Donald Teuma-Castelletti
SHAWVILLE Feb. 13, 2018
Shrove Tuesday celebrations continued within the Anglican Parish of Renfrew-Pontiac, with the congregation of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Shawville taking over the pancake flipping duties on Feb. 13.
Expecting to serve anywhere from 125 to 200 people, and maybe even more, the church hall was standing room only at one point while hungry crowds awaited hot flapjacks with sides of sausage, salads, beans and ham, plus loads more in desserts.
“It’s the whole congregation, really, that contributes the food,” said Ann Murray, one of the busy volunteers in the hall’s kitchen.
She explained that while the pancakes were whipped up as quickly as they could be in the kitchen, all the extras were prepared beforehand at homes and brought in by parishioners, to be served for everyone else in their church community.

The pancake dinner has become a staple of the church’s community meals, with volunteers trying hard to remember a year it didn’t happen. Without a solid hunch, it was agreed that Shrove Tuesday had been celebrated as a congregation for a long time.
With the amalgamation of the nearby Anglican churches into the New Area Anglican Parish of Renfrew-Pontiac, volunteers said that they had seen folks from all around at their meal, and others had made the attempt to join their pancake dinners or brunches, too.
“Ladysmith, Otter Lake, Bristol, Norway Bay, they’re all good to support us and we do the same,” said Murray.
Funds raised from the meal will continue to help with restoration work to the church.