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Celebrate Earth Day With a Community Cleanup!

Join us this Earth Day for a Community Cleanup Extravaganza! Get ready to spruce up our neighborhood and make a positive impact on our environment.

Here’s what you need to know:

Dress in sturdy shoes and wear clothes suitable for cleaning.
Don’t forget to bring gloves and a water bottle to stay hydrated.
We’ll provide all the necessary cleanup supplies, including bags.
Enjoy snacks and water refills on us as we work together to tidy up Fairfax.

Come out, make a difference, and help keep our community beautiful. Your efforts truly matter, and what better way to celebrate Earth Day than by caring for our planet together!

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Posted by MaryO on April 10, 2025 in Get Involved!, Holidays, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest

Tags: community, community service, Earth Day

Holy Week at Pender UMC

08 Apr

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the most important week of the church year. At the other end of Holy Week is Easter, the most important day of the church year.

For Christians, this is the big event! And it’s all about the mystery that somehow Jesus Christ makes us one with God.

Palm/Passion Sunday. April 13. 10am. Pender Sanctuary

Join us as we begin the Holy Week journey to Easter with our Palm Sunday celebration. Come together to reflect on the significance of this day and honor the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem!

Holy Thursday Seder Meal. Thursday. April 17. 7pm. PUMC Gathering Place

Chag Sameach! (Happy Holiday!) We are excited to invite you for a warm and meaningful Passover Seder as we gather to experience the symbolism of this meal celebrating the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, a pivotal event in Jewish and Christian history!

Please note that the Seder Meal will not include a full meal. We have timed it for after the dinner hour.

Good Friday Stations of the Cross. April 19, 10 am, Pender UMC Sanctuary

A contemporary expression of the traditional Stations of the Cross Prayer Walk to enhance your experience of the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice on Good Friday.

Please enter in silence, walk and pray in silence, and depart in silence. Our prayer walk recalls Jesus’ passion. Visit each of the four “Stations of the Cross” in order (left to right). You may pause to pray at anytime using the kneeling rail or seats in our sanctuary. Stations of the Cross is a devotional practice which originated in the early centuries of Christianity.

Good Friday Service. Friday. April 18. 7:30pm. Pender UMC Sanctuary

We invite you to join us for a meaningful service as we come together to remember and reflect on the ultimate sacrifice made for us. The Service will feature a moving combination of drama, scripture, and music, all designed to guide our hearts through the profound story of Christ’s love, suffering, and redemption.

Holy Saturday Prayer Vigil. April 19. 7pm. Pender UMC Parking Area.

We warmly invite you to join us for a special service of prayer, song, and scripture to prepare our hearts for the Easter celebration ahead.

Easter Sunday Celebrations! April 20. Pender UMC

Celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the new life we have in Him. Whether you’re a long-time member or a first-time guest, we would love to welcome you!

Sunrise Service with Korean UMC – Koinonia! 6am. Pender Parking area

Sunrise Breakfast! 7am. Pender UMC Gathering Place Please let us know you’ll be having breakfast.

Easter Worship! 10am. Pender UMC Sanctuary with bells, scripture, and special music!

All of our worship is Christ-centered, Biblically-minded and relevant to life today. Pender UMC desires that you feel God’s Spirit nurturing you and that in worship you experience the very real presence of Christ with us. May you be blessed by God as you gather with us.

Where do I enter the building?

First, we want you to know that our church has worked hard to create a building with access for all. Whether you find yourself in a wheelchair or carting babies in a buggy, you’ll find automatically opening doors and large entrances.

As you enter the parking lot, you will notice two doors, both under porticos so that you may get out of the rain if it is wet. To enter through the main sanctuary entrance doors, simply look for the semi-circular driveway.

If instead you enter the sliding glass doors entrance, make a left into the hallway to the end where you will notice the welcome area on your left.

What do my children do?
We invite older children (3rd grade and up) to become fully involved in worship. At the back of the sanctuary are “children’s bulletins” and supplies like crayons.

Our younger children have the option of remaining with their family or being cared for by our wonderful nursery and childcare staff. Childcare is available for children ages birth through 2nd grade in the lower level of our building. Ask an Usher to help you find where to take your children!

Where do I park?
We attempt to have plenty of parking on Easter morning for our guests. However, we suggest you plan to arrive early, and if parking is full on our lot, there is parking on the street.

What if I need further information?
Our friendly volunteers and staff will welcome your questions! Please call our church office at 703-278-8023 between 9 am and 3 pm, Monday through Friday. Once at Pender, ask any friendly face for help! We are here to assist you.

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Posted by MaryO on April 8, 2025 in Easter, Get Involved!, Holidays, Lent, Music, Palm Sunday, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest, Sermon

Tags: Communion, Easter, Easter Breakfast, Easter Story, Easter Sunday, Good Friday, Holy Thursday, Holy Week, hymns, Jesus Christ, Kids' Easter Event, KUMC, Lent, Palm Sunday, Pender UMC, prayer vigil, Sanctuary Choir, sermon, Stations of the Cross, Sunrise service, the Passion

Easter Sunrise Breakfast

07 Apr

Get ready to rise and shine on Easter Sunday at Pender UMC’s Gathering Place for a spectacular Sunrise Breakfast!

