Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain.
Independence Day fireworks are often accompanied by patriotic songs such as the national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner”, “God Bless America”, “America the Beautiful”, “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”, “This Land Is Your Land”, “Stars and Stripes Forever”, and, regionally, “Yankee Doodle” in northeastern states and “Dixie” in southern states. Some of the lyrics recall images of the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812.
A bit of audio for your listening pleasure, as played by Vladimir Horowitz…
This Sunday, June 19th, is Father’s Day. Our Pastors will still be away at the Annual Conference. God has blessed us 3 gifted people from our congregation who will be preaching in their place at our worship services:
Wondering where to take your children on Sunday mornings? Below is a summary. More detailed information is available at the Welcome desk located in the main lobby and here.
NURSERY CARE ~ Birth through 2 years, 9:30 am – 12:15 pm
SUNDAY SCHOOL 1 ~ 2 yrs. – Adults, 9:30 am – 10:40 am
SUNDAY SCHOOL 2 ~ Grades 4 – Adults, 10:45 am – 12:15 pm
CHERUB CHURCH ~ 3 yrs.- Kindergarten, 10:45 am – 12:15 pm
JUNIOR FELLOWSHIP ~ Grades 1-3, 10:45 am – 11:30 am
46 oz. bottles of oil, fruit juices, plastic bags and egg cartons are always needed and welcome too!
Donations can be left in the blue grocery cart in the coat rack section.
June 19: The Pender Podcast is available in the iTunes Podcast series. There is no charge to subscribe or listen to past sermons. There are currently 291 sermons available. More information
June 19: Shop using AmazonSmiles AmazonSmiles and benefit the Capital Campaign! More information
June 19: Registration is open for Summer Sports Recreation Camp. More information
June 19: New Directions Sunday School Class. We meet in Rooms 218-220 at 9:30 AM. If any questions, feel free to contact Carol Wilson If any questions, feel free to contact Carol Wilson by email or at (703) 815-1744.
June 19: The 10:30am Sunday School Class is reading a new study by Adam Hamilton entitled Seeing Gray in A World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics. Contact Angie Green for more information.
June 19: Sunday School II for adults. 10:45 am-noon
June 19: The Pender Youth Orchestra, 4:15-5:00 pm. The Youth Orchestra is open to all youth grades 7 through 12 who play a wind, brass, stringed or percussion instrument. New members are always welcome! The Orchestra plays 4-5 times during Sunday morning worship from December-June. More information.
The National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks Americans, wherever they are at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day, to pause in an act of national unity for a duration of one minute. The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday. The Moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather, it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died in service to the United States.
As laid out in Public Law 106-579, the National Moment of Remembrance is to be practiced by all Americans throughout the nation at 3pm local time. At the same time, a number of organizations throughout the country also observe the Moment: all Major League Baseball games halt, Amtrak train whistles sound across the country, and hundreds of other nationwide participants remind Americans to pause for the Memorial Day National Moment of Remembrance.
Wear RED this Sunday, May 15th! It’s Pentecost Sunday, one of the principal days of the Christian year, celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter. The Greek word pentecoste means “fiftieth day.”
Pentecost is the day on which the Christian church commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and others assembled in Jerusalem.
It marks the beginning of the Christian church and the proclamation of its message throughout the world and is often referred to as the birthday of the church.
Pastor Kenny will be preaching on “Fire!” (Acts 2:1-4) at the 8:15 & 11am Services and Pastor Dan will be preaching on “The Spirit Awakens!” (Acts 2:1-13)
Listen to 284 past sermons by Pastors Kenny Newsome, Dan Elmore and others in the Pender Podcast.
Wondering where to take your children on Sunday mornings? Below is a summary. More detailed information is available at the Welcome desk located in the main lobby and here.
