Announcements
The 2025 Annual Meetings scheduled for March 1st
PUC: following worship service
EUC: following worship service
EPPC: following EUCs ACM
Annual reports are due to the office by January 20th, treasurers’ reports by January 27th.
Bible Discussion Groups
Bible Discussion Groups will resume their meetings in the new year on January 5th and 6th. This past year the groups have completed reading the New Testament two more times and have read the first half of the Old Testament (up to Job). In the new year, we will resume our study in the second half of the Old Testament, while reading again the New Testament. If you would like to start your new year with greater understanding of God’s word, please join us for lively discussions and encouraging fellowship. Contact Jim Barton at ccjimbarton@gmail.com or (cell) 613-328-4089.
The Young @ Heart Breakfast Club meets next on Thursday January the 15th at 9 am at the Junction Restaurant. If you are coming and everyone is welcome, let Clint or Ted know by what ever means you are comfortable with by noon Wednesday the 14th ……………Ted
Portland Church Council will meet on January 13th at 7:00 pm.
Devotional Reflection
January 10, 2026
There is no doubt that all around us is beauty. This morning, as I was cleaning snow off my car, I could hear the beautiful sounds of birds, calling to each other.
It reminded me how these creatures, which I am sure have been created for my pleasure, need each other. They call to one other – to warn of danger, to share food sources, and to let each other know when it is time to make a new generation. They send out calls in the evening when it is time to rest; and in the morning when a new day is dawning.
God has provided for their every need by giving them the innate ability to find shelter, food, companionship, family.
And I have watched when a bird meets a tragic end. The members of the flock will swarm close, trying to change the situation; trying to ease the sorrow of the one bird who is now suffering, because they all suffer.
Many a documentary has taught me of the beauty of nature; and sometimes the cruelty when there is a fight for survival.
Somehow or other God has made provision in His creation to keep the balance of nature secure.
And He does this so that I, and you, can continue to bask in the richness of beauty that surrounds us.
BUT… sometimes, in our humanity, things get more complicated.
We humans, made in the image of God, struggle with life. We make it complicated. We live rather superficially. Perhaps the balance of power shifts in a direction we do not like. And we exert lots and lots of effort into trying to work out our own space in life. And then life throws you another situation, and you spiral again.
And somewhere, along this journey, we begin to falter. And instead of another assisting us to our feet, they push us further down, until we feel destitute, and alone.
And then, just as a last push, you are thrown to the claws of social media, left to survive, if you can. Your name is splashed over the region; you are an outcast; it seems the whole world is against you. And you cannot love yourself.
This devotional is written from a deep desire to remind each of us that we do not walk in the footprints of another.
There is a reason that Jesus reminded us, over and over: Love your neighbour! No task is harder to follow. We seem ill-equipped to turn the other cheek, or stand with those who struggle! Each of us will face tough moments in our lives. We all have those times when we want to play the ‘ostrich’ game, and hide away.
Yet, I speak with an assurance that many who read this devotional, work hard to be that support to others, who give comfort to those who hurt.
I write to you, my dear readers, knowing of your love for me. I have been so fortunate. To each and every one of you, I thank you. You are indeed such a blessing to me.
You are loved!
Liz Church, Director of Pastoral Care
Elgin/Portland Pastoral Charge
The following is a condensed version of my message for my worship service at
Lanark Lodge on January 7, 2026 Clinton Halladay
Epiphany: A Glimmer of Light
January 4th was Epiphany Sunday, January 6th was the Feast of Epiphany, and as we celebrate, we return to a story many of us have known since childhood: the Magi following a single light across unfamiliar land, carrying gifts, and arriving at a humble establishment where they meet a child who changes everything. It’s a beautiful story, but also a profoundly human one—people choosing to follow a light without knowing where it will lead.
Epiphany is about revelation: a moment of clarity, when something hidden becomes visible, an ahh moment, when God whispers, “Look, here I am,” often in unexpected ways. Though the biblical story is ancient, the experience of epiphany still happens—through Scripture, through prayer, and sometimes through the art and music of our time.
One surprising modern echo comes from Taylor Swift’s song “epiphany.” Written early in the pandemic, it reflects on the quiet heroism of medical workers and soldiers—people who walk into suffering so others might live. Inspired by her grandfather, Dean Swift, who served at Guadalcanal in WWII, she sings of trying to “find a glimmer of light” in the darkest moments. That phrase feels deeply connected to the star of Bethlehem we remember today.
The Magi followed a light in the sky; the people Swift honors follow a light within—compassion, duty, love. Both journeys require courage. The Magi traveled far, crossed deserts, carried costly gifts, and followed a star without knowing where it would stop. When they arrived, they found not a palace but a humble residence, and yet they recognized God in that fragile place. That is the heart of Epiphany: seeing God where you might not expect Him.
Swift’s song reflects a different landscape—hospital rooms and battlefields—but the revelation is similar. Her epiphany is gentle: the realization that even in bleakness, human beings show extraordinary tenderness; that sacrifice is a form of love; that compassion can be a light in the darkest rooms.
Place the star of Bethlehem beside the fluorescent lights of a hospital, and both illuminate human vulnerability. The Magi kneel before a child; medical workers kneel beside the suffering. In both scenes, something sacred is revealed: the dignity of the fragile, the power of presence.
Epiphany invites us to consider what gifts we bring. Sometimes the greatest gift is simply showing up, simply being present. It calls us to recognize quiet heroism, to honor life in its most vulnerable forms, to follow even the faintest glimmer of light.
As we celebrate Epiphany, may we see the light God sets before us, and may we recognize Christ in the humble, fragile, holy moments of our world.
May it be so.