'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
Lack of detention space could force CBSA to release detainees, internal memo warns
The Canada Border Services Agency is scrambling to find space to hold high-risk detainees that are set to be transferred from provincial jails in June.
BREAKING American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
BREAKING Allman Brothers Band co-founder and legendary guitarist Dickey Betts dies at 80
Guitar legend Dickey Betts, who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, 'Ramblin' Man,' has died. He was 80.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
Police make arrests in grandparent scam that defrauded victims out of $739K
Ontario Provincial Police say they have 'disrupted' an organized crime group that allegedly used an emergency grandparent scam to defraud seniors across Canada out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Taylor Swift's new album allegedly 'leaked' on social media and it's causing a frenzy
A Google Drive link allegedly containing 17 tracks that are purportedly from Swift's eagerly awaited "The Tortured Poets Department" album has been making the rounds on the internet in the past day and people are equal parts mad, sad and happy about it.
Motion to allow keffiyehs at Ontario legislature fails
A motion to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh within Queen’s Park failed to receive unanimous consent Thursday just moments after Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his view that prohibiting the garment in the House is divisive.
What does it mean to be 'house poor' and how can you avoid it?
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
Calgary man charged with manslaughter in death of toddler
Calgary police say Winston Campbell, 45, has been charged in the death of a two-year-old girl in 2022.