Christmas Eve:
In Person and
Streaming
at 4:00 and 9:00 pm
Sunday Worship:
In Person and
Streaming
at 9:00 and 11:15 am
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This Week at Pender
December 23, 2021
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By following Jesus
and reaching out to others,
we seek God's transformation
of ourselves and our world.
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Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24, 2021 |
Friday, December 24, 2021 at 4:00 pm will be Pender’s Christmas Eve Family Service.
This service will feature an extended “time with children” for the little ones. Kids will be invited to be a part of the nativity scene in an impromptu way. We will also have electric candles to light at the end. There will be scripture readings and preaching.
At 9:00 pm on Christmas Eve, please join us for a traditional candlelight service.
You’ll hear and sing the traditional Christmas Carols. There will be scripture readings and preaching. We’ll serve Holy Communion. There will not be a children’s activity at this service.
Music will be provided jointly by Traditional and Common Ground teams both services on Christmas Eve!
This night is about the tradition, about the familiar, about feeling at home in this newly renovated sanctuary. It seems that with this year’s dinner theater and the text from Luke this year that we can’t get enough of the shepherds. As they are among the first witnesses of the miracle, their presence is a clue to the meaning of this mystery. Come experience the joy with us!
Theses service will be streamed live and in person.
Join us live at Pender UMC
12401 Alder Woods Drive, Fairfax, VA 22033
Invite a friend to attend or watch!
As always, please like, comment, and share on Facebook.
Please subscribe and comment on YouTube!
Grace and Peace, Rev. Will White,
Lead Pastor of Pender UMC
Sunday in person and online services are:
Please take a moment to fill these out:
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The Family Service will be in person and live streamed at 4:00 pm on Friday. |
The Candlelight and Communion Service will be in person and live streamed at 9:00 pm on Friday. |
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Sunday, December 26, 2021 |
Rev. Will White will preach on
“Lost at Home”
from the series
"Come Home for Christmas"
based on scriptures
This is the First Sunday after Christmas.
Yesterday was Christmas. Whew, we’re worn out. The crowd will be thin today, most likely. Only those faithful ones who come whenever the door opens will be present. Too many others say they have to tend to their guests or that they are the guests because they went home for Christmas. That is understandable. And we can’t really blame them, especially after weeks of saying, “Come Home for Christmas!”
More about the series Come Home for Christmas:
Advent is an invitation. For many, it is the invitation to get into that Christmas spirit, to count down the days to the grand celebration, and let the holiday transform everything around us. We’re not all about Christmas, the holiday, about December 25 with all the jingle bells and tinsel. We are about Christmas, the Mass of Christ, the celebration of the Incarnate one who comes to remind us that we are not alone, and God is with us. We are about the longing for the coming kingdom, where we will study war no more, where people will walk in the light, where joy will be found, and love will be the tie that binds us together. That’s the home for which we long. That’s the invitation this Advent season to your church and the world: “Come home for Christmas.”
Join us live at Pender UMC
12401 Alder Woods Drive, Fairfax, VA 22033
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The Traditional Service will be in person and live streamed at 9:00 am on Sunday. |
The Common Ground Contemporary Service will be in person and live streamed at 11:15 am on Sunday. |
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Rev. Will White will preach on
“The Light of Home”
from the series
Come Home for Christmas"
based on scriptures
This is the Second Sunday after Christmas.
This week can be a continuation of last week; the Christmastide desire to hold on to the hope of Christmas. Except this week, we go from a position of strength and not of loss. Instead of focusing on the cloud, we look to the light.
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The Traditional Service will be in person and live streamed at 9:00 am on Sunday. |
The Common Ground Contemporary Service will be in person and live streamed at 11:15 am on Sunday. |
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Sunday, December 19, 2021 |
The PUMC Sanctuary Choir and members of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra provided a music cantata during the 9:00 am traditional worship service.
Rev. Will White preached on
Ready for Different Kind of Birthday Bash?
Micah may be a minor prophet, but he’s a heavy hitter. Through him we know that God chose a no place like Bethlehem Ephrathah to be a significant someplace. Luke reminds us that, a young woman, a little girl really, from a backwater town became exceptional. Mary was her name. Her obedience to God makes possible a birth like none other. Come join us as we respond to this miracle.
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The Traditional Service was in person and live streamed at 9:00 am on Sunday. |
The Common Ground Contemporary Service was in person and live streamed at 11:15 am on Sunday. |
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YEAR END GIVING
We are always thankful for your financial gifts to Pender. For your gifts to be reflected in your 2021 giving statement, please make your gift on or before December 31, 2021.
On or before that date, you can place your gifts in the offering plate, donate online, give through credit card, wire transfer, or drop off in person. (Please note our office will be closed between December 23 at noon and January 3.)
