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Celebrating Patrick’s Ministry at Pender

01 Aug

At the end of August, our Director of Music Ministries, Patrick, will be concluding his time on staff at Pender. We are deeply grateful for his faithful leadership, musical gifts, and dedicated service to our congregation.

Please join us for a farewell luncheon following worship on Sunday, August 30, as we celebrate Patrick’s ministry, thank him for the many ways he has enriched our worship, and wish him God’s blessings in the next chapter of his journey.

As a token of our appreciation, we are collecting a love offering for Patrick. If you would like to contribute, you may:

  • Select “Love Offering for Patrick” when giving online, or
  • Write “Love Offering for Patrick” on the memo line of your check or on your giving envelope.

Please submit all donations by Tuesday, August 25.

Thank you for helping us express our gratitude and appreciation for Patrick’s years of faithful service. We hope you’ll join us on August 30 as we celebrate all he has meant to the Pender family.

 
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Posted by on August 1, 2026 in Music, Music Ministry

 

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AA Open Meeting

01 Aug

 

Discover a supportive space for new beginnings! Join us every Wednesday at 6:00 PM in the serene ambiance of Pender UMC’s Library. At 5:30 PM there will be a time of casual chat, known as the ‘meeting before the meeting’.

 

Engage in meaningful conversations and find camaraderie at our AA meetings, guided by the experienced Tom O, a dedicated long-term member. These are open meetings.

OPEN (Open to anyone interested in Alcoholics Anonymous’ program of recovery from alcoholism)

DISCUSSION (Group participation in discussion of topic relevant to the AA program)

STEP (Group discussion of the 12 steps of AA)

HANDICAPPED (Handicapped accessible)

Event Coordinator • Tom OConnor

Pender Office 703-278-8023

 
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Posted by on August 1, 2026 in Ministries, Pender UMC

 

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Register for VBS!

08 Jun

Snowball Mountain Challenge at Pender UMC

Get ready to turn your next summer VBS into an unforgettable adventure with Snowball Mountain Challenge VBS 2026!

Snowball Mountain Challenge invites kids to an exciting winter sports event where they become Challengers, gearing up for frosty games, snowy surprises, and hands-on lessons about resilience and faith. They will come to realize that with the strength God provides, they can share their gifts, be brave, give their all, pray, and hope.

Your kids will be guided by the energetic Activities Director and the lovable Ollie the Arctic Seal puppet, who is reporting on the events. Challengers aren’t just playing games. Using their Challenge Companion (the Bible), they learn to draw strength from their faith through powerful stories, while connecting the learnings to Bible Stories and Lift Lessons (Key Learnings). With a unique winter theme and solid theology at its core, Snowball Mountain Challenge VBS delivers joy and meaning in equal measure, teaching kids that “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NRSV).

Bring your family together to experience Snowball Mountain Challenge. Your VBS program will be transformed into a mountaintop experience filled with laughter, life lessons, and lasting faith. As children face their challenges and discover their strength in God, you’ll hear them say, “Challenge accepted – with God I am strong.”

Ages

Potty-trained three year olds through ninth grade

Registration includes lunch and a T-shirt.
The cost is $30.

Questions?

Contact
Jane McKee
VBS Director
(703) 278-8023

Register here.

Can you help?

Volunteer here.

 
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Posted by on June 8, 2026 in Get Involved!, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest

 

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Pender’s Combined Ringers played “On Our Way Rejoicing” June 7, 2026

08 Jun

Sunday June 7, 2026 Pender’s  Combined Ringers played “On Our Way Rejoicing” directed by Brian Stevenson.

The tune – HERMAS – was composed by Frances R. Havergal and arranged by Matthew Compton.

Handbells are not just for children and teens! We have adult handbell groups for beginner to advanced ringers. The difficulty level of handbell music is rated from Level 1 (easy) to Level 6 (most difficult). Each of the groups rings 6-8 times in worship between September and June and participates in the annual Christmas handbell concert.

The groups also like to participate in the various festivals that are held by the regional handbell guild (Handbell Musicians of America – Area 3). Our rehearsals are full of laughing and ringing (sometimes more laughing than ringing!) You do not have to know how to read music to learn how to ring handbells!

Carillon Ringers group is for ringers who ring Level 2 and Level 3 music.

Carillon Ringers rehearse at 6:45 pm Tuesdays.

Joy Ringers group is for advanced ringers who ring Level 4 and Level 5 music

Joy Ringers rehearse at 7:30 pm Tuesdays.

The handbells will play during the Traditional Service about once every four to six weeks. Brian Stevenson will make out the usual schedule when rehearsals resume on September 8th, 2026.

 
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Posted by on June 8, 2026 in Ministries, Music, Music Ministry, Pender UMC, Special Music, Videos

 

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Aldersgate Day

24 May

Aldersgate Day is celebrated on May 24 (or the Sunday closest) to commemorate the day in 1738 when John Wesley experienced assurance of his salvation.  Wesley reluctantly attended a group meeting that evening on Aldersgate Street in London.  As he heard a reading from Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, he felt his “heart strangely warmed.”   Wesley wrote in his journal that at about 8:45 p.m. “while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

Charles Wesley only a few days before had also had a conversion experience in a building that still stands on an adjacent block (John Bray’s house on Little Britain). We do not know whether the building where John Wesley’s experience took place still exists, nor exactly in which building on Aldersgate Street it may have been if it still stands. A monument at the London Museum on Aldersgate Street marks where some believe the building may have been.

Over time, Aldersgate Street has been shortened by common Methodist usage to simply Aldersgate. The word has come to represent both the place and John Wesley’s experience.

From https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-is-aldersgate-day?

 
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Posted by on May 24, 2026 in Holidays, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest

 

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