Elgin Portland United Church Council
Please take note that there will be NO CHURCH AT PORTLAND OR ELGIN UNITED CHURCH ON JUNE 1, 2025. CHURCH SERVICE FOR JUNE 1ST IS AT DELTA FAIR GROUNDS.
The Bible Discussion Groups meet on Monday at 6:30 pm at Portland UC & Tuesday at 10:00 am in Elgin at the Guthrie House. All are welcome. Info: ccjimbarton@gmail.com or 613-328-4089.
Halladay Burial Place An nual Memorial Service, Sunday, June 1, 2025. At 2:30 P. M. in Elgin United Church.
The Portland Hall is open, and take notice that Chit-chat moved as of Tuesday, May 20th, to the new hall on a new day, TUESDAYS from 10:30 to 12:00.
UCW Meeting on June 10th @ 1:30 p.m. Portland United Church.
Advance notice that PUC is having a Council Meeting on June 10th at 7:00 pm.
June 15th service at the EY Center in Ottawa. Anyone wanting to attend that service has to register by June 2nd. You can register individually or by the church, but only one. For information on registering, if you contact me at ted302@live .com I will send you the information. …Ted
Plans are underway for Elgin United Church to host the livestreaming of the E.O.O.R.C. 100th Anniversary Service on June 15th. Details for the livestream will follow closer to the event. There will not be a regular service in Elgin on either of those Sundays. June 1st – 100th Anniversary is being held at the Delta Fair Grounds (inside).
Portland United Church will have a Baptism service for Lilyana Mustard and Ellsy Mustard (Cucheran Family) on June 15th @ 9:15, Rev. Sean Seaman. All are welcome.
Eastern Ontario Outaouais Region UCW – 83rd Summer Event, July 25, 26, 27, 2025, is being held at the Ramada Hotel & Conference Centre, Cornwall, Ontario. If you want more information, please see the bulletin board.
June 1, 2025 – 10: 30 am
This area of the Region will be celebrating
the 100th Anniversary with a United Service,
being held at the Delta Fair Grounds (inside).
Plans are well under way.
The Choir met this week and there were 45 in attendance for this.
Bonus: – Meal is being provided through the generosity of the 8 individual churches who are participating in this celebration.
Bonus, bonus: Musical Entertainment following the service is being provided by Wright & Lowe.
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June 15, 2025 – 11:00 am
The whole of our Region is invited to attend the mass celebration at the EY Centre on Ottawa. Please plan to attend this event with more than 1,500 fellow believers planning to be there.
You can participate in various ways such as joining the choir, ushering, first aid responders.
Further information can be found on the EOORC Website eoorc.anniversaryinformation@gmail.com
See you there!
Devotional Reflection
May 31, 2025
My mother was a marvelous cook and baker. How she had time in a day to prepare such delicious meals plus an extra treat for us kids is an amazing feat I still do not quite understand.
Now, I would like to believe that I inherited some of her abilities. I would watch her as she prepared the ingredients. Her preparations (which were often interrupted by a child or two hanging off her skirt tails), were a sight to behold. We never really owned what I would call a set of measuring spoons. She would cup her hand and pour the salt into her palm. The same followed with the baking powder and other small dry ingredients. Our measuring cups most often consisted of a coffee mug. A teaspoon of vanilla was tipped out of a bottle, directly into the batter.
And that cake was the most delicious! As mother turned the cake out on to a large dinner plate, it would be perfectly golden, risen to the right height, waiting to be cooled and iced!
Just this week is when I realized that I had a similar way of calculating ingredients. Using a recipe that needed 1 ¾ of a teaspoon, and then 1 ½ teaspoon of the next ingredient, I bolding used only a teaspoon measure and figured out the rest. How hard can it be, right? And my concoction looked great. As they say, the proof is in the pudding (in this case, the fish batter). And all who partook of the fish fry, loved it. No complaints, empty plates, proved it!
I began to examine what this means to me spiritually. And here is what I ascertained.
For years and years, I have been reading the recipe for a rich and full spiritual life. I have watched through the lens of TV. I diligently listened to a preacher as I attended church. I taught Sunday School, Kids’ Club, and a host of other events. I even went to college and studied under the tutelage of those more knowledgeable than I. Drinking in every word, desiring to learn, I came to a revelation that shocked me!
Yes, they knew more. They could teach me the correct translation of a Greek word, or a Hebrew word. But they could not teach me to be passionate. They could not see into my heart.
That, my dear friends, is what this devotional is all about. I have inherited my ability from my Heavenly Father. He made me to desire to walk in His ways. He is the perfect measuring tool. And there I live – in the palm of His hand! As He observes me, He makes sure I am exactly what He needs. Not too much, not too little, just perfect. He needs nothing more. He can see!
And if there is a moment, as I rest in His hand, He can trim the excess from me – fear, doubt, anxiety, pride, selfishness, greed – all those ingredients that would harm the outcome of His perfect creation. And then He adds what He requires – love, joy, peace, patience and everything else that allows us to be His masterpiece.
Take a moment. Cup your hand. Picture yourself in God’s palm. Rejoice in all your have been given – redemption, salvation, and Eternal Life!
You are blessed and loved.
Liz Church,
Director of Pastoral Care
Elgin/Portland Pastoral Charge