Wiebe's Wanderings: Church in Cooks Creek

Just out for a drive down a country road looking for interesting photo opportunities and look what we came across. Officially called the Grotto Church of the Immaculate Conception, this Ukrainian Catholic church is located in Cooks Creek, just a 10 minute drive from Oakbank, Mb. Cooks Creek is a small community, guessing under 100 people plus the surrounding farms and rural residents, but even in its hey day I doubt you would have expected to see a church of this size. Church services are still held although for the time being they are held just next door in the outdoor Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. Gotta give them credit for creating impressive names for their religious edifices. I would love to get a peek inside but until this Covid thing subsides I suspect it will remain closed.

Construction started in the 1930's and it was consecrated in 1952. Apparently during this time there was a flurry of similar churches constructed across the prairies. The structure was almost entirely hand-built by volunteers. Restoration is an ongoing challenge with funds always in short supply to maintain a structure of this size and age. Makes one want to source out some of the other similar churches built during this time. I suspect there are not many left and certainly not this grand.

These pictures were taken during a return visit this past Sunday afternoon. I was waiting for an interesting evening sky with a good sunset. While the sunset was obliterated by storm clouds the angry blue skies provided all the drama needed for some good shots. In fact it started raining as I finished shooting and by the time we got home, only 10 minutes away, the thunder was banging loud enough to rattle the windows in the house. In fact a lightning strike got a hydro pole less than a mile from our house and put us in darkness for a few hours.

Pretty amazing.