GBE Back to School Stock Up Pender is partnering with Greenbriar East Elementary School again this school year to provide weekend food bags to students.

GBE Backpack program is back with a need to support 50 students each week.  We have three ways that you can help support this important ministry.

OPTION #1

• Visit the table in the church lobby, select a Shopping bag based on the attached shopping list (please note approximate cost to purchase items is included)
• Sign out the Bag # that you have chosen on the sign-up sheet and please include your email address (This way we can keep track of the bags and send out friendly reminders and important information regarding our packing schedule)
• Take the bag and list home and have fun shopping
• Return the shopping bag, list and items to the designated container in the narthex no later than Sunday, October 16th

OPTION #2

• Purchase one of our main dish items online by using our Walmart wishlist:  https://www.walmart.com/lists/shared/WL/8392a76c-8d9f-4ca4-bfef-e110aa1fe3d6.
  
  It can be delivered directly to the church (no more carrying these heavy items) Please be sure items arrive at the church no later than Sunday October 16th

OPTION #3 -

• Make a donation to help sponsor a child or children and we will do the bulk shopping for you. Donations can be made online using your mypenderpage or by writing a check and specifying it go to the line item: GBE Backpack Program

If you have questions, please contact Ann Hines or Jami Flemmons.

Thank you for supporting this ministry in our community!

Pender has a Blessing Box at the end of the driveway near the lower parking lot which could always use donations. When you’re near Pender, please pay it forward and share a few groceries with those in need. There is no lock on it- it’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

“Take what you need.
Leave what you can.
Little becomes much
In the Master’s hand.”

Hebrews 13:16: “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

WFCM Donations:
Instant Mashed Potatoes
Diced Tomatoes
Canned Fruit
Canned Corn
Vegetable Oil
Sugar & Flour (1 lb. bags)
Tomato Sauce
Boxed Pasta
Shampoo/Conditioner
Soap
Deodorant
Toothpaste
Feminine Pads
Diapers (size 6 most needed)

Both at the county and state levels, Pender members reach out to these troubled young people. We go behind the walls and meet face-to-face with them. We hear their stories. And we tell them ours. We talk about what Christ has done for us. And what He can do for them, if they let Him inside -- past their walls and their rough exteriors and their fear and their shame and their pride and their arrogance -- deep inside their hearts.

Join us in worship with the young men and women at the Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center. Your participation matters to the residents, as the staff repeatedly tells us how we make a difference in the young men’s and women’s lives and the lives of the staff!

On the fourth Sunday of each month Pender ministers to the youth lodged in the Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) through a program of Sunday afternoon worship.  The JDC serves young men and women, ages 10 – 17.  These young men and women are held before trial, and in some cases, after trial in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.  The JDC also holds juveniles while awaiting transportation to the State Department of Juvenile Justice or other programs.  Their offenses run the gambit from delinquent offenders with minor criminal records to youth charged with major crimes.  Pender members join with these youth in worship including contemporary Christian music, a message, and prayer.  Every fourth Sunday, we meet at the Center at 1 PM and are finished by 2:00 PM.

I'm interested in helping!

Reaching Out to Share Christ’s Love with Our Troubled Neighbors

They live in our neighborhoods, across our state. They look like kids we know. They look like kids our own kids hang out with. Some of them probably are. Some portion of their young lives has been spent living behind bars – incarcerated for criminal actions. For a great many of them, their young lives have been marred by violence that they’ve perpetrated, or that’s been brought upon them. For some, it’s both.

The young people behind the walls and the impact-resistant glass have made bad choices and big mistakes. They've gotten involved with the wrong friends, the wrong lovers, been in the wrong places at the wrong times. And done wrong things.

• More than 2.5 million juveniles are arrested every year in America and 70% of juveniles convicted of crimes go on to commit crimes again.
• 94% of incarcerated youth have never had one single positive adult male role model.
• 84% of the boys who become serious juvenile offenders have parents with criminal records.

These young people are more than just statistics. They're more than just names on a court docket. And they're more than just faces we'd rather look away from.

Sometimes they make people uncomfortable with their clothes and their language and their music. Sometimes it's easier to turn away from them than to serve them. But this is our world. And these, the least of these, are our collective responsibility. 

Welcome to our mission field.;

At Pender, we sincerely believe that Jesus Christ has a special place in His heart for these young people – the least, the last, the lost, the lonely.

As Christ’s hands and feet, we believe it’s our mission to demonstrate God’s redeeming Grace to young men and women who may have never heard the story of salvation before.

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18

Pender hypothermia working with Fairfax FACETS is a life-saving effort by local faith-based communities to serve those experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County and encourage guests to take steps towards self-sufficiency and stability as much as possible.

Sign up to help

The Prayer Shawl Ministry creates shawls, lap afghans,  scarves and other handmade items which are then given to people in need of prayers and comfort.

Beginning knitters and crocheters are welcome!

Contact Sue LeStrange for more information.