Historic Wayfarers Chapel, Damaged By Moving Ground, Leaves Dozens Of Engaged Couples In The Lurch

When the historic Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes announced on Feb. 15 it was temporarily closing to repair damage triggered by rain-induced land movement, people didn't just gasp for nostalgia's sake. The closure meant dozens of planned weddings had to be canceled.

Couples like Naomi White and Peter Lorenz are now having to make alternative plans. White, who grew up a short drive from the chapel, said the venue is the place "that I felt I knew I was going to get married at.”

Now, she's hoping for a miracle.

Damage to the chapel

Historically, the area has seen shifts in the land, but the recent deluge of rain has led to unprecedented movement within the Portuguese Bend landslide complex — a group of 3 separate landslides within 14 square miles.

At first glance, Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes takes your breath away. The tall glass structure atop a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean reflects the sun’s golden rays. Trees create dancing shadows on the stone walkway.

But upon closer look, all is not what it seems. Cracks have appeared in some of the glass panels, while others are beginning to separate from mullions, the steel beams holding the glass structure together. There are fissures running down the middle of the stone walkway and asphalt is heaving, walk rails are disfigured, and a stairwell leading to the office building is crumbling. A retaining wall is leaning, held up only by steel reinforcement.

“This is unprecedented that we would have this much breakage,” said Dan Burchett, the executive director at Wayfarers Chapel. “When you walk the property, you see damage everywhere, so it is slow, just heartbreaking to see a place that represents people's connection spiritually and the intersection between spirituality and nature.”

Burchett said church officials began noticing drastic damages last year in July as a result of last year’s historic rainfall, which one official referred to as “more than likely the wettest year in history.”

The glass panes in the chapel are typically replaced once every two years. While it’s not unusual for one pane to crack in that amount of time, nine panes have cracked since last July.

“The pipes in the foundation have broken, so we've had to turn the heat off completely,” Burchett said. “We've had to turn off the gas for fear of an explosion because our water lines, our sewer, and everything that's underground is breaking.”

The damaged grounds of the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes.

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Yusra Farzan

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LAist

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On Wednesday, one of the water pipes on Palos Verdes Drive South, where the chapel is situated, broke. The water to the building will now be cut off for hours.

“If we had a wedding right now and the bride was in the bridal room and all of a sudden there's no water and restrooms can't be used,” Burchett said. “It's become a real, far more than an inconvenience for the people who are using our facility for special ceremonies like weddings.”

About those other disruptions

The chapel’s temporary closure has led to more than 175 wedding reservations being canceled.

“We're horribly saddened by this, but there's a whole different sadness when somebody planned their dream wedding here, and you have to tell them, I'm sorry, we can't do it,” Burchett said.

Naomi White on the day she toured Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes.

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Courtesy Naomi White

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White made her wedding reservation a few days before the chapel closed, and she was warned of the issues at the property. She even noticed some of the damage as she toured the property, but said she didn’t think much of it.

Now she's considering other venues while her heart clings to the wedding of her childhood dreams.

“I'm considering potentially postponing our wedding,” she said. “I'm pretty much the only person who wants to do that though, so that's kind of the hard part.”

What's next?

The timeline for the chapel’s reopening is unknown. Burchett said the church has already raised around 75% of the repair funds needed via GoFundMe. Much of that funding will go toward repairing the grounds and installing drains.

Crews will also work with the city to make sure deep wells drilled to remove ground water are working. Once that’s complete, the plan is to begin restoration work on the structures.

Cracks on the pavement outside Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes.

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Yusra Farzan

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LAist

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But the success of their efforts hinge on something out of their control.

“The problem is it's very difficult to try to control land movement,” Burchett said.