Providence United Methodist Church, which just moved into

its first permanent building, has expressed gratitude for the

many donations received by the church.

The Rev. Jim Ellison, senior pastor, said a new grand

piano and an upright piano are among the major items which have

been received by the church. Other items include playground

equipment from a member of Peachtree City United Methodist

Church, choir room chairs from Peachtree City United Methodist

Church, phone system installation by Aaron's Services and major

discounts on plants from Phil Jackson at Nature's Nursery.

Also, childcare volunteers for the Dec. 13th children's Christmas

program were donated by Peachtree City United Methodist

Church, and consecration service childcare on Jan. 9 were donated by

Heritage Christian Church, another new church in the area.

Newnan First United Methodist Church donated hymnals and

a full set of china for church dinners, Hopewell United

Methodist Church donated the use of chairs and tables and the church's

vans, and Ebenezer United Methodist Church donated the use of

its building throughout the week.

In addition, thousands of hours of volunteered time, expertise

and advice have been donated by other local church members and

staffs. A member of another church has donated her services to

cook Providence's weekly dinners. Large donations of money

came from other area United Methodist Churches and from the people

of Fayette County, many of whom are members of other churches.

Ellison said Neighborhood Market has donated flowers to

the church weekly, and the money which would have been spent

for the flowers went into the church's building fund. He also noted

that Fayette County Bank has supported the church "every step of the way."

MacTools donated the use of trucks and other equipment.

Commercial kitchen equipment was donated by a church

member, a new Maytag "Neptune" washer and dryer was provided by

another member, and brick for the building came from still

another member. Other donations from Providence members included

a full set of children's toys and plastic play equipment and new

computer equipment.

According to Ellison, members of the Providence family

donated countless hours of service and prayer and made personal

sacrifices so they could donate money to build the building and fund

the various programs offered by the church. Members hand-made

the pulpit, baptismal font and altar rails.

Ellison said one of the most heart-warming donations

came from a Peachtree City resident who is a member of the

Mormon church. "He gave us a beautiful framed painting of Jesus as a

thank you to Providence for our prayers for the past two and a half

years. He had a brain tumor and other tumors all over his body and

was not expected to live. The initial 'seed' tumor now has a black

center, which indicated that it's dying, and the other tumors are

gone. The picture which he gave to us has a thank you message from him

and his family inscribed on the back."

While being the recipient of countless donations,

Providence has been making its own contributions back to the

community, the Methodist conference, the Methodist Children's

Home, Habitat for Humanity, disaster relief efforts, and an

Appalachia service project. The church also contributed the truck which it

has used in recent years to the Boy Scouts.

Ellison serves as a speaker to pastors of other new

Methodist churches to help them understand and organize their tasks in

getting their churches started.

Providence United Methodist Church is at 592 Bernhard Rd.,

just outside the city limits of Peachtree City. The telephone number is

770-719-8800.

The church has a 108-acre site on Bernhard Road, and the

recently-completed building is the start of an ambitious 12-year

building program. The just-completed first phase is a

18,200-square-foot, multipurpose facility.

The church hopes to become a regional church, with

members coming from within a 20-mile radius in all directions. The new

site was already convenient to Hwy. 85 and Redwine Road, and

the extension of Peachtree Parkway South so that it now ties

into Bernhard Road has significantly lessened the driving time

for Peachtree City residents.

Providence United Methodist Church has been holding

worship services at Braelinn Elementary School for the past three

years, and groundbreaking for the first phase of its permanent

facilities took place on Dec. 7.

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