Please join us this Sunday, June 7, in worship at the 8:15, 9:30 and 11:00 Services.
Sermon Series: STORIES
June 7 – The Children’s Musical, The Sailor’s Bible, will be presented by the Asbury and Wesley Choirs of Pender UMC.
This new children’s musical includes three Bible stories: Noah and the Great Flood, Jonah and the Great Fish, and Paul’s Shipwreck. Each story features the ocean as a symbol for the chaos of life and shows how only the power of God is greater than the natural forces of wind and wave.
It’s all done with a childlike playfulness full of humor and songs rich with catchy melodies.
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 7: The Pender Podcast is available in the iTunes Podcast series. There is no charge to subscribe or listen to past sermons. There are currently 218 sermons available. More information
June 7-July 3: Music Camp Registration is open until we reach 60 campers. Music Camp will run from July 6-10, 2015 in the afternoon.
June 7: New Directions Sunday School Class. Mark Batterson’s book entitled “The Circle Maker – Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears”. 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 7: Sunday School Class: The Truth Project (began September 21) This Focus on the Family’s DVD series, with 26 one-half hour lessons taught by Dr. Del Tackett, is the starting point for looking at life from a Biblical perspective. lesson discusses the relevance and importance of living the Christian worldview in daily life.
June 7: Sunday School Class: The Good and Beautiful God (began September 21) (Room 205 – Library) A new Sunday School course immediately after the 9:30 am worship service led by Brian and Angie Green will be reading and discussing this book. To sign up or find out more information, please sign up on the Connection Card in the bulletin on Sunday.
June 7: Sunday School II for adults. New Study: The Good and Beautiful Community 10:45 am-noon
Drug overdose has become the #1 cause of accidental death in the U.S. Mark Atwood, a member of Pender, would like to make you aware of an important event being sponsored by The Chris Atwood Foundation (“CAF”).
Help save the lives of those who overdose on opioids such as heroin or prescription pain-killers. Virginia has just adopted a law making it legal for individuals to obtain Naloxone (a/k/a “Narcan”) without a prescription.This drug, if administered promptly, can save a life by reversing the effects of opioids.(Similar, though slightly different, laws are in effect in DC and MD.)
CAF is providing the required training in the use of Naloxone, and can make available free doses to those needing financial assistance.This will take place Saturday, June 6, at 2-4pm on the Annandale campus of Northern VA Community College, CA Building, Room 302.
If you have an opioid addict in your home – or might — or know anyone who does, this can be life-saving. To register, please click on this link. To learn more about The Chris Atwood Foundation, click on this link to their website.
From sea to shining sea, United Methodists are finding special ways to observe Memorial Day in the United States. Here is a sampling of ideas.
Pray for all who have given their lives for our freedom. “The major emphasis of the Memorial Day worship time,” said the Rev. Alan Brown, Hayes Memorial United Methodist Church, Fremont, Ohio, “is not on a secular observance; rather, it is the message of the gospels and the sacraments of the church.”
Read the names of fallen veterans, and toll a bell after each name is read. The Rev. Walter L. Graves encourages people to read the names when they see a war memorial. “Remember,” said the pastor of Reelsboro United Methodist Church, New Bern, N.C., “that was a person who had… dreams and desires.”
Provide special worship music with a PowerPoint presentation. “My church has a slide show of friends and family, living and dead, who have served in the military,” reported Leslie Haggs, lay leader at Angelica United Methodist Church in New York.
Offer a candlelight service. Bishop James Swanson of the Holston Annual (regional) Conference will preach at joint services of three congregations — Mount Wesley and New Victory, Telford, Tenn., and Mayberry, Jonesborough, Tenn. A candlelight service for those interred in the church cemetery will be part of worship.
Wave a flag. Youth of First United Methodist Church, Koppel, Pa., raised money to buy an American flag for all 225 residences in the little town. “I’m a flag-waver,” admitted the Rev. Donald A. Anderson. Quoted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he expressed hope that the flags would “bring Koppel a sense of pride in participating in this great holiday honoring those who fought to protect our freedoms.”
At Arlington (Va.) National Cemetary, flags decorate the tombs of those who died in the service of their country. Photo courtesy of Arlington National Cemetery.
Lay a wreath. In Illinois, Malta United Methodist Church will have a special worship service. The congregation invites veterans of the community to pay tribute to fellow soldiers by marching as a unit from the church to the township library, where a wreath will be dedicated.
