• November 10, Church Conference - Important! You must be a Pender member to vote on this important issue
• November 10, Charge Conference
• November 11, Angel Tree gifts for Philippi due
• November 16, Faith Promise Missions Meeting will be followed by a Pot Luck Luncheon
• November 23, Sacred Harmony Concert
• November 24, Consecration Sunday
• November 24, Community Thanksgiving Service at Chantilly Baptist Church
• November 30, Bread of Life Ministry
• December 1, Fellowship Feast
• 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 at 10:30
• 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
• 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 Church Family:

This Sunday will be a big day in the life of Pender United Methodist Church. As we approach the end of one church year and the start of a new year, we will hold two special conferences on Sunday, one familiar and the other extraordinary.

Immediately following worship, we will convene a special Church Conference for the purpose of voting on a single issue: Should Pender UMC establish a lease agreement with the Korean United Methodist Church-Koinonia (KUMC-K) that would have that congregation share our building space for their worship and ministry life? After months of prayerful conversation and discernment in anticipation of this decision, maybe the most important question before us is, do we see the Lord of the Church at work in this arrangement to help both congregations to fulfill our respective missions, now in cooperation and support of each other? All professing members of Pender are eligible to vote at the Church Conference. Later that afternoon, KUMC-K will be taking a similar vote in their own Church Conference to enter into this agreement.  

Shortly after the Church Conference, we will reconvene for our Charge Conference, our regular annual gathering to review and celebrate the past year in ministry and mission, and to make decisions about our church life in the coming year(s). While only members of the Pender Church Council are eligible to vote at the Charge Conference, all interested persons are invited to join us for the conference session, to help in the celebration and to be informed about our plans for the coming year.

In my newsletter article last week, I encouraged all of us to be in prayer about the future of Pender and the future of the United States of America. Now that the federal election has been concluded decisively, I want to encourage us also, as one of our Bible study participants put it, to “pray for all sides,” pray for the happy and the unhappy, the anxious and the relieved, for our current and coming leadership, no matter how you feel about either.     

In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul wrote: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God…the authorities are God’s servants” (Romans 13:1, 6). In instructing Jesus’ followers to be good subjects under governing authorities, Paul does not mean that we must agree with their every policy or priority, nor that we must approve of their every word or action. He is telling us that, despite the flawed character and behavior of our human leaders, nevertheless the Lord God will use them to accomplish his holy will and purposes for human beings and community. To pray for President Biden and President Trump is to pray also for the well-being of the country, for us as citizens, and for the will of God to be done.

Of course, Paul’s word to the Romans is not the whole picture of Christian citizenship. In his witness to the kingdom of God, Jesus sometimes offended and even enraged the authorities, civic and religious. To be a disciple of Jesus is to grow in our understanding of where our faith in the supremacy of King Jesus requires subjection to human authority and where it demands a witness against the corruption of human authority. In the aftermath of the US election, this is an opportune time for American Christians to consider our identity as disciple-witnesses in our divided country and our high call to be “ministers of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18) in a divided land and people. In my sermon this Sunday, I will invite us to consider together the Word of the Lord for our witness to Christ in the land we love.

In a season of big decisions and consequential changes, how good and comforting to know that the God who called us to himself by the mercies of his Son, is even now with us to lead us into his faithful service and joyful witness, and to invite others to join us in the life-giving way of Christ.   

Pastor Bruce     

On November 10, Pender will hold two important meetings after the service.

The first, the Church Conference, is a committee of the whole congregation which meets as-needed to conduct church business that requires consensus or majority approval. We will be voting on the potential partnership with the Korean United Methodist Church of Koinonia. The is the partnership that we have been discussing for a few weeks. Only Pender members can vote.

After that, there will be a Charge Conference:  The charge conference is the basic governing body of each United Methodist local church and is composed of all members of the Administrative Council.

