Elgin Portland United Church Council
Wishing everyone a wonderful New Year. May God’s grace bring you peace and comfort throughout 2025. Blessings.
The Young @ Heart Breakfast Club meets again on Thursday, January 16th, at 9 a.m. at the Junction Restaurant. If you’re coming let Ted or Clint know by noon on the 15th so we can reserve a spot for you. Everyone is welcome……….Ted
Sylvia French – Celebration of Life – Saturday January 25, 2-4 pm – The French Family are inviting friends and family to Portland United Church to remember the life of Sylvia, a mom, grandmother, friend, and active member of her community. Please join us as we celebrate her life.
Annual General Meetings are scheduled (PUC/EUC/OB) for Sunday, February 16th, 2025. OB will be in Elgin. General reports are due by January 20th, and financial reports are due by January 27th, for the Annual Report to be done. Please forward your reports to office@eppc-ucc.com.
Bible Discussion Groups resume on January 6th and 7th. Info: Jim at ccjimbarton@gmail.com or 613-328-4089.
Advance notice JAN 25, 2025 – our Canadian Women in Song troupe plays at the Joshua Bates Centre, Athens. Get your tickets early. joshuabatescentre.com
Devotional Reflection
January 4, 2025
When things coincide, life is beautiful. This week we celebrate Epiphany in the Christian calendar. To understand my thought process allow me to explain this awesome word ‘epiphany’. I looked it up in a Thesaurus and couldn’t find an exact word to replace it. But the dictionary didn’t disappoint. The explanation: a sudden insight into the essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, commonplace experience, which brings a moment of revelation and insight. Here’s how it happened for me.
This week, a friend sent me a picture. As soon as it arrived, I realized it was the Christmas plant she had at her front door. But it suddenly became more than that. It was like an epiphany – This simple decoration had been transformed. All I could see were dragonflies, lighting up the complete porch area. And as I continued to stare, it was like angels over the manger, and then a reminder that Christ is the Light of the world.
As I stared at the picture, I could see the World coming into shape. Each crevice, each berry, each pinecone, each branch, took on a different area of the world. I continued to study this picture and for me, I could see light flickering throughout – for some, the light was easy to see; for others, they would struggle to see The Light. And for some, The Light was burning dimly.
Is that not just like our world today? Many will see Christ, the bright, Shining Light of the World. Others will have difficulty, but will follow the Light; still others will turn from the Light and follow their own path, away from the Light.
For the next couple of months, we will explore the ministry of Jesus and the time leading up to His Death and Resurrection. At first, many will listen to His word: ‘I am the Light of the World’. They will walk in the Light, following wherever He leads. Others will ignore Him, and continue in a path of destruction. Others will see the Light anew and cry out: “My Jesus, my Saviour!”
As each day comes, be prepared to see God all around you. Watch for those moments of epiphany, of enlightenment, of surprise. As you venture into this world – whether the grocery store, the parking lot, the moon over the icy waters, your apartment building, your work, your faith community, know that God’s voice is speaking to you.
Moving into this year be awakened by new possibilities to share the Light of the World.
You are loved. You are blessed.
Liz Church,
Director of Pastoral Care
Elgin/Portland Pastoral Charge