Jennifer Garner's Family Church Burned Down In The Fires, But There Was One Bright Spot When They Sifted Through The Rubble: 'Imagine My Surprise'

It’s been a devastating month for the Los Angeles community following multiple massive wildfires. Most notably, the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires led to the loss of thousands of homes and structures each. The situations significantly affected the Hollywood community and even shut down productions. Jennifer Garner has been a resident of the Pacific Palisades community for 25 years and, while her own home survived the fires, she has shared that her family church was a casualty. While it’s been a difficult time for her community, she shared a “moment of light and hope” found in the rubble.

Last month, Jennifer Garner revealed that her church, Community United Methodist Church of Pacific Palisades, burned down in the fire. The actress also unfortunately confirmed that she also lost a friend, who was part of her church community and could not evacuate in time. As the community continues to grieve, Garner shared one bright spot found in the rubble of the structure, which was founded back in 1922. Per her Instagram:

Apparently, Zach Kemper and Ross Chitwood, who both worked at the Community United Methodist Church of Pacific Palisades and lived there, were going through the rubble of the structure. It was then that they apparently found a mug that Jennifer Garner gifted the pastor and music director during the holidays just ahead of the fires. The couple sent Garner the above picture of the gift after it survived a wildfire and was amidst what’s left of the crumbled building.

Garner expressed her “surprise” about the mug being found which she learned about through a message from Kemper and Chitwood that read “We found one thing.” The actress shared the moment to spread some hope before extending “prayers” for everyone else in the Pacific Palisades community, from homeowners to business owners who may currently returning to rubble and searching themselves for little morsels of what’s left.

When previously talking about the fires, the 52-year-old mother of three shared that she could “write out a list of 100 friends who lost their homes." As a result of what's happened, she's dealing with survivor’s guilt since her own home was not ultimately affected by the fires. Nevertheless, she's been proactive during this time, as she teamed up with World Central Kitchen’s Chef José Andrés to provide meals for those in need.

While a (growing) number of celebrities don’t live in Hollywood, Jennifer Garner has called the Los Angeles community her home for decades and has been connecting with her community during this difficult time. Her ex husband and father of her children, Ben Affleck, was also previously evacuated from his home, and it ultimately didn't burn down either. This turbulent time is reportedly why Affleck and Garner have spent more time together as of late.

Actors like Anthony Hopkins, Jeff Bridges, Mel Gibson, John Goodman and married couple Adam Brody and Leighton Meester’s home are among the stars who lost their homes. Additionally, people such as Kevin Smith and Mandy Moore were affected by evacuation mandates as well but felt lucky to come back to their homes still standing. It goes without saying that there's a lot of destruction in the aftermath. Still, one would hope that others join Jennifer Garner's lead in lending a hand to those who need it and find glimmers of hope within the tragedy.

Here at CinemaBlend, our hearts go out to everyone rebuilding their lives right now following the wildfires.