I have this new thing. National Grid texts me each time there is an impending storm. They give alerts on weather conditions and the possibility of loss of power. They sometimes make these storms sound a little more imposing than the reality I experience. But I appreciate the heads up warning.

I’ve been through a couple of storms where I lost power. And many of you still have memories of last winter’s wind and snow storms that left homes powerless for a week. Yet, even with these memories, I realized that I am not really prepared for an outage. I’ve got a generator, but each time the storm approaches I have to download and reprint the manual, and figure out where all the oil, gas and spark arrestors are stored. (OK I do know where the gas is stored).

FEMA sent out a marvelous guide to help folks prepare for power loss. You can find the information here. This is among a growing number of resources you can find on our MACUCC Disaster Resource Team website, for individuals and churches to prepare for the challenges of New England weather and natural disasters. It is worth your time to review this. It is also worth your time to pass it along.

You might also want to talk with our church in Waquoit. They worked with their local community to become a warming shelter. With help from grant money and in partnership with local businesses and town officials and community members, they have installed a generator that can power the church during a storm; making their church a community center where folks can come to get warm and get a cup of coffee (or just charge their cell phone). Rev. Nell Fields can tell you this marvelous story. 

Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure. ~Confucius

For the Disaster Resource Team: Jim Tilbe and Don Remick