Announcements
The 2025 Annual Congregational Meetings are scheduled for March 1st.
PUC: following worship service
EUC: following worship service
EPPC: following EUCs ACM
Bible Discussions Groups
Two meetings each week – Monday evenings at Portland UC (6:30-7:45PM) and Tuesday mornings in Elgin at the Guthrie House 10 Perth St.; (10:00AM-11:30AM). All are welcome to join in the friendly discussions and fellowship. For more information contact Jim Barton @ ccjimbarton@gmail.com or 613-328-4089.
The Young at Heart Breakfast Club meets next on Thursday the 19th of February at the Junction restaurant. We missed last month because of the weather but we’re back this month. If you are coming let Clint or Ted know by the means you are comfortable with by noon Wednesday the 18th. Looking forward to seeing you there………..Ted
Devotional Reflection February 7, 2026
I somehow got thinking today about ripcords. Now I do not have one thing in my possession that has such a tool. I keep trying to visualize this so important life line when it comes to parachuting.
The story is told of an inexperienced sky diver. She was so frightened that once she was up in the plane all her senses seemed to freeze in fright.
Her turn came to walk to the edge and out on to the strut. Through much coaching, she was finally in place. Just as she let go, she heard the instructor yelling to her: “What is your postal code?” At least that is what her frozen brain heard. She began hurtling through the air with the land coming fast toward her.
In what seemed like a lifetime, but was really only seconds, she listened more intently as the instructor yelled again into her headphone apparatus: “Don’t forget to pull the ripcord!”
In that instant, it clicked! The ripcord would release her parachute and she would land safely on the ground. Mission accomplished. Her first skydiving jump was a success.
How many times in our own lives do we struggle to understand the simple instructions. They have been explained; the importance of understanding and follow through is clear. But when it comes to the actual ‘jump’, we freeze!
It is not unusual for such moments to happen in our lives. As they often say, knowing it and doing it are very different actions.
For a moment, visualize what God has shown you – the way of eternal life. Accomplishing this task takes hard work for most of us. The Instruction Manual (your Bible) spells out the procedure, step by step.
Somehow, in the midst of it, we forget some of the basics. ‘Pull the ripcord!’.
With confidence, we can make the jump. But there is one more reality to this spiritual ‘jump’.
Just as a skydiver trusts their equipment, pulling on a spiritual ripcord means allowing trust to grow. The old fears, insecurities – these are replaced with trust in God. Where you will land is part of the journey. But you have been equipped and as you maneuver yourself through that first hurdle, your confidence grows. The next step gets easier. Just as exhilarating, but with more confidence.
It is only as you pull the ripcord that you realize the parachute carries you to safety.
Jesus is the parachute – the one who carries you. Trust Him. And as you safely land there on the ground, you gather up that lifeline and prepare for the next walk of faith. Be bold. God is full of surprises!
Liz Church, Director of Pastoral Care
Elgin/Portland Pastoral Charge