In the middle of the night of July 1, 2021 lightning from a summer storm struck the propane tank that was in the backyard of St. Ann’s Church in Mud Lake. Apparently, propane tanks are designed to withstand lightning strikes, which this one indeed did.  However, the force of the strike rocked the tank so that the metal tubing that ran from the tank into the church was shaken loose. The flame from the pilot light of the furnace lasted long enough to ignite the propane hissing into the church.  The metal tube became a flaming blow torch directly beneath the sanctuary of the church.  The building was heavily damaged though it remained standing.  One of the fire officials later explained that because of the church’s metal roof the inside of the church had become like a super charged oven with temperatures reaching up to 1600 degrees.  Everything was damaged including the floor joists and roof beams that were of laminated wood, the glue melted and ran from between the layers of wood.  The excessive heat caused total damage to the building. 

Mud Lake is not a large town but the Catholic Church there is strong and vital.  There are regularly about 70 people at Mass and fully half of them are children and young adults.  The original church was purchased by catalog, railed to Idaho Falls and carted to Mud Lake on trucks in the 1960s.  It seated about 60 people.  After several months of taking inventory of the contents of the church and assessing the value of the damages the insurance company offered a settlement. A small group of parishioners was formed as a building committee.  It was decided to make the church bigger.  Fund raising efforts were initiated and the funds needed for the expansion were raised.  Construction, however, was slow.  Idaho is quickly growing and this corner of the state is no exception.  In the summer Idaho Falls and its surrounding areas become a massive construction site for new homes and buildings.  Needless to say, it was difficult to lure sub-contractors 50 miles into the desert for the comparatively small job of St. Ann’s Church in Mud Lake.  Months would pass without a hint of construction activity. 

In the meantime, the people of St. Ann’s Mission would come together for Mass at the school district office which is a modified LDS building, where we would use a room that was once a chapel.  Every week they would set up the makeshift altar and ambo, set out the chairs and arrange the room.  Following the Mass everything was taken down and put away.  Sometimes the room would still bear the tattered decorations of a high school dance from the night before.  Other times the floor would be sticky or dusty. For a time, we were even moved to the gym while the regular room was being remodeled. The people of St. Ann’s Mission did this for 3 ½ years and in that time only one complaint reached the pastor’s ears.  The people there are to be commended for their dedication and commitment that came at a higher price during that time. 

Finally, like a dream, in mid-November 2024, the keys were given to us and we were finally able to begin using our new church.  The final Mass in the school district building was celebrated October 27, and the first Mass in the new church was celebrated by parochial vicar, Fr. Nelson Cintra on November 3.  Bishop Peter agreed to our proposed date of February 15, for the consecration and dedication and all attention quickly shifted to that day.  

First on the agenda was the new altar and it was built by a retired couple from Idaho Falls, Kevin and Patty Krank .  It is red oak stained dark to match the pews and the top of the altar is Idaho travertine from a Swan Valley mine not too far from Mud Lake.  There is a drawer like structure that fits in the back of the altar designed and built to hold the two altar stones containing the relics of five martyred saints from antiquity.  It was designed to be permanently sealed which Mr. and Mrs. Krank did during the Mass as prescribed by the rite.  Another local craftsman, Pat Hedderman, spent dozens of hours refurbishing and preserving the original wooden baptismal font.  He also built the cross for the main crucifix and twelve consecration crosses that represent the twelve Apostles.  Each one has a plate inscribed with the name of an apostle and there is a candle attached to each cross.  These consecration crosses will remain as a permanent sign that this is a consecrated church.  Neither of these craftsmen charged for their labor. 

The week beginning February 10, became a flurry of activity.  The new altar was delivered to the church and the following day came the travertine altar top.  The consecration crosses and stations of the cross were installed as were an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Divine Mercy in the sanctuary.  In God’s providence and care an image of St. Ann arrived as did the corpus for the new cross days before the consecration.  We had resigned ourselves that they would not make it in time.  These were gifted to us by the Idaho Council of Catholic Women and a generous donor from northern Idaho.  An antique and unused set of Stations of the Cross came from St. Anthony’s Mission in Roberts.  These were cleaned, touched up and now grace the walls of the new church.  

