December 22, 2023 Dear Peachtree Road Family, Merry Christmas! As I write these words, we are merely hours away from our Christmas Eve celebration. The church has been buzzing with excitement as members of the flower guild, altar guild, usher teams, acolyte teams, hospitality volunteers, children’s choir moms, Doxology Choir members, Chancel Choir members, and pageant helpers all have been making their final preparations for the big day. The church is at its most beautiful, and I am grateful to all who have helped. There is nothing like Christmas at Peachtree Road UMC!  I am looking forward to worshiping with you as we welcome anew Christ into our lives: 11:15 am – First Communion of Christmas 4:00 pm – Family Candlelight and Pageant 6:00 pm – Family Candlelight and Pageant 8:00 pm – Festival of Lessons and Carols 10:30 pm – Festival Choral Eucharist  Each service is distinctive, and we hope you will select the time that is most helpful to you and join us for the celebration. Some of you may be traveling and will not be able to attend one of our services in person, but we do invite you to join us online at www.prumc.org. Also, let others know of this opportunity to experience the pageantry of our celebration of “God with us.” Again this year, our Christmas Eve Offering is designated for clean water in Kenya. Over the course of the last seven years, our Christmas Eve offerings have been used to provide water filters for approximately 170,000 people. As a result of your help, tens of thousands of families have had their lives transformed through the gift of clean water. This Christmas Eve we will have the opportunity to do it again. Our special offering will be used to purchase water filters for families living in the Makongeni region of Kenya. The only source of water in this region is a river into which raw sewage is dumped daily. Children especially are suffering and dying in this region at an alarming rate because of the dirty water, and their parents cannot do anything to prevent it. But there is something you can do – you can provide them with a life-giving water filter! Each filter costs $50 and lasts approximately 10 years. Please help by giving generously today (www.prumc.org.) Thank you in advance for your gift. Speaking of giving, as we come to the end of the year, I encourage you to help us finish 2023 strong by fulfilling your commitment to the operating budget. If you would like to make an extra gift to the church’s ministry, please know that we would be humbly grateful to receive that gift. Mail your check prior to December 31, or give online through the church’s website at www.prumc.org. Thank you for your extraordinary faithfulness.  We will offer only one service on Sunday, December 31. It will be at 11:15 am in the sanctuary, and our associate minister Rev. Elizabeth Byrd will be preaching. You are invited to join your friends at Peachtree Road UMC for worship as we renew our commitment to Christ through a meaningful service called the Wesley Covenant Service. Join us in person or online at www.prumc.org.  Finally, let me offer a word about next year’s theme here at Peachtree Road UMC – “Rekindle the Flame.” This theme encourages us to fan the fires of revival in our own lives and in the life of the church in the coming days. The key verse for this emphasis is “Rekindle the gift of God that is within you.” (II Timothy 1:6) I encourage you to participate in this emphasis by joining others in daily study of scripture. Each morning we will make suggested readings available to you – a thematic approach to reading the Old Testament, Psalms, Epistles, and Gospels. I hope you will sign up today (www.prumc.org) and join us as we pray for our Lord to “Rekindle the Flame” here at Peachtree Road UMC.  I look forward to seeing you Sunday as we light candles and remember the promise: “Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.” That is our hope, and that is the source of our joy.  Merry Christmas! Bill