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Category Archives: Ministries

Coming Soon!

 

Please join us on Saturday, March 7 from 9:30 to 3:00 PM at Pender United Methodist Church for a powerful women’s retreat enabling you an opportunity to engage in corporate and individual worship and prayer.

The retreat is designed to bring women together for spiritual growth, personal reflection, and fellowship. The retreat Unshakable Faith will offer two powerful sermons, workshops, and a healing and anointment service that addresses, hope, healing, renewal, and overcoming doubt to stand firm in the midst of your trials.



Narcotics Anonymous, founded in 1953, is a “nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem.”

Similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, this will be part of Pender’s Recovery Ministry

Our vision is that one day every addict in the world has the chance to experience our message in their own language and culture and find the opportunity for a new way of life.

Needed:

  • Prayer Warriors … Pray for the support team. Pray for those fighting their addictions.
  • Support Team… Sign up to welcome and be available on a Monday evening.

Alpha Youth!

Unpack the basics of the Christian faith together. No pressure. No judgement. Just open conversation over some good food. That’s it. Come along, see what you think.

Adults, we need you!

  • Facilitator.
  • Assistant.
  • Meal prep.
  • Prayer leader.

This is a week-long hands-on mission trip for middle to high school teenagers that introduces the youth to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ through missional living, confronting issues of social justice, and completion of a hands-on project in Philippi, West Virginia.

Adult volunteers are also needed to assist and support the youth.

This year’s trip begins Saturday July 17, 2026


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 daily 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 church 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.”

 

 

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Christmas Music, Part 24 – O Holy Night

o-holy-night

At Pender’s Holiday Concert 2022, Adolphe Adam’s “Oh Holy Night” was performed by Corinne Delaney, Soprano and Liz Eunji Moon on piano.

 

“O Holy Night” (“Cantique de Noël”) is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem “Minuit, chrétiens” (Midnight, Christians) by Placide Cappeau (1808–1877).

Cappeau, a wine merchant and poet, had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem. Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight, editor of Dwight’s Journal of Music, created a singing edition based on Cappeau’s French text in 1855.

In both the French original and in the two familiar English versions of the carol, the text reflects on the birth of Jesus and of mankind’s redemption.
O Holy Night

O Holy Night sung by Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo

 

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Christmas Music, Part 22 – We Three Kings

we-three

“We Three Kings”, also known as “We Three Kings of Orient Are” or “The Quest of the Magi”, is a Christmas carol written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the lyrics and the music.

We Three Kings

We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Frankincense to offer have I
Incense owns a Deity nigh
Prayer and praising, all men raising
Worship Him, God most high

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes of life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Glorious now behold Him arise
King and God and Sacrifice
Alleluia, Alleluia
Earth to heav’n replies

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

From Mannheim Steamroller, Chip Davis gives this song an “Arabian Nights” feel. A classic song that tells the story of the Gentiles who were quicker to recognize the significance of Christ’s birth than were His own people. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

 

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Christmas Music, Part 21 – The First Noel

first-noel

The First Nowell (also written The First Noël) is a traditional classical English carol, most likely from the 18th century, although possibly earlier.

The word Noel comes from the French word Noël meaning “Christmas”, from the Latin word natalis “birthday”.

The melody is unusual among English folk melodies in that it consists of one musical phrase repeated twice, followed by a refrain which is a variation on that phrase. All three phrases end on the third of the scale.

The first Noel the angel did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay tending their sheep,
On a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

Refrain

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.

They lookèd up and saw a star
Shining in the east, beyond them far;
And to the earth it gave great light,
And so it continued both day and night.

Refrain

And by the light of that same star
Three Wise Men came from country far;
To seek for a King was their intent,
And to follow the star wherever it went.

Refrain

This star drew nigh to the northwest,
Over Bethlehem it took its rest;
And there it did both stop and stay,
Right over the place where Jesus lay.

Refrain

Then did they know assuredly
Within that house the King did lie;
One entered it them for to see,
And found the Babe in poverty.

Refrain

Then entered in those Wise Men three,
Full reverently upon the knee,
And offered there, in His presence,
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.

Refrain

Between an ox stall and an ass,
This Child truly there He was;
For want of clothing they did Him lay
All in a manger, among the hay.

Refrain

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord;
That hath made Heaven and earth of naught,
And with His blood mankind hath bought.

Refrain

If we in our time shall do well,
We shall be free from death and hell;
For God hath prepared for us all
A resting place in general.

Refrain

The First Noel

 

The University of Utah Singers performed “The First Noel” arr. by Dan Forrest live in concert, December 11th & 12th, 2009 in Libby Gardner concert hall under the direction of Dr. Brady Allred.

 

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Christmas Music, Part 18: Harp Music for Christmas

Brian Stevenson, the esteemed Director of Handbell Ministries at Pender United Methodist Church, brings a touch of celestial harmony to the holiday season with his exquisite harp performances. Stevenson, renowned for his musical prowess, transforms the harp strings into a cascade of festive melodies, enchanting audiences with his renditions.

His repertoire for the season is a delightful blend of classic and contemporary, featuring the joyful peals of “Ding Dong Merrily On High,” the celestial echoes of “Angels We Have Heard On High,” and the heartwarming strains of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” Each piece, under Stevenson’s skillful touch, becomes a vivid tapestry of sound, weaving the spirit of Christmas into every note.

The experience of listening to Stevenson play is akin to being enveloped in a serene, festive atmosphere, where each chord carries the essence of the season’s joy and peace. His performances are not just musical events; they are journeys through the heart of Christmas, leaving listeners mesmerized and uplifted.

 

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