A man from Waterhen Lake First Nation, Sask., plans on rebuilding a burned down church, one step at a time. Chris Martell says he will walk from his home community to Saskatoon in August to raise money to buy building supplies.
Martell says when he heard about the landmark structure fire, like many other community members, he was upset.
“The morning we heard about the fire, we were all devastated,” said Martell. “We were just wanting to rebuild the church right away. (The church) has been in our family since 1952. My great-great-grandfather helped build that church.”
“I was baptized there. I grew up with the church,” he said. “We (spent) every Christmas mass there, and also Easters. There were (a lot) of marriages at that church. Lots of community events happen at that church.”
A Go Fund Me page was created to help in the restoration effort and Martell will be taking donations while he makes his one-week trek to Saskatoon.
“I look forward to helping rebuild the church so we can have many more, more memories,” said Martell. “We wanted to also teach the youth the importance of grass roots and rebuilding and moving forward.”
The Our Lady of Smiles Church caught fire in the early morning hours of June 23. The cause of the fire is not yet known, but police are calling it “suspicious.”
“Officers confirmed no one was injured,” said a Saskatchewan RCMP media release following the fire. “The church was destroyed by the fire, which initial investigation has determined was suspicious in nature.”
Anyone with information about this fire should call the Meadow Lake RCMP at 306-236-2570. To report a tip anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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