In a service juxtaposing grief and hope, the displaced congregation of the Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church met Tuesday night, Jan. 6, for a bittersweet gathering that marked the one-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed their church.
“I hate those memories,” Pastor Rev. Matthew Hardin told the group assembled at the Brentwood Presbyterian Church, which has served as their temporary home since spring. “I really do. I hate them. And I was really not looking forward to this anniversary because I knew it was going to stir up those memories.”
Hardin recounted the morning he was called from a meeting at the church to view the smoke rising from the hills where his home had been. He described getting the preschool evacuated and then running on foot a half-mile to Marquez Elementary School because the traffic was so backed up, in order to fetch his own children.
The Rev. Matt Hardin and Associate Pastor Dr. Grace Park lead an evening prayer service at Brentwood Presbyterian Church, which has housed their congregation since the Palisades Fire destroyed their church one year ago, on Tuesday January 6, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)Hardin remembered seeing his church burning on the news, and then later the arduous struggles of dealing with the aftermath — grief and loss, struggles with insurance, and just trying to keep his congregation connected after many left the area.
He said that while many people now wear a t-shirt with the phrase “Palisades Strong” upon it, he fantasizes about getting a shirt that says “Palisades Exhausted.”
“It’s OK to feel both at the same time,” Hardin told the congregation. “It’s OK to not know what t-shirt to put on each day … It’s OK to be honest about what the fire has done to us.”
Hardin said that every person he has met who has gone through this situation has been remarkably strong.
“We are all stronger than we thought,” he said.
Associate Pastor Rev. Grace Park said that while details are still far from settled, the intention is to rebuild their church on the campus at 15821 Sunset Blvd.
“We have the spirit to rebuild, that’s what I’m telling people, but as everyone knows there’s a lot to consider,” Park said, including cost and a long list of logistics.
She said that while it’s been an emotionally charged year, they’ve also been overwhelmed by support presented from all over the world.
“It’s been a very difficult and challenging year … but also a year of hope,” Park said, “because we’re teaching ourselves and we’re reminding ourselves that a church is not just a building, it is a group of people that come together with faith and hope.”
Prayers are projected during an evening prayer service at Brentwood Presbyterian Church on the one year anniversary of the Palisades Fire that destroyed Palisades Presbyterian Church, on Tuesday January 6, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)Cynthia Block, an elder in the church for 23 years, described the bond of the Palisades congregation in particular.
“That was always one of the hallmarks of the Pali Pres family, that it was a family and people hung on and it was generational and families grew up there, so we want to get that back,” Block said.
Sharon Browning, a Palisades resident, became teary in describing the connection among her fellow parishioners with PPPC, as well as its loss.
“It has been a challenge for us,” Browning said. “If you’re a person of faith and you choose to have faith, then you care not only about yourself but you care about everybody else that’s a part of your family, so that’s really hard when you see the pain.”
Consequently, she said, it’s been hard to see displaced congregants no longer participating with PPPC.
“We are trying to keep in touch with them (but) we are blessed that Brentwood has welcomed us as warmly as they have and just done more than we could have imagined,” Browning said.
“That’s one of the angels that has come to us,” she said.
Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer.
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