"There’s more Methodists here for buckets! We might as well get the rest of them down!" an employee hollered.

Churches in Lawton District and elsewhere generously responded this fall to a call to donate flood buckets for UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

After Gulf Coast residents, especially in Texas, suffered the blow of Hurricane Ike, the supplies were needed for disaster cleanup work. A statewide campaign was initiated in Oklahoma by Volunteers In Mission. Richard Norman is VIM coordinator of Disaster Response and Domestic Missions.

When the campaign concluded Nov. 12, donations totaled 650 buckets, $2,400 for more buckets, and 100 UMCOR health kits and 100 school kits. "Even a church from Kansas brought some buckets" to the Oklahoma City drop-off site, said Rev. Norman.

Ten flood buckets were donated by congregations of southeastern Oklahoma that are in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference (OIMC). Conference Superintendent David Wilson said those buckets were given in response to a challenge issued at an OIMC regional meeting.

Lawton District’s goal was one bucket per three church members. The drive culminated Nov. 2 at the District Conference and Awards Banquet. Theme for the gathering was "Sent Out By Love!"

That "seems to sum up this offering," said Superintendent Chuck Horton about the Christian love that flowed out in the drive. It was led by the district council, with pastors Terry Koehn and Kip Wright.

Lawton District’s big donation was 451 buckets and cash gifts to complete 61 more. The effort rippled through area communities, and news reports helped push the waves of enthusiasm.

Lawton District volunteers pause amid loading. Superintendent Chuck Horton is third from left.

Photo by Holly McCray

On behalf of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, Josephine Deere and David Wilson deliver flood bucket donations to the Oklahoma Conference United Methodist Ministry Center.

Marsha and Jim Salazar drop off three flood buckets donated by Barnard Memorial church in Holdenville, McAlester District.

"We began thinking: Is this God talking? Should we have that kind of faith?" said Rev. Snyder.

To fill those buckets, they promoted the need to people beyond the church doors. Civic clubs were challenged to match each other in donating supplies or money to purchase them. Marcom and her employees packed the supplies.

"There was a neat ecumenical spirit about it," Snyder said. Frederick’s final tally was 102 buckets.

Rev. Horton said, "All over the district, stores were selling out of flood bucket items. We pulled off together what none of us could have dreamed of doing by ourselves."

Donors shared shopping tips. An Elgin store had clothespins in stock. Two sizes of bottled bleach from a pharmacy franchise totaled the exact amount UMCOR specified.

Rev. Koehn said one store manager began to recognize the supply lists donors carried, and she assisted them in finding items.

Horton recalled flooding in August 2008 at Anadarko, Fort Cobb, Apache, and Gracemont—all within the district. "The churches provided significant leadership in helping people recover, and UMCOR’s Mary Gaudreau was a great help in getting the churches and communities organized and working with FEMA," he said.

"There were people in those communities who benefited from flood buckets that others had put together, so our district flood-bucket drive was their opportunity to pay it forward to other communities."

Shortly after the campaign concluded, Horton and Richard Ryan were discussing a proposed district partnership with VIM and Canyon Camp. Ryan, of Frederick, is a district ERT (Early Response Team) co-coordinator.

Ryan declared, "Frederick just filled 102 flood buckets. We can do anything we set our minds to!"

—Holly McCray