Join us on April 20, 2025, from 7:00 to 8:30 AM for a delightful morning filled with the aromas and flavors of a heartwarming breakfast.

Our menu features a tempting array of bagels with cream cheese, savory breakfast casseroles, golden French toast, sizzling sausage, and fresh fruit, complemented by freshly brewed coffee and tea.

It’s the perfect way to start your Easter with fellowship and good cheer. Don’t miss out—make sure to sign up for this festive breakfast gathering!

Please let us know you’ll be coming.

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Posted by MaryO on April 7, 2025 in Easter, Get Involved!, Holidays, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest

Tags: bagels, breakfast, breakfast casseroles, coffee, Easter, French toast, fruit, sausage, tea

Lenten Hymn and Devotion, Week 5

02 Apr

Lenten Hymn and Devotion 5, Beneath the Cross of Jesus

Brian Stevenson, Pender UMC Director of Music, presents a series of hymn-based devotions on Wednesdays during Lent.

The Fifth is Go Dark Gethsemane

“Go to Dark Gethsemane” is a Lenten hymn that spotlights scenes from the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life.

It takes us on a journey from the Garden of Gethsemane where we are charged to stand and watch, to the judgment hall and our denial of him, to the cross where we witness his death and his grace, and finally to his glorious resurrection and our redemption. We become part of the drama of Christ’s passion and resurrection.

The poet repeats the phrase “learn of” at the end of each stanza, charging us to apply each scene to our lives. James Montgomery uses repetition to draw attention to what he considers important about each scene and each stanza.

“Learn of Jesus Christ to pray” encourages us to remember the scene of the garden and to go to God in fervent prayer. “Learn of Christ to bear the cross” is a charge to lay down our lives, take up the cross and follow Christ. “Learn of Jesus Christ to die” is a reminder of what Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

Montgomery, considered one of the most important hymn writers of the English language, wrote this beautiful hymn in 1820. He was born on Nov. 4, 1771, in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, the son of Moravian missionary John Montgomery, and died April 30, 1854, in Sheffield, England.

When Montgomery was 5 years old, his parents moved him to a Moravian settlement at Bracehill, Ireland, near Ballymena in Antrim County. Soon after, his parents accepted a call to the mission field and left him behind in Bracehill. He never saw his parents again. They both died while in the Barbados Islands.

At age 7, Montgomery was enrolled at Fulneck Seminary in Yorkshire, where he would remain for the next nine years. Struggling to meet the expectations of his instructors, he left the school at age 16 and became an apprentice at a chandler’s shop in Mirfield.

After five years, he tired of the work and took an apprenticeship with Joseph Gales, the owner and publisher of the Sheffield Register. For two years he learned about the publishing business, and in 1794, when Gales was forced to flee the country to avoid imprisonment, Montgomery took over the Register and changed its name to the Sheffield Iris.

Montgomery published and managed the Sheffield Iris for 32 years. He used the Iris as a tool to distribute the 360 hymns written throughout his life. His most well-known hymns are “Angels, From the Realms of Glory,” “Go to Dark Gethsemane,” “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,” “Songs of Praise the Angels Sang” and “Stand Up and Bless the Lord.”

Montgomery’s “Go to Dark Gethsemane” is still one of his most widely used hymns, most often sung during Lent or during Holy Week. The first three stanzas are most commonly available in hymnals. The fourth stanza, though often omitted today, has been preserved in The United Methodist Hymnal.

Even though the text is now over 185 years old, it has rarely been altered. Many hymns from this era use language that is no longer common in today’s hymns or speech. Hymnal editors typically remove antiquated language and replace it with modern equivalents, but this hymn has remained essentially intact.

This beautiful somber hymn has stood the test of time. We benefit from the art and poetry of Montgomery still today.

Above essay from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-go-to-dark-gethsemane-1

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Posted by MaryO on April 2, 2025 in Holidays, Lent, Music Ministry, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest

Tags: Brian Stevenson, Christ, devotion, Go Dark Gethsemane, hymn, Lent, melody, video

Parking Lot Help Needed This Saturday, April 5!

02 Apr

We’re calling on helping hands for a Parking Lot Workday this Saturday, April 5, and we’d love your support!

The HOA across the street recently alerted us to a fallen tree on our property that needs to be cleared. Thanks to coordination by Robert Parker, head of Trustees, we have a tree cleanup scheduled for that day to take care of it.

In addition to the tree removal, we’ll be refreshing the parking lot with newly painted lines to clearly define parking spaces and give the area a much-needed spruce-up.

We’re also excited to share that KUMC Koinonia will be joining us to lend a hand — so it’s a great opportunity to work together, build community, and take care of God’s house!

Come dressed for outdoor work and bring any tools you might have that could help with clean-up or painting prep. Many hands make light work!

Thank you for supporting the care and upkeep of our church grounds!