Local church prays for 3 members believed missing in San Bruno fire

The tearful congregation at Bethany Presbyterian Church in San Bruno gathered Sunday morning in grief and gratitude.

Three members of the small church remained unaccounted for and were presumed dead: Greg Bullis, his teenage son William, and his elderly mother Lavonne.

"Most of us came particularly with the Bullis family in mind," said Rev. Don Smith during the 10 a.m. service. "Lord, there are times when grief is worse than others, pain more enslaving of our lives. Today, the Bullis family comes with grief and sorrow -- not because they know, but because they don't know.

"Move along the process, so we may know the truth," Smith prayed. "Lord, embrace this family in your arms. Give them the sense of your presence."

Two other missing members of the congregation had been found safe, and many of the churchgoers at Bethany Presbyterian struggled Sunday morning with conflicting emotions.

They were stunned by their community's disaster, but grateful for the city's first responders and the outpouring of support. Smith spoke of the disaster assistance center set up to help those displaced. And he introduced two members of the Presbyterian Church USA disaster response team that had been sent to San Bruno to help out.

"What love and support everyone has given," exclaimed one congregant during open prayer. "We all have so much to be grateful for. Yes, the event has been horrendous. But we have to take our blessings into account."

-- Maria LaGanga in San Bruno, Calif.

Comments

[benh57]

This has absolutely nothing to do with LA or Southern California. It's not even a 'local church', it's a San Bruno church. Why all the San Bruno stores on LA Now?

[Holly]

Have some respect for the people affected by this! You obviously haven't been watching the news lately. It's being covered by CNN which means it's not just local it's national & has been acknowledged as a "state of emergency" so it's no surprise LA newspapers, media etc is covering it! Stop being so close minded and remember you and your city may experience something like this one day & I don't think you would appreciate a callous, ignorant statement such as yours being posted.

[Angela]

It's so sad what's happened in San Bruno. What's even more disturbing is that until PG&E gets to the bottom of this and there is an explanation for the tragedy, it could happen anywhere. Thankfully the community is pulling together in many ways to support eachother. I hope the Bullis family will get anwsers and find closure, soon. I couldn't imagine being in their position. My heart goes out to them.

Benh57, to anwser your question about why all the San Bruno stories in LA now? News is news...anywhere, everywhere... The LA Times covers local news, California news, National news and World news. Hopefully that helps with your confusion.

[macon school]

Terrible to hear about the missing people. I will keep them and everyone unfortunate enough to have to deal with that fire