Important information Sunday!

Pastor Bruce and your Church Leadership would like to discuss some information with the congregation prior to our annual Charge Conference in November. 

The second Information Session will be in the evening of Friday, October 25th at 7 pm. 

Both sessions will be in the Gathering Place and all are encouraged to attend.

• October 25, Information Session
• October 26, United Women of Faith General Membership Breakfast
• October 26, Church Council
• October 27, JDC, Juvenile Detention Center
• November 2, Bread of Life Ministry
• November 3, All Saints Sunday
• November 3, Fellowship Feast
• November 10, Charge Conference
• November 16, Faith Promise Missions Meeting will be followed by a Pot Luck Luncheon
• November 23, Sacred Harmony Concert
• November 24, Consecration Sunday
• December 7, Christmas Caroling
• December 10, Santa's Ride
• December 14, Breakfast with Santa
• January 12, Poetry Slam

Weekly Events

• Sunday
• Children's Sunday School Classes. The children will meet in the sanctuary until just after Children's Time. They will then leave for Sunday School with their teachers. We are asking for volunteers to relieve the Sunday School teachers so they may periodically attend the full worship service.
• Youth Sunday School Class Time TBD
• Connections Adult Class Time TBD
• Seeker Adult Sunday School Class meets at 9:00 am.
• Pray for Pender
• The Impact Youth Group at 5:00 pm
• Monday
• Fun with Music
• Book Squad!
• Mary Martha Circle, online
• Tuesday
• Handbell rehearsals
• Pastor Bruce Bible Study
• Wednesday
• Ruth Circle
• AA Meetings at 6pm
• Thursday
• Pastor Bruce Bible Study
• Lectio Divina Prayer Group
• Choir Rehearsal at 6:30
• Praise Band Rehearsal at 7:30

Check here for other meetings.

All Pender Meetings run by the school year. Recurring meetings (weekly or monthly) taking place after June 30, 2024 will need to be scheduled again for the 2024-2025 school year.

Pender Members and Pender-sponsored groups such as Boy Scouts should go here, click add event. Please list your first-choice of room number. 

You will get an email when your event is approved. Note that you cannot add an event to a room that is already reserved for another meeting.

Dear Pender Family:

This Sunday, I will be away preaching at the homecoming service of Manor Memorial UMC where I served for seven years. In my absence, Donna Parker, our Church Council chairperson, will bring a word from the Lord.

Next week, I will be away on personal retreat. If you have an emergency requiring pastoral care during that time, please contact JaiVon in the church office who will relay the message to me. I will be back for the, All Saints Sunday service on November 3.  

On my walk through the woods this morning, falling leaves and pine needles were piling up on the pathway before me. The season of the earth is changing unmistakably and rapidly. Homes and images that were once hidden in the dense woods are now coming into view through the bare trees. The fall/winter forest has its own stark beauty that is different but revealing and engaging.  

Life at Pender United Methodist Church is also changing rapidly. Last Sunday, the Gathering Place was nearly full after worship to hear a report about a proposal to share our building with another congregation beginning in the new year. This potential partnership between Pender UMC and Korean UMC-Koinonia would represent, of course, a big change for us, but one that leaders from both churches believe is being led by God’s providential hand and is full of opportunities to enhance the ministry of both congregations as we strive in our common mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Of course, there are many details to be worked out in this ongoing process of discernment and adaptation. A task force of four members from each church is meeting to work through as many details as possible before the change would take place. Just as important, the meeting on Sunday represents the commitment of Pender’s leaders that all of us to be informed and have a chance to give input to this proposal and to discern God’s will for us. 

If you were unable to attend Sunday’s meeting, we will meet again in the Gathering Place at 7:00pm this Friday to discuss the same matters. If you are unable to attend in person, you may also join us by Zoom. I encourage you to participate one way or the other and to bring your questions that will help us all to follow the Spirit’s leading and give us the confidence to act when the time is right.         

