Over the last 24 hours, Christians across the world have gathered to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
But for one parish in the valley, this Christmas is particularly hopeful.
Overnight on May 1, a fire burned through St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. More than 60 firefighters were on scene. It was described as a “total loss.”
“Heart wrenching,” parishioner Donald Leo said.
“We saw it on TV, and we got a number of calls from parishioners. And we came down to the church and of course everything was in flames.”
Leo is on the building committee and said he believes things happen for a reason.
“We are now going to be moving forward with a wonderful, beautiful new church,” he said.
He says design plans were completed two weeks ago and groundbreaking is scheduled for March. The new church will have virtually the same footprint as the old one.
As one guest explained, the fire wasn’t going to stop these parishioners from worshiping this Christmas.
“Well, we have somewhere to go on Christmas, and we have a place to celebrate the mass, and so we must be grateful for that.”
The new church is expected to open on Easter 2021.