'Come together and rebuild': Saskatoon man plans fundraiser for church destroyed in suspicious fire
A Saskatoon man whose family helped to build the Waterhen Lake Church is planning to help rebuild the church.
RCMP have been investigating what they’ve called “a suspicious fire” that destroyed the church earlier this week. They said no one was injured in the blaze.
However, Chris Martell believes the fire was a massive loss for the community.
He said that his great, great grandfather helped to build the Our Lady of Smiles parish in the 1950s.
“I grew up in Waterhen Lake with my grandfather. I spent a lot of Christmases and summers up there growing up, and we spent a lot of time with the church growing up,” he told CTV News.
Martell said he was baptised in the parish and was hoping to have his daughter baptised there too.
“We're all just devastated that the church is gone.”
Martel has planned a fundraising walk in August that would see him travel approximately 380 kilometres from Waterhen Lake to St. Mary’s in Saskatoon.
“The end goal for us is we just want to rebuild the church again, and, and all come together as it was when the first guys built it,” he explained. “They all came together and built it all as a community.”
Martell said surrounding communities and even some from Lac St. Anne in Alberta joined in to build the parish.
“So we'd like to do that again and as a community come together and rebuild it.”
Martell has set up a GoFundMe page in hopes of raising $50,000.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.