The Red Bucket And The Bell Ringer 11/22/2019

Good Morning,

I headed out early this morning to hunt geese with some friends. I filled my Thermos Bottle with Door County Pumpkin Spice Coffee and I believe Peanut Butter Cookies will be my breakfast today.

Matthew 9:19 Honor your mother and your father. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Yesterday I did some grocery shopping and as I was approaching the store I heard a familiar sound of
Christmas. The Salvation Army has placed the red donation buckets out and they are manned by volunteers who ring a bell. The money gathered goes toward many things that the Salvation Army funds and operates. Here is the story.

Red Kettle History

In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many

poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome -- funding the project.

Where would the money come from, he wondered. He lay awake nights, worrying, thinking, praying about how he could find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city's poorest individuals on Christmas Day. As he pondered the issue, his thoughts drifted back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called "Simpson's Pot" into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.

The next day Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, "Keep the Pot Boiling." He soon had the money to see that the needy people were properly fed at Christmas.

Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy. In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years. Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods.

Captain McFee's kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world. Kettles are now used in such distant lands as Korea, Japan, Chile and many European countries. Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten

I threw a couple of dollars in change that I had into the bucket as I passed by. The fella ringing the bell and manning the bucket was about 80 years old. He thanked me for my donation and said "God bless you." I am not asking you to donate to the Salvation Army, but as I pondered a tradition that I have enjoyed seeing every year since I was a little boy I had to say this.

"I admire his commitment to humanity. In his eighties this man still works to gather donations for those who might be forgotten during the year.  I believe he captures the essence of Christmas with his service." How about you? Will you serve others unselfishly this Christmas?

Have a great day,

Marty