Fire in Kaltag
The wood boiler used for heating the church and Fr. Joe Hemmer's home in Kaltag, Alaska caught on fire on Saturday, November 19. The fire burned down a shed that housed wood for the boiler, power tools, wood working tools, a garden tiller, and mowers. All of the church Christmas decorations stored in the shed, including a fifty year old crib, also burned in the fire.Fortunately, the fire did not spread to the church and Fr. Hemmer's home. The church and home are currently being heated solely with the oil burning furnace. The cost of heating with oil only will be significantly more than the parish budgeted expecting to heat using the wood boiler.
Please keep Fr. Hemmer and the parish in Kaltag in your prayers.