Elgin Portland United Church Council
Happy Birthday Dave Cooper. Have a super special day Dave.
Belated Happy Birthday to :
Jessica Gordanier – March 30; Dylan Carbino – April 1; Madilene Halladay – April 5. May they each enjoy their special day.
Advance notice of EUCC meeting via Zoom – 7:30 pm, April 15th
The Young at Heart Breakfast Club will meet next on Thursday the 17th of April at the Junction Restaurant at 9 am. If you are going and everyone is invited, let Clint or Ted know by noon on Wednesday the 16th so they reserve a spot for us……….Ted
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.
Join us for the Easter Week Services:
April 17 – Maundy Thursday Joint Service – 7:00 pm. at Elgin (with communion)
April 18 – Good Friday Joint Service – 7:00 pm at Portland
April 20 – Easter Sunday
- Sunrise Service at Carl Leggett’s Farm – 6:30 am
- Continental Breakfast at Portland following Sunrise Service
- Portland Easter Service with Communion – 9:15 am
- Elgin Easter Service with Communion – 11:00 am
PUC Family in 2025
Over the last several months we have heard from many in our church family about their connection to this community of faith. Many came because of friends, neighbours and family already worshipping here. Others stayed for the music, the positive and uplifting atmosphere, the strong desire to help those less fortunate, the warm welcome or all of the above. We have heard from recent adherents to families that have been involved for several generations and contributed to the physical building as we know it today. It was especially informative to hear the history behind the beginnings of PUC.
We will hear stories until the end of April and possibly into May. For those who haven’t had their story read in church but would still like it included in the book that is in the works to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the UC of Canada, please email it a.s.a.p. to Jane and Duncan – jpick@kingston.net.
Thank-you to everyone.
Jane & Duncan
“We are Pilgrims on a Journey”: A Lenten Message from
Rev. Éric Hébert-Daly
As the church looks back on 100 years and looks forward at the next ten, there are some stark realities we are facing. There is grief and frustration, anxiety and a feeling of helplessness. I am reminded of when Mary and Martha bemoan Jesus’ delay at the bedside of Lazarus… “If only you had been here…” (John 11). Why does it seem like God hasn’t answered our call and has been leaving the mainline Christian denominations like the United Church to wither?
I understand the reaction to what we’re seeing in so many corners of our church. But I am reminded by the story of Lazarus that Christ wept for his dear friend’s death… and he also brought life out of the stench of death. It may smell like death all around us, and Christ is grieving the loss of what once was, but we are now called to collaborate with the Holy Spirit and follow Christ’s instructions carefully. Now, more than ever, it is time to roll away the stone, to unbind ourselves and to witness new life.
It won’t look like it did in the 1950s. It won’t even necessarily be in a church building at 10:30am on a Sunday morning. It may not even have a minister in the ways we’ve known it in the past. While we are letting go of what was, we also need to start imagining what will be.
When I walked the Camino Primitivo in Spain last summer, one of the most common discussions was about the 1200 years of pilgrimage along that route. People wondered and marveled at the many people who walked there before us, why they were doing it, and the experiences they had in times when there were far fewer services to rely upon. It also struck me that we were not only walking in their footsteps, but we were also walking a path that many more would walk in the future. In some respects, we are the ancient pilgrims of the ones who will walk that Camino in 50, 100 or 1000 years.
We sometimes need to see ourselves, not as the pinnacle of all history at this moment in time, but on a continuum of a much longer time period that extends beyond us. We not only benefit from the foundations of those who came before us, we are establishing the future of the church as well. Like the resurrection of Christ, today is not the end of the story.
This fundamental shift in posture is key for us as a church in times such as these. There is a need for us to figure out what future-shaping decisions and actions we are taking today.
If you’re a fan of science-fiction, you’ll know that one of the most common stories is time-travel. There is significant anxiety in that literature about the smallest things we might do in the past that will reshape and change the present. Maybe we need to remember to make choices today with the same care and attention… after all, these small things will have an impact and chart the course of the future.
It’s a significant change in our understanding of where we stand today. Yes, we stand on the shoulders of giants. And yes, we are the giants upon whose shoulders future generations will be standing. Are we taking that seriously enough, despite the fear and grief we feel at this moment?
In these Lenten days, let us consider what resurrection means for the church, for our communities and for this world that needs us now more than ever.
Devotional Reflection
April 5, 2025
I am back to a knitting and crocheting theme. Sitting around in a knitting circle this week, I took a moment to watch (as covertly, as possible) as each person in the group worked on their scarf, hat, socks, dishcloths. Some used a loom, others knitting needles and still other took to the crochet hook. Everyone working together, for a common purpose. But all getting there is a different way.
Now I have to confess, my knitting skills could use some improving. A dropped stitch has me in a tizzy. I have an option to choose what to do next – to seek the expertise of someone in the group to fix it or rip it back! I sit for a moment staring at my knitting. Why did I skip the lesson on picking up dropped stitches? Was I unwilling to admit I might make a mistake? After all, I take my time, I concentrate, checking the pattern over and over. No need for mistakes. But a row or two further along and the dropped stitch stares at me. That little opening in the pattern that doesn’t belong there. Annoyed, I have to decide whether to rip back the rows, or admit to my mistake, take the offered help, and move forward. This is where my confession of stupidity, or stubbornness, kicks in. I rip it back to the mistake and start over.
Just so human, eh! All the help is sitting there – but refusal to accept it, afraid of ridicule, stubborn to the end.
Does any of this sound familiar? In your Christian life? All around us are people who are walking their Christian pathway in various ways, using diverse methods, yet striving for the common outcome – to bring glory to God. Some are willing to look at new techniques, some are content with the tried-and-true methods. Some will jump at the chance to have support, others will struggle trying to do it on their own.
I come back to the knitting circle. And again, focus on the group and what we are achieving. Some are following a pattern, row by row, so as not to make a mistake. Others have the pattern down pat. There are a variety of widths in the scarves, assorted sizes in the hats. Different size needles, choices to use different stitches, a selection of various wool and colours aplenty. In the end, each creation will be different, and yet will be used for similar purposes.
Will it make a difference to the person washing dishes if he has a diagonal or a criss-cross pattern in the dish cloth? Does it fulfill the intention it was made for?
As you look around, you will see others that are identical to you. Other Christians, the same, but different. They have been woven by the intricate loving hand of God but they are fulfilling the purpose they were created for, and it will be similar to you and yet unique.
My mind is off wandering again. What will my zig-zag path look like a year from now? This tapestry, called “LIZ” is amazing. And your tapestry, by whatever name you call it, is phenomenal. Keep up the good work, continue weaving your life, intertwining all your threads, into the pattern God has created for you. And you and I will meet on this road, and be astounded that we have both done an enormously , breath-taking work of telling the Gospel Story – Christ is Alive. Praise Him. All Hail King Jesus!
You are blessed and loved.
Liz Church,
Director of Pastoral Care
Elgin/Portland Pastoral Charge