If our office is closed, you can still mail them via US mail and as long as they are postmarked on or before December 31, 2021, that gift will also be reflected in your 2021 giving statement. This documentation may be helpful to you depending on how your taxes are prepared.
Thanks again for your gifts to Pender UMC!
THE CHURCH OFFICE IS CLOSED from noon on Thursday, December 23 until Monday, January 3 for Christmas and New Year’s. If there are critical pastoral emergencies, or hospitalizations, during that time please leave a message with Joyce or call Rev. White on his cell phone.
We want to care for our flock, but also provide the staff with a needed break.
Have a great holiday!
Christmas Offering 2021
The Christmas offering will support three important missions this year:
Mission #1: Support for Afghan Refugee Family
As you know by now, the exodus from Afghanistan is an epic humanitarian crisis as, for a variety of reasons, people are fleeing a Taliban controlled government. Our congregation is helping an Afghan family of 5 referred to us by Western Fairfax Christian Ministries. The father’s previous employment was through the State Department, and he worked in the US Embassy in Kabul. He and the other members of his family arrived with literally the “clothes on their backs”. Pender has already been helping them with rent and food through the Altar Fund. Their needs are evolving as they are setting up an apartment, searching for employment, and trying to establish a new life. Becky Bryant is our POC (point of contact) for this mission.
Mission #2: FACETS (Hypothermia Shelter) at Pender
FACETS is an acronym for Fairfax Area Christian Emergency and Transitional Services. FACETS mainly provides a temporary thermal shelter hosted by local churches for a week each year. Pender is hosting the shelter March 27 through April 3. The guests arrive late in the evening and leave early in the morning. Churches typically provide a hot dinner for them. They also provide volunteers to talk to the guests while they are here. That’s an important thing to do as homeless people often do not have the opportunity to speak to caring Christians. When the shelter opens at Pender, there will be a need for a variety of supplies. We are also looking for people to begin to volunteer. Claire Anton is our POC (point of contact) for this mission.
Mission #3: Hygiene Kits Through UMCOR
As the familiar hymn states, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love”. The United Methodist Commission on Relief works domestically and abroad to show Christian love, compassion, and mercy in the aftermath of natural disasters and political turmoil. When disaster strikes, UMCOR will be there. One of the most critical needs after any disaster are the means to maintain basic hygiene. This is harder to accomplish than you might think when circumstances force people to “camp out” in their destroyed homes and there are no stores to purchase supplies. It is extremely difficult for refugees on the move to keep themselves clean enough to prevent illnesses when there is little or no support. Hygiene kits fill an essential niche. Greg Berry is our POC (point of contact) for this mission.
With the funds raised through the Christmas offering, we’ll make and assemble hygiene kits on Sunday, January 23, from 4-6pm in The Gathering Place.
Use the specially marked envelopes in our sanctuary or write “Christmas Offering” on the memo portion of a check made out to Pender and drop in the Sunday morning offering plate. You can also make gifts online through the website. Select “Christmas Offering” from the menu options. Your gift will be divided equally among these three mission efforts.
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Pender Podcast #15: Pender Pianist/Organist Liz Eunji Sellers performs Christmas music.
Liz's Christmas medleys include Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem combined with a bit of Bach, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Joy To The World and a jazzy Go Tell It On The Mountain.
Liz plays piano and organ every Sunday at 9:00 am online and in person at Pender UMC, 12401 Alder Woods Drive, Fairfax, VA US 22033
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"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Jesus Christ. " 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Pender is a church committed to the power of prayer. Our "prayer chain" is a group of church members constantly in prayer for the needs of our congregation. To make your prayer needs known, you may email the prayer chain by clicking here to send an email to our group of prayer warriors.
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Merry Christmas 2021 to Pender Family and Friends from the Pender Staff!
Sarah, Caroline, Uriah and Liz, we miss you!
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Christmas Love Offering
S/PPRC encourages each of you to prayerfully consider making a love offering gift – indicate "Love Offering Gift" in the memo of your check or online giving by Friday, December 31, 2021. Please note that love offerings are not tax deductible.
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From the GBE Backpack Blessings Team:
We just want to say thank you so much for all of the generous gift cards and food that you have provided to GBE this month.
They are so appreciative.
And if you want to help us provide 60 meals for January, there are a few grocery bags left in the narthex that you can pick up!
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New Small Group for Young Adults Starting January 9, 2022: Video and Conversation
From 10 to 10:15 we'll have coffee and fellowship. At 10:15 there will be a short 10 minute video and then conversation.
Our Music Director, Brian Stevenson, will facilitate the “Nooma” series to start this group off, and then look to class members for areas of topic and/or service ideas (books, lunch meetings, mission work etc.)
