COBB >> For almost two years since the Valley Fire destroyed over 75,000 acres of Lake County, a wooden cross — with stenciled words “He Is Risen” — has leaned on one of the few trees that endured the fire on Cobb Mountain. The cross was placed by members of the Cobb Mountain Community Fellowship as a pronouncement of their faith after finding out that their church had been turned to ash.
On Sunday, June 25, the church itself began to rise. Members held a groundbreaking ceremony to honor their promise of building a new structure for the community.
On September 12, 2015, the Valley Fire obliterated a total of 1,955 structures, including 1,281 homes. The Fire claimed four lives and four firefighters were severely injured. The Church is located on Highway 175, near where the fire originated and burned down approximately two hours after the fire started. Four members of the congregation not only lost their church but their homes, according to William Edmunds, associate pastor for the church.
But there was one thing of the Church that escaped the fire’s wrath: a cornerstone.
The cornerstone has engraved “1963” — the year the church was originally built. Since then, Edmunds said the church was known to be the community church of the township. “A number of fellowships worshiped here,” Edmunds said. “Because of that, there are many people that say, ‘I went to church there.’ ‘I was married there.’ ‘I was baptized there.’”
Only after the loss of their church did the congregation come to understand why a particular move by the heads of the church was made.
“The church knew that they were supposed to buy a building, but did not know exactly why at the time,” former 9-year Cobb Mountain Church member Sally Lambeth said.
Two years before the fire, the church bought a second building known as Finley Revival Center. Cobb Pastor Brad Backlin now had two locations where he conducted services back-to-back. Then after the congregation was left without a place to worship under, the church moved to Finley.
They still gather there today.
“I think that God knew ahead of time that the Valley Fire was going to happen and He had this second place ready for us,” Lambeth said. She moved to a Lakeport church after the fire but continues to support her former congregation.
Current church member Tina Coakley said, “The church was one thing that I didn’t want to lose. It was my home, my faith. I was glad to hear, though, that we were going to rebuild because we bring strength with one another and I know we will come back stronger.”
Despite their losses and having to relocate, the church has remained stronger than ever, according to Backlin and other members. He said rebuilding is not only important for his congregation, but for the whole community and for those that built the original church.
“When I came here 20 years ago with my kids, there was a church here on Cobb Mountain,” Backlin said. “We believe that it is important to have a church here on Cobb Mountain just like it was there for us. This was a center for worship, weddings, music, and family. We used to have a 24-hour worship day where churches of different communities would gather under that roof.”
To honor what the five-decades-old building once meant to the community, the church is working with the county to rebuild an identical structure. This time, however, facing a different direction that would push the new building higher up and onto flatter grounds, away from Highway 175. The original church was constructed on a steep hillside where the highway hugged its perimeters. According to Lake County Planning, the new structure is said to mimic the similar high, all-wood cathedral-like ceilings the old church once had. The end of the structure will face Cobb Mountain. Just about the only feature that will be different will be the addition of a playground that will be placed where the original building was, to which the children of the congregation jumped of excitement during the announcement at the groundbreaking ceremony.
The most important part of the rebuild, as the congregation has expressed, is the incorporation of the surviving cornerstone onto the new structure.
“In 1963, there was a cornerstone set on the building by the people that were here before us and it’s really important that we honor those that gave up their money and time to build us a place to worship,” Backlin said during the ceremony. And with that, all the children helped Backlin and Edmunds drive the shovels deep into the ground where the playground will be installed.
At this time, there is no finish date to the construction. The church is currently in the planning stages, waiting on any feedback from the county with any changes that would need further action.