For some time now, I have believed, prayed, and occasionally expressed to you my deep conviction that God has a bright future for Pender UMC, we just can’t see the shape of it yet. As we work on addressing the challenges we know, we are also walking by faith into the future we cannot yet see. Now, with the prospect of this new partnership in mission and ministry, more and more of us are beginning to recognize an unfolding and hopeful vision of God’s new future for Pender in faithful and fruitful ministry. Maybe the most important words spoken on Sunday were expressions of thanksgiving to our Lord for his rich blessings to his faithful servants at Pender, and for the joy and hope it is renewing in us.    

As we move into a new season in our life as a community of Jesus’ disciples, my daily walks through the woods are a constant reminder that there is divine beauty in each new moment for those who attend to it. By his great love, the eternal God fills our lives with new beauty and renewed life in every season of the earth and in our life as the Body of Christ at Pender. It is in that confidence that we will walk together by faith into God’s new future for us, in ways unexpected but beautiful and full of hope. Thanks be to God!  

Pastor Bruce

Hurricane Flood Relief

The United Methodist Church in keeping with our Wesleyan heritage of embodying the gospel in acts of charity, is quickly responding to the great human need following the flooding in North Carolina and elsewhere. The Virginia Conference is encouraging every congregation to contribute to UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) that is already on the ground to bring relief to the suffering.  

Sunday, October 20, we assembled 44 Flood Buckets after the Information Session. We will have pizza, soda and cookies.

Below is a slideshow of Pender people responding to human need with Christ-like compassion.

On the fourth Sunday of the month, October 27, people in the Pender community lead a one hour worship service at Fairfax Juvenile Detention Center (JDC). This worship service supports teenagers (7th to 12th grade) and the staff.

Worship service is from 1:30 to 2:30 PM. Volunteers are asked to meet at JDC at 1:15 PM. You do not need to have any special skills, just a willing heart and spirit to share the gospel with teens and young adults.

November 23 at 6:00 pm

Great artists take numerous musical styles and influences, add their own talents and personality, and create a unique sound all their own. Sacred Harmony personifies that. With a sound unlike any other group in Gospel music, the Tennessee-based trio is breaking through barriers with their blended style.

      With so many blessings behind them, it’s what the future holds that is the most exciting as you will see a country style added to their set and new faces in 2024. “We are excited to see the doors that the Lord is opening to spread his word in song. We truly appreciate each church, each concert, and each person that we are blessed to worship with,” stated. Janet Weaver .

https://sacredharmony1.com/bio-our-story

Ministry opportunity - would you like to serve your church and the Lord?

Please consider signing up to serve communion. We celebrate this sacrament on the first Sunday of each month and on other special Sundays throughout the year. 

Please contact Donna Parker at musicalmother@gmail.com if you would like to be a part of this wonderful ministry.

We need you! Our wonderful and dedicated children's Sunday School teachers deserve the opportunity to attend the worship service with their families. 

There are sign up sheets in the Narthex with two slots available each Sunday between now and the end of the year. 

You do not have to plan any lessons or even teach. 

We are just in need of extra hands and eyes in each of the two classrooms. 

Please prayerfully consider volunteering for just one Sunday and give our teachers a blessing. 

You will be equally blessed!! 

Pender's Annual Trunk or Treat returned bigger and better than ever!

The Pender Fall Festival took place on October 19, 2024 from 2-4 pm in the church parking lot, and it was filled with fall fun!

Here’s what attendees enjoyed:

Trunk or Treat - Costumes were on full display as kids and adults collected tons of candy.

S’mores Station - Everyone snacked on ooey-gooey s’mores!

Karaoke Station - People showed off their singing skills with their favorite tunes.

Estimation Station - Guests tested their guessing skills with fun challenges.

Prizes... and much more

It was a fantastic afternoon filled with family, friends, and fall vibes. It was an event not to be missed and fun for everyone!

Thanks to photographers Andrea, Julia and Sue who took the photographs for this year's slideshow, below.

Pender Hill School will be collecting toys for the Santa's Ride program again this year. We are excited to work with the Fairfax County Police Motor Squad to collect new toys and books for children in local hospitals.

