Peter L. Smith
Published online April 8, 2026, at www.pontiacjournal.com.
L’ISLE-AUX-ALLUMETTES – A public meeting was held March 16 at the Harrington Community Centre, where Rev. Scott Murray, parish priest of the Upper Pontiac parishes (St. Alphonsus, Chapeau; St. Joseph, Waltham; and St. Paul the Hermit, Sheenboro), invited parishioners to discuss suggestions for the future of the parishes amid declining attendance, fewer priests and rising operating costs. About 45 people attended and were divided into groups to develop ideas.
The meeting followed a diocesan public session held February 19 at Bishop Smith Catholic High School in Pembroke with Bishop Michael Brehl, who is consulting parishioners on pastoral planning across the Pembroke Diocese’s 55 parishes, including those in the Pontiac.
Suggestions from the Harrington meeting included improving finances by allowing collections at funerals and marriages. Other ideas included closing parishes that can no longer cover operating expenses, closing some churches during the winter months or rotating closures, using QR codes for donations, and reinstating parish councils with a more active consultative role.
Pastoral suggestions included forming more committees, offering Sunday school, increasing the number of extraordinary ministers, hosting Sunday socials, and expanding youth programming such as Dynamic Catholic for Youth.
Suggestions regarding St. Paul the Hermit parish in Sheenboro were mixed, including the possibility of becoming a mission. Other ideas included selling the church’s bush lot in L’Isle-aux-Allumettes, selling St. Theresa of the Little Flower church and property in Fort William, which is seldom used, and selling the St. Paul the Hermit parish hall or transferring it to the municipality or a non-profit organization.
Suggestions for St. Alphonsus parish included selling the 100-acre farm behind the old cemetery and selling the rectory, which is already in the planning stages.
The sharing of Masses was also discussed, including rotating services between Sheenboro, Waltham and Chapeau, or potentially closing all three parishes during the winter and having parishioners attend Mass in Pembroke.
Photo – Rev. Scott Murray leads discussion with parishioners at a March 16 meeting in Chapeau on the future of the Upper Pontiac parishes. (PS)
