Update:

Members of Grace United Church are dealing with the loss of their church from adevastating fire. They gathered Thursday night in front of the scorched structure, sharing a message of strength, faith and hope in this difficult time.

The church, formerly known as St. Lukes caught fire during Wednesday’s thunderstorm leaving the building in pieces.

Fire officials told the church leadership the fire was likely the result of lightning. It didn't take long for the blaze to rip through the wood of the old building. It took fire fighters six hours to get it under control.

Kevin Briscoe was a witness to the fire and said he saw lots of smoke.

"You could tell they had been there for a couple hours. They had it down to smoke. Quite surprising to come here in the morning and they're still here." Briscoe said.

When the sun came up Thursday morning charred remains were all that was left of much the roof and walls.

"The age and construction of the structure determined that the fire did spread quickly and we were able to bring it under control around 3 Am." said Jesse Oshell from the Greater Sudbury fire services.

All the tenants of the building could do was watch, and many were left numb while trying to make sense of the aftermath.

Melissa Gladu from the Minnow Lake/New Sudbury Cooperative Nursery school says,

"When we heard it was the steeple that was struck we had thought maybe the back of the building had been spared a little bit. But when we heard they were aiming their hoses at the roof we didn't think it was a good sign and ya there's not much left to our nice little space anymore."

A haven for those in so many ways, physically, spiritually, and mentally it's seen this city through some highs and lows.

Reverend Erin Todd at Grace United Church says, "From the explanations given by the fire department, the church was actually hit twice by lightning. so ya that was no. That's pretty devastating."

This may be a low for the congregation, the members say they are down but certainly not out.

"We will rebuild. I don't know what that looks like at this point but the community will certainly continue." said Todd.

Rita Olinka parishioner at Grace United church believes there is hope in the loss of the building.  "There’s incredible sorrow, incredible loss. But there's also hope, incredible hope because I know this church family, we will rise from this."

"it’s all like a rubble and that is not grace united church. We are very strong and we are going to overcome this and we are going to build. We are grace united strong and that's what we're all about." said Paulette Bozzo a parishioner at Grace United Church.

The Ontario fire marshal's office is now investigating.

As for this church family,they will still be attending Sunday service, but at a new location.

 

Original Story:

A landmark Sudbury church was destroyed by fire overnight.

Grace United church on Bancroft Drive in Sudbury was the scene of a blaze that began at around 6:30 pm July 24.

While fire officials have not released the cause of the fire, it’s believed to have started by a lightning strike as a severe thunderstorm passed through the area during the 5-7 pm period.

More information on the fire is expected as officials continue to investigate the scene.