Bucket Brigade

We have a number of folks in our congregation who are members of the local volunteer fire department. That means that, if a siren sounds on Sunday morning, they get up and leave. I often pause and offer a prayer for them and whatever situation they are going to encounter. Sometimes it is a fire, sometimes a highway accident, sometimes a false alarm. Whatever it is, though, they respond willingly. 

A lot of folks I know are responding now to the heartbreaking needs of those in western NC affected by Hurricane Helene. Through some personal connections, people here have figured out how to get the right things to the right places to help those who have lost so much. They have made several trips, driving trailer loads of generators, kerosene heaters, coats and hats, and cooking equipment. Like our volunteer fire department, they are on the front lines, giving of themselves, taking risks, responding. 

Not everyone can do that, though – drop everything and respond to a fire call or drive to the mountains pulling a trailer. But most of us can do something. I’m thinking of the old-fashioned way of fighting fires, with a bucket brigade. One person at the source of the water filled the buckets, and they were handed down a line of people to the one on the front line, at the fire. Over and over, the buckets were filled and passed down the line, emptied and passed back to be filled again. It was a true team effort. 

Maybe our efforts to bring aid to the people in the mountains are like a bucket brigade. Many of those who can’t go in person have done the equivalent of filling a bucket and handing it on. They have donated money, coats and blankets, food, generators, and heaters. We aren’t all on the front lines, but we can still fill a bucket and pass it along, trusting that all the hands along with way will deliver what is needed to quench the suffering of so many.