Community In Christ (CIC), Cornelius members of all ages joined together to collect, sort, and pack 20 “Clean Up Kits” and 20 “Children’s Comfort Kits” for Lutheran Disaster Response Carolinas.

In August, the CIC grocery cart “items of the month” listed the items needed to complete the flood buckets. Members of CIC were generous in buying those items throughout the month and returning them before the God’s work. Our hands. project date. After hearing Pastor Ruth Ann Sipe, one of the Lutheran Disaster Response Carolinas Disaster Coordinators, speak during worship, the congregation worked to sort, pack, and load the kits into vehicles to head to storage areas in the North Carolina Synod as they await the unfortunate day when they will be needed. A Thrivent Action Team grant was used to purchase the contents of the “Children’s Comfort Care Kits.” The children made quick work of assembly containers that will surely bring smiles to others’ faces when the day comes.

On the day of the event, we learned that one of CIC’s members had a personal experience with being on the receiving end. Christina Clark has this to share about the Clean Up Buckets!:

“My father lost his home in Bonita Springs, FL to Hurricane Ian in 2022. It was a devastating storm that caused nearly 6ft of water to destroy everything inside the house. I’m still not sure which organization delivered that Godsend of a bucket, but I remember clearly being inside my father’s house trying to sift through his sludge-covered belongings, when there was a knock at the door. A man stood there with the bucket and said “it’s not much, but we hope it will help”. I really wasn’t sure what was inside when I took it from the man, but knew we could for sure at least use the bucket to help with cleaning. After he left I opened the bucket and was elated to see the contents – It was many of the supplies we needed but couldn’t get from the store because they were sold out! Everything inside (especially the trash bags) were very much needed. Thanks to the generosity of the folks that delivered the bucket, it was a relief to us to not have to try to go out and source the materials while dealing with the huge mess the flood waters left behind. We were so very grateful!”

Note: This story was submitted before the devastation of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.