Elgin Portland United Church
Our prayer list is still growing. Please keep the Pastoral Care Director, Liz Church, or Clint Halladay updated.
YAHBC
The Young at Heart Breakfast Club met with 11 well-fed and happy folks on Thursday morning the 18th of January.
If you would like to join them next month it will be at 9 am on Thursday the 15th of February at the Junction restaurant. Further notice will be posted nearer to the date. Ted
Annual Report dates and AGMS
It was decided at the last Official Board meeting after much discussion that the annual reports should be in to Annette by the 17th of January with the treasurer’s reports by the 24th of January.
All AGMs will be held on Sunday the 18th of February. Both churches right after their regular services and the O.B. probably about 3 pm.
Ted A/Chair Official Board.
Elgin United Church
Bradley Edwards – Bradley has had a very difficult week, having had another surgery this week. The good news is as off Wednesday he is awake and stable. The doctors feel encouraged that improvement will continue. Please keep Bradley and his family in your prayers. Sonny and Becky are staying at a hotel near CHEO, which, with both being self-employed, is a significant financial impact. Please consider a donation to help offset their costs. You can donate directly, through the church or through GoFundMe at https://gofund.me/ff20a414.
Elgin United Church Council
Portland United Church
The following names are still on our prayer list.
Sheila Campbell, Kay Seward, and Bradley Edwards is still in the hospital.
PUC council meeting Tuesday January 30 @ 7 pm
Monday Evening Bible Study Group-6:30 Portland UC
As we continue our daily Bible readings, this week we will discuss Matthew 18-24. This reading schedule can be done in as little as ten minutes per day. Please come join us for lively discussion and rich fellowship. Everybody welcome.
For info: ccjimbarton@gmail.com or 613-328-4089.
We remind everyone that in the unfortunate situation it is necessary to cancel the Sunday service an email will be sent out by 8.15 am..
If the weather is questionable,
- please assess your own situation re the safety of travelling to church
- check your email to ensure that church has not been cancelled
Portland United Church Council
Devotional Reflection
January 20, 2024
Alert! Alert! Bird sighting – Bald eagles are back!
Hey, saw a flash of red when I was out walking today – the piliated woodpeckers are here. I also saw two pair of cardinals checking out the area.
Living in this part of beautiful Canada, the list is extensive of the bird sightings we will have over the next few months, all signaling the return of spring. More and more photographs appear on Facebook, exquisite pictures of the beauty around us. And we oohhh and aahhh over them.
This got me thinking. Spiritually, all around us every day, there are sightings. Perhaps we have not trained ourselves to be as attentive to this.
I call it ‘GOD-SIGHTING’.
Speaking from experience, and still working on the “Best Version of Me” I saw some today. Someone in my building needed a helping hand as she descended down the stairs with an armload of parcels. Taking the time to assist her was an opportunity to show kindness.
At our weekly coffee sharing time at the church, I saw a group of people assisting each other as they removed lights from a Christmas tree. No one needed to ask, they just moved in and got the job done. Others were wrapping ribbon on a spool. And the coffee was ready as well. Co-operation, another God-sighting – in the midst of a world that often only thinks of themselves.
It is obvious what our challenge this week will be – watch for those God-sightings. Reach out, share, co-operate. You may need a book to fill in all the opportunities that will come your way!
Be blessed and refreshed this day.
Liz Church, Director of Pastoral Care
Elgin/Portland Pastoral Charge
