Check It Out: A look inside another church fire

By Joan Janzen

Here’s a riddle for you. Q: What did the firefighters say when the church caught on fire in a small town? A: Holy smoke!

Unfortunately, there was more ‘holy smoke’ streaming out of a church on September 1st at Thunderchild First Nation, northwest of North Battleford. Alvina Thunderchild co-pastors the church alongside her husband, Fred.

Black smoke was billowing out of the building when Alvina and Fred arrived on the scene and alerted the fire crew from Thunderchild First Nation. The structure is on reserve land, but the buildings belong to the church.

Known as the “blue church” to people in the area, it was more than just a building; it was a place where people were fed and welcomed.

“The back window had been pried open, and they got into the furnace room,” Alvina told Faytene Grasseschi in an online interview. The RCMP arrived and discovered a loudspeaker outside the church, as well as a torch and a case of canned soup. Alvina told the RCMP the box of canned goods belonged to the church “because that’s what we do”.

“Every time we open the church, we’ll feed everybody who comes in. Food is a very big deal. We have food lined up, and people take bags and fill them,” she explained.

“Of course, we cook almost every Sunday. The kids look forward to it; they know when they come, they’ll get fed,” Fred added. Some of the people who come to the church are homeless, and others are high on drugs and have needs.

“We have people walk in with no shoes, and we have shoes available for them,” Alvina said. “A lot of work went into the building.” It took years of work done by volunteers before the building was able to be used.

“It was a Roman Catholic Church, but was unused for a few years and had been vandalized, and was run down,” she explained. “We purchased the building, and it took about eight loads to clean out the debris.”

A crew of volunteers renovated the structure from top to bottom. “We were in the process of finishing up the renovations and were talking about having a grand opening,” Alvina said.

Since 2021, dozens of Christian churches across Canada have gone up in smoke, including a church in Loon Lake, which was burned less than a year ago. MP Rosemarie Falk commented on the problem in a battlefordsNOW article: “Canada is seeing a disturbing rise in hate crimes against places of worship. We need targeted action to ensure these hateful crimes are met with real consequences.”

When Faytene asked Alvina what she thought would motivate someone to commit this crime, Alvina said stealing was the first thing that came to mind. “As for the fire, I don’t see what the purpose was to burn down our building, unless they hate God. They’re hurt, angry, and they want to get rid of everything that represents God.”

“But I also know from talking with drug addicts, a lot of times they’ll do things without even thinking. Most times, drug addicts who come to our church don’t know what they’re doing,” she added.

Nevertheless, Alvina and Fred aren’t giving up. “When we were standing there crying, watching our building burn, I was hugging one of our members and said we are going to overcome,” Alvina recalled.

Fred agreed. “We committed ourselves years ago, that no matter what happened, we will stay because of the people.” He brushed away a tear and took a minute to compose himself before adding, “And whoever did this … you’re still family. Whatever you’ve done, we forgive you.”

“We always tell people - this is not Fred and Alvina’s church; this is your church,” Alvina said.

“We are going to keep overcoming; we have to do that every day,” Fred said. “It’s a challenging thing to do in the midst of desperation.”

Before they can start over, they will need to demolish the burned building, haul away the debris, and consult with insurance adjusters. “We’re working with our First Nations,” Alvina said. “We want them to be involved in this process because it is part of the community.”

As Faytene concluded the interview with her guests, she said, “You are both a picture of love and grace. You are part of a family that will rebuild and forgive.”

All that “holy smoke” is not just burnt buildings; it’s ministries serving people that need to be rebuilt and start over once again, and that’s exactly what Thunderchild Word Church is doing.