Elgin Portland United Church Council
The Young @Heart Breakfast Club will meet next on Thursday the 17th of August at the Junction Restaurant at 9 am. If you would like to join us, and all are welcome, let Clint or Ted know by noon the 16th……….Ted
Happy Birthday to Cindy Campbell. Wishing her a super day.
Thank you to everyone who participated in making Elgin Days another huge success. The EUC bake table, raffle table and smoked meat sandwiches wowed the masses once again. Thank you to Maureen Bee and Michelle Knapp for their leadership.
The special interactive anthem, “This Land is Your Land..” at EUC Worship, lead by the choir and Music Director Morgan Wright, held significance for all in attendance.
Following a delay by a provincial authority, the EUC septic system installation is to begin Monday, July 21st.
County Road 44, Saturday, August 23rd, 2025 @ 7:30 p.m., Portland United Church. This is a Fundraiser for the Portland Foodbank. A free-will offering will be received. Refreshments will be served.
Mary’s Merry Minstrels, Saturday, September 27th, 2025 @ 7:00 p.m., Portland United Church. This is a Fundraiser for the Portland Foodbank. A free-will offering will be received. Refreshments will be served.
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.
Devotional Reflection
July 19, 2025
I have recently thought about what it means to experience peace. Peace is like having no reason to be afraid.
I think back to conversations I have listened to when my children were small. Mothers and fathers would sit in the park, laughing at the antics of their children as they played in the splash pools, took turns pushing each other on the swings. The children learned quickly how to race down a slide on their belly or back. They could play for hours as parents, grandparents, baby-sitters chatted with each other.
On one such occasion, I listened as a mother tried to console her young daughter, who carried her Cabbage Doll everywhere with her. On this particular day, the child 
was upset because she was the only one with a doll. “Why do older people not have dolls.” Her mother tried to explain that as we grow older, we can continue playing with the doll or you can give it up for something else. The little girl burst into tears again: “I love my doll! I am afraid what will happen if I don’t want her anymore!”
There comes a realization that as we age, things change. The memories of childhood fade and the struggles of the day overwhelm.
We listen to the news, and our minds become filled with the fear of disasters all around us. People are starving, people are homeless, people are killed, people are exploited. As usual, the list is longer than one devotional can contain.
I write this not to discourage you. But to bring you hope. The child in my story grew up, and for many years cherished her doll. She took it to bed with her. She dressed it in a different outfit every day. She covered it with blankets. She pretended to feed her doll.
But as life continued, the time for her doll became less and less. Cabbage Patch sat on the dresser and a stereo took her place; and make-up and telephone calls to a boyfriend or a girlfriend; study partners came and went. Summer jobs turned into days of study at university. Life continued to change. She married, had her own children and the cycle began again.
She continued to change. And one day, as she was clearing clutter from her basement, Cabbage Patch Doll resurfaced. And the young woman sat down and cried. Those happy days of childhood flooded in and she saw, for the first time, what those changes meant.
Cabbage Patch Doll had filled a need. University had continued to help her grow. Marriage and family life continued with ups and downs. But she was happy. She was at peace.
For those reading this reflection you know what comes next. Life has many turns. It constantly changes for us. There are moments of joy, utter despair, sickness, happiness. There are times when we wonder if we will survive the losses.
For those who know God, really know God, you have the answer. Peace, perfect peace. No matter when we go back, the Source of all Joy is there. We find Jesus, waiting for us. There God shows Himself to you again; there Holy Spirit walks with you. And your peace is restored.
Life will always be changing. Nothing stays the same. But for those who believe in a loving God, we will always know that walking with Him, during good times and bad times will bring you to a place of comfort, courage, peace, joy and love!
You are blessed and loved.
Liz Church, Director of Pastoral Care
Elgin/Portland Pastoral Charge
