11/03/2026
The glow of kerosene lights, the rumble of the pump organ, the warmth of the potbelly wood stove and uncomfortable benches are all memories from our past! From around 1991 to 2008, St. Paul’s UCC would hold a Thanksgiving Eve worship service at the historic Portland Church on County Trunk E near Brant. It always seemed to be snowing as we would come out of church after the service. The Portland Church was built by settlers who arrived in the 1840s. It was served by itinerant Methodist circuit rider preachers who traveled designated geographical territories on horseback, likely only coming to the church once every four weeks or so because of the shortage of ministers in rural territories. Their routes often had them preaching at different locations seven days a week. The preachers would perform baptisms, weddings, minister to pioneer families and organize classes to be led by “lay leaders” in his absence. A service typically lasted over two hours with some praise and congregational singing, followed by an emotionally impassioned sermon to make the congregation feel the weight of sin and the urgency of salvation. This was followed by prayer and public invitations for repentance. The Portland Church also has a cemetery with over 600 graves with some of them dating back to the early 1850s and includes veterans of the War of 1812 and the Civil War.
