bed last night with smoke-irritated eyes, worried about what morning would bring. And indeed the cost has been high. We spent the day trying to contact members and friends in the evacuation zones: making sure people were out, were safe. Some dear people have already lost their homes and many others do not know what they will find when they are allowed back in to their neighborhoods.
This has been a day of ringing phones, firing emails and far too many questions without answers. But it has also been a day of coming together, a day of love, a day of commitment. Today has been a day in which the caring and generosity of our community has been a powerful force.
It is 3pm now, and I do not know what night will bring. I don't hear as many planes and helicopters flying the church anymore - maybe that's a good sign, maybe things are quieting down, under control. Just pray that the wind doesn't pick up, doesn't change directions.
Every prayer is a welcome today.
