Elgin Portland United Church Council
Announcements
May you reflect on your blessings of the passing year and may your new year be full of hope and faith for you. May you celebrate Thanksgiving Day with your family and friends with love in your heart, a prosperous vision in your mind and gratitude in your being. Happy Thanksgiving.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to James Campbell. May your day be more enjoyable than you can even imagine.
UCW Meeting, Tuesday, October 14th, at 1:30 p.m., Portland United Church. Vicky & Liz are on for snack and devotion. All are welcome.
The Young @ Heart Breakfast Club meets again on Thursday, the 16th of October at 9 am at the Junction Restaurant. All are welcome. Let Clint or Ted know by noon Wednesday the 15th by whatever means you are comfortable with if you are coming. See you there…Ted
Free Art Classes in the Portland Village – 6-12 yrs. Monday 4:30-6:30 at the Portland Restaurant & Pizzeria.
Visual Art Teacher – Darlene, call to book your spot 905-801-5060.
Bible Discussion Groups
Monday evening meeting will be canceled due to Thanksgiving. The Tuesday group will still meet on Tuesday morning at the Guthrie House at 10 am. For information, please contact Jim Barton at ccjimbarton@gmail.com or 613-328-4089.
Devotional Reflection
October 11, 2025
I have lived more than my 30 score and 10 years on this earth. And I have witnessed beauty beyond belief. I saw it in a newborn baby’s face; I sniffed it in the air as my BBQ cooked away, producing the most succulent piece of steak and baked potatoes. I have heard it as an angelic choir sang Christmas carols on a street corner. Travelling across Canada, or to Australia and to picturesque Costa Rica, I have been moved to tears – from the expanse of majestic mountains, to the whales in the ocean, to a Talking Circle where healing took place, to the sunrises and sunsets.
And on days like this, Thanksgiving weekend, many I know will celebrate with families, eating a bountiful feast, sharing and laughing with each other, enjoying the fruits of their labour, and giving thanks to the Lord for His goodness and love.
Needless to say. I have seen much. I stand in awe of my life and the opportunities I have experienced.
But I have missed much. While I am on a vacation in some part of our glorious planet, or sitting at a banquet table with friends and family, there has been a tragedy happening in our own cities and towns. Did you see it? Did you witness it? Did you notice it? It’s there on the streets, in every city and many towns throughout our country.
Tragic stories – all around us. But I would share one that is not my story. An 80-year- old woman, living on the street, who has dementia, was found and taken to a homeless shelter. How can that be? How does this happen?
This story will possibly end up with a happy ending. For when she came to this house of refuge, she received care and love. Gratitude to the Care Worker who shares her gift of love and is making a difference.
It has caused me to be intensely heavy-hearted. Since hearing about it, I have begun to look around me and wonder how many others? Is it possible that I have passed them by? No longer are the streets filled only with men, suffering from addictions. Instead, added to the appalling statistics, we have children, families, the elderly, the lonely, the poor, the homeless.
This true story needs me to respond to the needs all around. I don’t know how, but I will do something to reach out. That is my mandate as a Christian – to seek those who are suffering, to feed the hungry, to bring them the Good News.
If you are reading this, then I am sure you feel the same. Perhaps we can organize a day and bring food to those in need. They may be right here in our community. They may be in a bigger city. It might be your neighbour.
A good friend of mine wrote a song for me many years ago. When Oriel Horner penned the words, I knew they would change my life forever. Jesus talked directly to me through those words. The refrain says:
Do you remember,
do you remember that I love you?
Could you doubt for a moment
that I love them too?
Did you think yourself
somehow more worthy?
What you did unto them,
you did unto Me!
This Thanksgiving you can make a difference in another person’s life. The Golden Rule still applies.
You are blessed and loved.
Liz Church, Director of Pastoral Care
Elgin/Portland Pastoral Charge
You Can Make A Difference