All invited to the fundraiser to rebuild local church in Mud Lake

MUD LAKE, Idaho (KIFI) - Construction at the church of St. Ann's in Mud Lake is ongoing. Built in 1963, the chapel served generations of a faithful community, until a lightning strike caused a fire in July of 2021.

"Luckily, one of the neighbors here heard the thunder. They saw the flames coming out of the basement window... and reacted quick enough," Pope Saint John Paul II Parish communications director Gisselle Montalvan said. "It took roughly three, five hours to stop the smoke, stop the fire. And so it was a complete total loss."

Two years later, only that church foundation remains. Sunday mass continues thanks to the help of their neighbors, but the local catholic community still feels the personal loss.

Now, the community is taking advantage of this reconstruction to expand the church. While saving the heritage of the original.

"We were able to rescue some of the items inside the church that night. So the tabernacle behind the altar holds us and there was the Blessed Sacrament...the cross that goes just behind the altar that was taken down. It feels good to know that we'll have a little bit of what we used to have in our original church, in our new church," Montalvan said.

The community of St. Ann's Church in Mud Lake would like to invite everyone for a Spaghetti Dinner and Raffle that will be held on Saturday, Jan. 28 starting at 5 p.m. in the ALC Building 1256 E 1500 N, Terreton. Dinner is by donation. Many items will be raffled off for $10 a ticket. Raffle tickets can be purchased prior to the event or at the door the night of.

All proceeds of the benefit go toward the rebuilding of St. Ann's Catholic Church.