Church Seeks Money for Families of Victims : Appeal: Methodist pastor says Guatemalan immigrants cannot afford cost of funerals for the eight who died Sunday.

The pastor of the First United Methodist Church on Monday encouraged the public to contribute “whatever money you can” to help the families of those killed in Sunday’s crash that left eight dead and 11 injured.

The crash victims, all of whom were believed to be Guatemalan immigrants, were on their way to an evening service at the Non-Sectarian Church of God when the crash occurred. They were members of a small congregation that has held its services in a rented room at the Methodist church for more than five years.

The Rev. David R. Pasamonte, senior pastor of the Methodist church, said his congregation has established a special fund to help pay for funeral costs for the victims, some of whom may be transported back to Guatemala for burial.

“The need is so great,” Pasamonte said. “These people will need help to cover the cost of funerals, and that’s a lot of money. The minimum expense for a funeral is $500, and when you multiply that by eight people or more, it’s at least $4,000. And if they need to transport the bodies back to Guatemala, it will cost even more.”

Pasamonte said he knew of no other efforts to raise money to help the victims.

Officials from the American Red Cross in Santa Ana and the United Way in Irvine said on Monday they had not been asked for help.

“If our assistance is desired, we will be there,” said Red Cross spokeswoman Judy Iannacone. “We have a crisis intervention team with trained nurses and psychologists who can assist with the disaster.”

Officials at the Consul General of Guatemala in Los Angeles said on Monday that they are still trying to determine how they can best help the families of the victims.

“We have requested a complete report from the police and are contacting community leaders to organize a fund to help the families,” said John L. Ulman of the consulate office. “We are in the process of finding out what we can do and what needs to be done. We still need to talk to surviving family members to find out what their needs are.

“Unfortunately, no consulate has funds to cover expenses for these unfortunate situations,” he added. “But we try and find ways to help them get what they need.”

Those who want to contribute to the church’s fund can send their donations to:

Emergency Funds for Iglesia de Dios, c/o First United Methodist Church of Santa Ana, 609 Spurgeon St., Santa Ana, Calif., 92701.