Historic church in Pontiac raises new Steeple

Community members in Shawville are coming together to preserve an important piece of their past.

Wednesday, they watched construction workers mount the steeple back on top of their central gathering place, St. Paul’s Anglican Church.

“I feel deeply grateful,” said Mary McDonald.

The Judd’s had been looking forward to preserving this important symbol of the past for years.

“This is the church I went to when I was a kid. My father and my grandfather, my great-grandfather, they all went here,” said Chris Judd.

Many of the families of the parish can trace their roots to the original settlers in the area, some of them serving in the War of 1812. This includes Chris Judd, whose ancestors were here when the church was built in 1871.

Since that time, Judd said the church has been like a second home to the family, who were worried for its future when the powerful 2010 earthquake cracked its foundation.

“It’s great to see some renovations and also some safety concerns we had for the church for long term now,” said Chris’ son, Scott Judd.

Putting the steeple back up has been a big accomplishment for all involved, but they still have a lot of work to do. The church is in need to plenty of upgrades that come with a hefty price tag.

“We’ll paint not only the outside of the metal but the roof of the church as well, and we’ll finish the parging and safeguard our windows, which are very historic as well,” said Reverend Mavis Brownley.

Due to the valuable nature of the building, located in the Pontiac with itinerate tin paintings and beautiful stained glass windows, the renovation project has been granted funds by the Quebec Religious Heritage Council. The balance of the funding will be raised by the people of the parish.

The community is responsible to pay one third of the $490,000 project.

“This isn’t for me, it’s for grandchildren, great grandchildren, it’s going to be here for generations,” said Chris Judd.