Pianos, plants, hymnals, china, nursery workers all donated by area churches

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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