By james art United Methodist churches in the Baton Rouge area are coming together to answer Bishop Delores Williamston’s call for Louisiana United Methodists to collect cleanup kits (also known as “flood buckets”) to help with relief efforts in hurricanes.
These cleanup kits will be distributed through the United Methodist Relief Committee (UMCOR) to communities recovering from storms, and they will also be used to restock the cleanup kits at Sager Brown, the UMCOR relief depot located in Baldwin, Louisiana.
We know the transformative power that is possible when churches come together to help our neighbors.
Reverend Austin Rinehart
Addressing this challenge, Bishop Williamston calls on local churches to work together in their communities, stressing that collaboration can lead to greater impact, and that’s exactly what Rev. Austin Rinehart, pastor of Zachary UMC, hopes for.
“We are stronger together,” Rinehart says. “This is an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the churches in our local community. A flood bucket may not fix someone’s house after a storm, but it is a physical reminder of our connection and our hope.”
Rinehart says members of Zachary United Methodist Church remember the lasting impact of the community’s cooperation after the flood of 2016. Although eight years have passed since the devastating flood, the same spirit of unity can fuel these new efforts to help with hurricane recovery .
“A major memory of our church at its best was our response efforts after the historic 2016 flood in the Baton Rouge area,” Rinehart said. “We know the transformative power that is possible when churches come together to help our neighbors.”
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Churches in the Southeast District have arranged two dates for the assembly of the cleaning kits – November 2nd and November 9th.
On Saturday, November 2, Zachary United Methodist Church and First United Methodist Church of Hammond will host meeting events.
On Saturday, November 9, Broadmoor United Methodist Church of Baton Rouge will hold its meeting.
Those wishing to participate can contribute in two ways:
1. Attend one of the assembly events to help assemble cleaning kits.
2. Help collect supplies by visiting this Amazon wishlist or make a financial donation through their local church or through Zachary United Methodist Church by clicking here. Donations will be sent to one of the designated collection locations.
Each cleaning kit costs approximately $75 and a donation of $3 per bucket is requested to cover shipping costs and additional supplies to be added at the UMCOR Sager Brown Depot.