Decorate veterans’ graves. “After Sunday service,” said the Rev. Charlie Johnson Jr., a local pastor serving three congregations in the Lynchburg, Va., area, “we go into the church cemetery, remove the old flags placed on the graves of veterans last Memorial Day and replace them with new ones…We remember our active-duty military every Sunday during prayer.”
Do a project for active troops. In Maine, the North Searsport United Methodist Church is recruiting the community to join parishioners in a mission project to benefit soldiers going overseas. Participants will sew small pillows for military personnel. The project is in response to recent articles about soldiers having to pay for pillows on their flights.
Make military care packages. The congregation of First United Methodist Church, Alice, Texas, brought items for military care packages to mail to troops serving overseas. “Many of us have loved ones who are serving in the military,” member Stefany Simmons explained. “Each of us signed cards to include for the troops.”
Be part of a community-service day. Manatee United Methodist Church is one of two Bradenton, Fla., locations for the Journey of Remembrance, an annual community-service day honoring U.S. military veterans and their families for their care and sacrifice.
Parades are one way to honor those who sacrifice daily for our freedom. A web-only photo by Dee Dee Cobb.
Learn about issues affecting veterans. At Christ United Methodist Church, Troy, N.Y., a guest speaker will focus on the history and social justice issues related to military mental illness. “At Christ Church,” said the Rev. Nina Nichols in the Bennington Banner, “we honor those who serve their country, who served with the hope of bringing justice on behalf of our nation. But as a people of faith, we must not fail to call for a better way to peace than war. This Memorial Day we pray for peace for the war-weary.”
Glorify Jesus as the Prince of Peace and reach out to those whom others may forget. On Memorial Day – as he does throughout the year – John Alexander, a member of East Lake United Methodist Church, Birmingham, Ala., will be involved with Kairos Prison Ministries. A Christian, lay-led, ecumenical, volunteer, international prison ministry, Kairos brings Christ’s love and forgiveness to incarcerated individuals and their families.
*Dunlap-Berg is internal content editor for United Methodist Communications.
News media contact: Barbara Dunlap-Berg, Nashville, Tenn., 615-742-5470 ornewsdesk@umcom.org.
Todayis Pentecost Sunday! Bring a friend and join us at our 8:15, 9:30 and 11:00 Services. Sermon Series: STORIES Sermon Title for May 24 – Pentecost The Power of Understanding A Story Acts 2:1-41
“Each one heard in his own language.” The true art of story telling is do people hear what you are really saying. The joy of sharing the stories of Jesus is that the Holy Spirit makes sure everyone hears. That is the reminder of Pentecost today, “Everyone can hear in his own language if we will only be used.
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:4) For more information about our upcoming sermons, click here.
May 24: Items of the week needed for Western Fairfax Christian Ministries to distribute to the needy in our area:
Juices
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 24: The Pender Podcast is available in the iTunes Podcast series. There is no charge to subscribe or listen to past sermons. There are currently 218 sermons available. More information
May 24-31: Online VBS Registration. VBS will run from July 6-10, 2015. Some grades are already full so act quickly to assure a spot.
May 24-July 3: Music Camp Registration is open until we reach 60 campers.
May 24: New Directions Sunday School Class. Mark Batterson’s book entitled “The Circle Maker – Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears”. 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 24: Sunday School Class: The Truth Project (began September 21) This Focus on the Family’s DVD series, with 26 one-half hour lessons taught by Dr. Del Tackett, is the starting point for looking at life from a Biblical perspective. lesson discusses the relevance and importance of living the Christian worldview in daily life.
May 24: Sunday School Class: The Good and Beautiful God (began September 21) (Room 205 – Library) A new Sunday School course immediately after the 9:30 am worship service led by Brian and Angie Green will be reading and discussing this book. To sign up or find out more information, please sign up on the Connection Card in the bulletin on Sunday.
May 24: Sunday School II for adults. New Study: The Good and Beautiful Community 10:45 am-noon
May 24: Pastor Kenny’s mother, Rosie Hatch Newsome, time of visitation with the family at 2:00 pm at Melrose United Methodist Church, 1317 Lewisetta Rd, Lottsburg, VA 22511.
A service to celebrate the life of Rosie Newsome will begin at 3:00 pm, with a reception following the service.
May 24: Turning Point Youth Group, 6:30 pm, with dinner. 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.)
News and Views 