Coming soon - Items can be donated in the marked bins in the Church Lobby and the downstairs Preschool hallway until December 10.

The date for the motorcycle Santa, will be December 10^th.

Please contact Sarah Hocker with any questions.

Hi Sunday School Families & Friends, 

There are some wonderful family/children's activities happening ithis year. Please come and enjoy! All are welcome -- and invite a friend!

As of September 30, 2024:

MTD actual revenue was $32,544; YTD actual revenue was $387,967;

MTD actual expenses was $46,609; YTD actual expenses was $459,165;

MTD net loss was ($14,066); YTD net loss was ($71,198).



Bridge of Hope Fund:

2023 $37,159

2024 (as of 9/20/24) $130,456

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Total as of 9/30/24 $167,61

Western Fairfax Christian Ministries ("WFCM") Current Request for Donations

WFCM has been providing food and services to the community for 37 years! Pender was one of the twelve founding churches that set the path and began the journey.  Becky Bryan is our current liaison with WFCM.  Please contact her with any questions.

In May more than 700 families were provided groceries from the Food Pantries, a 15% increase over May of 2023. Serving more families means we have a greater opportunity to make an impact with our donations. 

There are multiple ways you can support this community ministry.  The ways we hear of most often are donations of goods or money. Another way to participate is through volunteering of time to work in the Food Pantry.  If you are interested in volunteering, contact the WFCM office or Becky Bryan.

Financial donations to be used to stock the Food Pantry can be made to Pender to be forwarded to WFCM.  In a recent newsletter, WFCM explained that, because of the savings that flow out of bulk purchases, a donation of $100 is used to purchase the equivalent of $600 of food. 

For donations of food and toiletry items, you may leave your gifts in the grocery cart located by Pender’s front doors.  OR, you can order from Amazon for direct delivery to WFCM at 4511 Daly Drive, Suite J, Chantilly, VA 20151.

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The WFCM blue cart is between the two front doors of the church.

Most needed items in the Free Food Market this month:

• Flour (Maseca preferred)
• Sugar (1 or 2 lb. bags)
• Vegetable Oil 
• Pasta Sauce
• Pasta
• Cereal (low sugar preferred)
• Pancake Mix 
• Family Sized Snacks (crackers, pretzels) 
• Canned Chicken 
• Toiletries: bar soap, body wash, toothpaste, hair shampoo, toilet paper, and baby wipes (NOTE: we are not currently in need of diapers size 0-5 due to our partnership with Greater DC Diaper Bank. Please only donate larger size pull ups size 4T/5T for toddlers, size 6 diapers, or baby wipes if you want to donate items for babies.)

Please only donate larger size pull ups size 4T/5T for toddlers, size 6 diapers, or baby wipes if you want to donate items for babies.

Please no:

* Expired food

* Glass jars

* Egg Cartons

Read this month's WFCM Newsletter.

The WFCM Food Pantry is accepting outside donations at their address below. There is a greater need for food but fewer donations.

You can also help by ordering from Amazon for delivery to WFCM. Rice, beans, canned fruit, diapers (Sizes 4, 5, 6), pasta, pasta sauce, etc.



                   WFCM

                   4511 Daly Drive, Suite J

                   Chantilly, VA 20151

Financial contributions are also accepted (cash, check or through our website). Please mark your tax deductible donation "WFCM Food Pantry." This will be recorded on your giving statement.

Thank you for your continuing support of WFCM. In 2021, Pender donated 6,128.74 pounds of food and personal care items to help the needy in the community. Thank you for your ongoing and generous support of WFCM.

Pender is an open and welcoming church. We accept and embrace all persons, period. All people are blessed children of God. Pender is a caring and praying church community; we believe as Christians that we are called to follow and practice the ways of Jesus Christ, who is our ever present and living God.

Our mission is to practice and embrace, providing unconditional love and acceptance of all of God's children as He loves and accepts all of us.

We do not discriminate based on age, mental, physical, or intellectual ability, culture, gender, race, religious belief or unbelief, or sexual orientation.