Saturday, February 15, was a gloomy and snowy morning in Idaho Falls but a brilliant sunny day in Mud Lake.  Bishop Peter, the priests, deacon, altar servers and people gathered outside to begin the Mass.  The bishop was given entry and the solemn celebration began.  The bishop and priests wore white with the exception of Parochial Vicar, Fr. Mark Uhlenkott who had the privilege of carrying in procession the relics of the martyred saints wearing red Mass vestments in their honor as explicitly called for by the rite.  The Mass of consecration and dedication of a new church and altar is unlike any other.  Immediately upon entering the church the bishop blessed some water and the people and walls of the church were blessed with it.  The bishop then blessed the new altar with the holy water.  The rite of consecration and dedication continued after the homily with the singing of a beautiful rendition of the Litany of the Saints with the final saint implored being “St. Ann, Mother of the Blessed Virgin, pray for us”.   The bishop then prayed the prayer of dedication for the new church and altar.  The highlight of this prayer came when he poured Sacred Chrism in the middle and the four corners of the altar then with his hands rubbed the oil into the travertine altar top.  The three parish priests then anointed the walls in the places where the crosses had been mounted.  A brazier with hot coals was placed on the altar and the bishop charged them with incense.  He then blessed the altar with incense, he himself was blessed with incense and then the parochial vicars blessed the walls with the incense in the places marked with the consecration crosses. 

The altar was then cleaned, covered and adorned by members of St. Ann’s Mission.  The candles of the altar were lit as were the candles on each of the consecration crosses.  These were lit by Chayo and Claudia Figueroa the current care takers of the community and Jaime and Coco Renova their immediate predecessors who now live in Homedale.  

It was a magnificent completion to a happy morning.  The happiness continued as we returned to the school district building, although this time not for Mass, but for a festive meal in honor of God’s providential care for us.  God has provided us a gem in the desert.

Postscript from the pastor:  The price of construction kept rising as time went on and inflation took its toll over the past 3 ½ years.  There were also unplanned changes and requirements that raised the cost.  In the end the people of Mud Lake have incurred a debt of over $120,000.  For a regular parish this is not a crippling amount but it is for the roughly fifty families that make up this mission.  Most of them work on the surrounding farms and agricultural companies.  I ask you to please help this community with a monetary donation.  These faithful families will work hard to raise funds, but we need your help.  Please consider it.  Contributions can be sent to Pope St. John Paul II Parish, Idaho Falls, ID 83404, Attn. St. Ann’s. 

GRATITUDE
The people of St. Ann’s in Mud Lake are grateful to Almighty God for the gift of our new church. We are also grateful to the many people who gave us their support and aid during the time we were without a church.
The list includes but is not limited to the following:
The West Jefferson School District for the use of the district building allowing us to have Mass during the time we were without a church.
The Mud Lake Fire Department for their heroic efforts in battling the blaze and for preventing further damage to our neighbors.
Mr. and Mrs. Patty Krank for making the altar and the donation of their time.
Mr. Pat Hedderman for restoring the Baptismal font, making the consecration crosses and the main cross in the church and for the donation of his time.
The ladies of the Idaho Council of Catholic Women for their generous donation toward the purchase of the statue of St. Ann.
The people of Pope St. John Paul II Parish for their generous gift of paying for the material and stone for our new altar.
Nazario Figueroa, Adrian Figueroa and Hector Perez for the many hours they gave to arrange and put together the furnishings in the new church.
Jaime and Coco Renova, Nazario and Claudia Figueroa, Omar and Rosalva Llamas, Chencho and Fidela Montalvan for their work on the building committee.
Bishop Peter Christensen for coming to consecrate our new church.

We are grateful to our friends and neighbors for their concern, their encouragement and their generous support. We could not have done it without you.
THANK YOU!