MEADOW LAKE, Sask. (CCN) — Days after fire destroyed All Saints Orthodox Church in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, parishioners gathered on Thanksgiving weekend in temporary quarters provided by neighbouring Our Lady of Peace Catholic Parish.
The Orthodox congregation filled the Catholic parish hall for Divine Liturgy Oct. 11, with temporary furnishings arranged for Orthodox worship. They also attended Great Vespers Oct. 10.
The Orthodox parish announced on Thursday it would gather for worship in the space behind the Catholic church. The congregation had been without its church since an Oct. 1 fire gutted the building and destroyed its icons and other religious furnishings. No one was injured.
Father Igumen Vladimir Lysak, the rector of All Saints, said in his homily some people had asked why he was coming to Meadow Lake for the liturgy.
“Well, because there’s a church here. Not a physical building, but the community, all of us gathered together, are also Church,” he said.
Father Lysak said despite the destruction of the church, “There’s always, always, always something to give thanks for.”
Noting that it was Thanksgiving weekend, he said, “It is this community that I’m truly thankful for, that no one was hurt during that fire, and that we have continued to meet and grow, and are continuing on even though we don’t have a home.”
The parish will be “living in tents for a while until we are able to build a house worthy of the Lord,” he said. “But the fact that we are all here together to worship is so heartening, and there is much to give thanks for.”
He reminded the congregation that Eucharist means “thanksgiving.”
“We are gathered together here for the Eucharist, and we are partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, and giving him thanks for all the good graces that he has given to us.”
The community had been making use of space in the Meadow Lake Co-op Centre in the days immediately after the fire. The congregation gathered at the community centre for a potluck brunch, readings of the Hours, and prayers.
On Wednesday, in an interview with Canadian Catholic News, the Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Prince Albert said there was willingness to help the displaced Orthodox congregation.
“We have been in touch with the Orthodox community to offer any help that we can offer them as a community in terms of their worship,” Bishop Kenneth Thorson said in a phone call with CCN.
Thorson said the Catholic community was accompanying its Orthodox neighbours in prayer and that the pastor of Our Lady of Peace, Father Uche Gabriel Umechikelu, MSP, had offered his help.
“I was grateful for that,” Thorson said. “Not surprised by it, but grateful for it.”
Later in the day, it was announced that All Saints would make use of the church space.
The announcement of the Catholic accommodation drew expressions of gratitude on social media.
One commenter said, “Thankful our church could provide you a space!” while another said he had been hoping the Catholic church in Meadow Lake might help and welcomed the news.
People recalled the church and its place in the community, with one writer remembering growing up a block away and admiring its appearance as a child.
Another wrote that she had grown up in the church and had her son baptized there, describing it as one of the few remaining local landmarks.
Others offered prayers, condolences and encouragement to rebuild, including a message from parishioners of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Moose Jaw.
The All Saints rector expressed determination to recover from the disaster, writing, “God willing, like the phoenix, we will rise again from the ashes!”
The Orthodox parish is collecting photographs and videos of the church to establish a commemorative archive.