NURSERY CARE ~ Birth through 2 years, 9:30 am – 12:15 pm
SUNDAY SCHOOL 1 ~ 2 yrs. – Adults, 9:30 am – 10:40 am
SUNDAY SCHOOL 2 ~ Grades 4 – Adults, 10:45 am – 12:15 pm
CHERUB CHURCH ~ 3 yrs.- Kindergarten, 10:45 am – 12:15 pm
JUNIOR FELLOWSHIP ~ Grades 1-3, 10:45 am – 11:30 am
May 15: Items of the week needed for Western Fairfax Christian Ministries to distribute to the needy in our area:
Egg Noodles and Hamburger Helper
46 oz. bottles of oil, fruit juices, plastic bags and egg cartons are always needed and welcome too!
Donations can be left in the blue grocery cart in the coat rack section.
May 15: The Pender Podcast is available in the iTunes Podcast series. There is no charge to subscribe or listen to past sermons. There are currently 284 sermons available. More information
May 15: The Waitlist is open for Vacation Bible School (VBS). More information
May 15: New Directions Sunday School Class. New study entitled “Soul Keeping – Caring for the Most Import Part of You” by John Ortberg. We meet in Rooms 218-220 at 9:30 AM. If any questions, feel free to contact Carol Wilson If any questions, feel free to contact Carol Wilson by email or at (703) 815-1744.
May 15: The 10:30am Sunday School Class is reading a new study by Adam Hamilton entitled Seeing Gray in A World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics. Contact Angie Green for more information.
May 15: Sunday School II for adults. 10:45 am-noon
May 15: Traditional Service, 11:00 am. More information
Youth Confirmation Sunday
This Sunday is a special day in the life of our youth where our confirmation students will publicly accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior at the altar during our 11am service and become official members of Pender. All family members and members of our Church family are invited to come and celebrate this important spiritual milestone in their lives!
May 15: Teen Sunday School. 11:00 am-noon
May 15: The Pender Youth Orchestra, 4:15-5:00 pm. The Youth Orchestra is open to all youth grades 7 through 12 who play a wind, brass, stringed or percussion instrument. New members are always welcome! The Orchestra plays 4-5 times during Sunday morning worship from December-June. More information.
From a historical perspective, Christianity didn’t start with Jesus’ birth, his death or even his storied ascension to heaven. It started with Pentecost — the day the “Holy Spirit” entered a room holding Jesus’ apostles and entered each of them, an event which — as my minister uncle tells me — “makes the church the church.”
Although Pentecost is chock full of religious significance, it is a holiday not widely celebrated. Sort of the opposite of Hanukkah, which is widely celebrated but not religiously important. My uncle says Pentecost is a bigger deal in liturgical churches, which follow a formal, standardized order of events (like Catholics). “Non-liturgical” refers to churches whose services are unscripted (like Baptists).
Back Story: At his Last Supper, Jesus legendarily instructed his 12 disciples to go out into the world to minister and heal the sick on their own. It was at that point that they became “apostles.” Fifty days after Jesus’ death, as the story goes, the Holy Spirit (part of the Holy Trinitity — God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit ) descended onto the apostles, making them speak in foreign tongues. This “Pentecostal” experience allowed the apostles direct communication with God, which signaled a major shift in the religious landscape and laid the foundation for what would become Christianity. You’ll notice that the disciples are always depicted in artwork as regular-looking men while the apostles are depicted with halos around their heads. (Several other apostles came later — namely the famous Paul who is credited with writing much of the New Testament.)
Although all the original 12 apostles are important, some get top billing. Here’s why:
Peter (also called Simon Peter) established the first church in Antioch and is regarded as the founding pope of the Catholic church. Instrumental in the spread of early Christianity, Peter was said to have walked on water, witnessed the “Transfiguration of Jesus” and denied Jesus (for which he repented and was forgiven.) The Gospel of Mark is ascribed to Peter, as Mark was Peter’s disciple and interpreter.
John also is said to have witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus and went on to pen the Gospel of John, the Epistles of John and Book of Revelation. He died at age 94, having outlived the other apostles — all of whom, according to legend/history/whatever, were martyred. John is often described as “Jesus’ favorite” and depicted as the disciple sitting to Jesus’ right at the Last Supper.
Thomas (“Doubting Thomas”) is best known for questioning Jesus’ resurrection when first told of it. According to the Bible, Thomas saw Jesus himself several days later and proclaimed “My Lord and my God,” to which Jesus famously responded: “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:28.)
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