The charge conference must meet at least once per year. The charge conference gives general oversight to the church council, reviews and evaluates the mission and ministry of the church, sets salaries for the pastor and staff, elects the members of the church council, and recommends candidates for ordained ministry.

For more information, please see the Book of Discipline

At Pender's Worship service on September 29, 2024 Jane McKee explained how Christmas in Philippi would work this year.

November 16 and 17, we're packing our bags and heading to the town of Philippi, West Virginia, on a mission of love and cheer! Our youth mission trip is all about spreading joy to those living on Chestnut Ridge who might not otherwise experience the magic of Christmas!

Please select a child from our Angel tree. Follow the instructions on the card to buy, pray over, and donate the gift that will light up their faces and fill their hearts with joy!**

Our Pender Youth Team will join forces with local Philippi youth to wrap those gifts with love!

This mission trip is not just about giving; it’s about sharing hope, love, and the true meaning of Christmas. Let’s show the world the power of God and the promise of the season!

Let’s bring hope and love to Chestnut Ridge this Christmas!

**Please bring all gifts to the church by Sunday, November 10th so we can pray over them!

November 23 at 6:00 pm in Pender's Sanctuary

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!! 

Chantilly Baptist Church will host this year's annual Thanksgiving celebration with our neighbor churches of Pender United Methodist Church, Ox Hill Baptist Church, King of Kings Lutheran Church, and Christ Presbyterian Church.

Come, share, and be a part of this joyous worship! Hallelujah!

Chantilly Baptist Church is at 14312 Chantilly Baptist Lane, Chantilly Virginia 20151

Pender Hill School will be collecting toys for the Santa's Ride program again this year starting November 26th. 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.

~~~

Western Fairfax Christian Ministries - “WFCM”

Update and current requests for donations

Update from Becky Bryan, our liaison with WFCM:

In October I had the privilege, along with Karen Cross, to attend the WFCM Fall Fundraiser event. One of the messages we heard was thankfulness for our dedication in support and partnership that make basic resources more accessible to the families that need them so that they can move past surviving to thriving!!!  

The focus of WFCM began with providing food from one location in Chantilly.

Since its beginning 37 years ago, WFCM has greatly expanded its assistance, both in the food provided and through the addition of financial assistance and counseling. 

In June of 2023 the second “Client Choice Food Pantry” was opened in Centreville, with 6 commercial refrigerators and freezers stocked with milk, meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, in addition to shelves of food, toiletries and diapers. This added to the 14 Free Food Fridges located in county schools to provide the important perishable food in addition to the donations of non-perishable food.

All together more than 1 million pounds of food was provided to 4,718 of our neighbors in the past year! In addition, $2.2 million was provided in rent and utility assistance to keep 2,085 individuals safely housed!

PLUS, we heard wonderful success stories of clients who had graduated from WFCM’s “Pathways to Success” program which has the goal of helping families learn how to become self-sufficient and thrive.

Thanks to each of you at Pender who support these amazing programs with your donations of funds, non-perishable food and toiletries. 

Financial donations designated WFCM can be made to Pender to be forwarded to WFCM. 

Donations of food and toiletries may be left in the blue grocery cart located by Pender’s front doors.

The most needed items in the Free Food Market this month:

Food

• Flour

• Sugar (1 or 2 lb. bags)

• Vegetable Oil

• Pasta Sauce 

• Pasta 

• Cereal (low sugar preferred)

• Pancake Mix

• Family Sized Snacks (pretzels, crackers, etc.)

• Canned Chicken

​

Toiletries

NOTE: Toiletry items cannot be purchased by our clients with SNAP​​

• Body Wash

• Bar Soap 

• Toothpaste 

• Hair Shampoo

• Toilet Paper

• Large size pull-ups (size 4T/5T for toddlers) 

• Size 6 Diapers 

• Baby Wipes 

​

NOTE:  Only size 6 diapers and large pull-ups are needed at this time thanks to our partnership with Greater DC Diaper Bank. 

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.