Our Lady of the Lake event funds grotto

Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Suncrest is enhancing its sacred space with a grotto and small amphitheater centered around a statue of the blessed mother on its property.

To kick-off three months of fundraising until June 30, they are holding an event at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 2, at the church social hall with a presentation about the project and donations options, such as purchasing paver bricks to engrave as memorials to honor loved ones.

Our Lady of the Lake began in the early 1970s with services in private homes, then at a community center and now with a new church since 2016.

Their priest for 25 years, Fr. Tim Clancy, a Jesuit who teaches at Gonzaga University, envisioned creating a labyrinth to "make a space where people could engage in the ancient tradition of contemplative prayer."

The effort seeks to enhance that space with a grotto and small amphitheater, with the hope this will be a place for "people of all faith traditions to come to pray, contemplate and find peace."

As one of the parishioners shared, "I feel like this is such a beautiful natural setting and imagine this to be a place of refuge where, 'however softly we speak, God is near enough to hear us,' as St. Teresa of Avila said."

They say the project is a testament to the physical labor and financial support of parishioners and local Suncrest community members.