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Bi-District Training Day Registration Is OPEN!
Bi-District Training Day will take place on Saturday, January 15, 2022 beginning at 9:00 a.m. and will be all virtual. We've got a great lineup for you.
Our Keynote Speaker is Rev. Michael Beck, author of Fresh Expressions in a Digital Age: How the Church Can Prepare for a Post Pandemic World and Contextual Intelligence: Unlocking the Ancient Secret to Mission on the Front Lines.
Micheal Beck will speak live three times on January 15. First, at 9:00 a.m. he will give our Keynote Address (Contextual Intelligence: Unlocking The Ancient Secret to Mission on the Frontlines), at 10:15 a.m. (One Intelligence to Serve Them All), and at 12:45 p.m. (Contextual Intelligence Framework).
We will offer five Zoom Lunchtime Conversations so that attendees can gather with others in a Zoom meeting to see and hear and talk together. These Lunchtime sessions are designed for networking, resource sharing, and fellowship and will each have their own topic. Attendees will need to select which lunchtime session they'd like to attend at the time of registration.
Our 63 additional workshops will be prerecorded and available to attendees as videos. Prerecorded workshops will publish beginning at 10:15 a.m. and will be available either for 24 hours (with a Day-Of Pass) or until July 15 (with an All-Access Pass).
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Maryann Weber is starting a new program called Pender Safe Transport. She is hoping to give rides to Pender people who need them.
It will be done on a volunteer basis, and donations from those who she helps will be given to PUMW.
Since this is a brand new ministry, we're starting small. Soon, we may take offers from other drivers, as well.
If you need a ride, contact the church office and we will put you in contact with Maryann.
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Bishop Lewis has been encouraging the clergy and laity of the Virginia Conference to read the Bible in a year since 2017. Each year has featured a variety of ways of reading.
- 2017 – read the Bible straight through
- 2018 – read the Bible chronologically
- 2019 – read the Bible in a blended style; a mixture of Old Testament readings and New Testament each day.
- 2020 – read the Bible with a thematic reading plan
- 2021 – read the Bible straight through from Genesis to Revelation
- 2022 – read the Bible straight through from Genesis to Revelation
Bishop Lewis invites you to join the 2022 Bible Challenge. In the new year, join the conference to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation (daily reading list provided at conference website).
Be on the lookout, starting in January 2022, for new ways to interact with the Bible and fellow participants as well.
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Children's Sunday School resumed in person and on Zoom
Welcome back to Sunday School!
The children's Sunday School is meeting face-to-face (at the church).
Please note, teachers and children need to wear a mask during class. All children will get their own bag of materials to avoid sharing.
We hope to see you soon!
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Sunday School
Topic: Youth Sunday School
Time: Sundays @ 10:oo am-11am
At Pender
Sunday Night Youth
December 26: No youth group tonight. Merry Christmas!
January 2: Happy New Year! Youth group tonight from 7-8:30 PM. See you there!
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Western Fairfax Christian Ministries |
The WFCM blue cart is outside the church.
All donations of food and toiletries are welcomed and needed.
Item of the Week: Canned Pasta
January 2 needs: Canned fruit
Please no:
* Expired food
* Glass jars
Thank you for your continuing generous support of WFCM.
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Western Fairfax Christian Ministries ("WFCM") Current Request for Donations
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.
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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.
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December 24, Christmas Eve
- 4:00 pm Family Service
- 9:00 pm Candles, Carols and Communion
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December 23-January 3, The Church Office is closed
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December 30, No Newsletter
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January 9, New Small Group for Young Adults begins
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January 15, Bi-District Training Day
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January 23, Hygiene Kit Assembly
Every Sunday - In Person and Streaming Services.
- Traditional at 9:00 am
- Common Ground Contemporary at 11:15 am
Weekly Events
- Sunday
- The Cornerstone Class meets at 10:00 am.
- Children's Sunday School Class meets at 10:00 am.
- Middle School Class meets at 10:00 am
- Youth Sunday School Class meets at 10:00 am.
- The Seeker Sunday School Class meets at 10:15 am.
- The Turning Point Youth Group at 7:00 pm
- Youth Group
- Monday
- Mary Martha Circle (no meeting December 27)
- Boy Scout Troop 1530 meets in-person at 7:00 pm
- Tuesday
- Staff Meeting at 12:30 pm.
- Carillon Ringers at 6:45 pm
- Joy Ringers at 7:30 pm
- Wednesday
- Ruth Circle meets on Zoom at 10 am
- Thursday
- AV and Worship Team Rehearsals in-person at 6:00 pm
- Choir Rehearsal at 7:30 pm
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