Recent Sermon

Title

The Chainsaw Brigade:

The Tools of Resilience

by Rev. Ken Langer

First Church of Barre, Universalist

Date

Sunday, October 4, 2026

Sermon

As many of you know, in 2024, Hurricane Helene ripped through the woods of Western North Carolina, where my long-time friend currently resides, and its rains brought about massive flooding. A great deal of damage resulted from that storm. My friend told me about Fred and his family, whose house had been pummeled by falling trees. Huge branches and tree trunks were uprooted and strewn across the woodlands of the Asheville area. Fred’s family was trapped in the house and could not get out to obtain food, water, or any other supplies they desperately needed. The tree limbs and branches were just too big to be moved by themselves, and the situation was getting worse by the hour.

Fred peered out of one of the few windows that was not crushed or blocked and tried to see what was beyond their home. All he saw was mangled wood, displaced boulders, and remnants of his house. He was losing hope until he heard a sound in the distance. It was faint and intermittent at first, but it slowly grew in strength. What was that noise, he thought. Was it? Yes, it was—a chainsaw! No, not just one chainsaw, but several of them. It was a whole brigade of chainsaws, and it was coming toward them. Soon, his family heard the oncoming roar, and they all began to dance and cheer. Their neighbors had pulled together, gathered as many tools as they could, and gone through the neighborhood to help each other out. No single person could have removed those obstacles for that family. It took a commitment from a group of concerned and engaged individuals to save their community.

In this country, we are fed a constant stream of images and stories about the great American individualist. We are supposed to be strong and independent like Rambo, clever and resourceful like James Bond, or bold and brave like Wonder Woman, but these are all fictional characters. Survival and the ability to flourish cannot be achieved alone. Resilience, especially in challenging times, requires that we help each other get through the storm. It requires that we look out for one another. It requires a group of neighbors to come through with chainsaws.

Robert Putnam, in his book Bowling Alone, claims that civic life in America has been in decline since the 1960s. Since that time, he asserts that participation has been falling in numerous cultural institutions, including civic groups like the PTA, unions, dinner parties, volunteer opportunities, political parties, and, of course, churches. We don’t really need books and surveys to tell us what we see happening all around us. We all know the culprits by now: social media, which has become as addictive as drugs; looming disasters such as climate change that threaten to change the world; constant economic pressures; and, perhaps more significantly, a decline in respectful social discourse and engagement. Regardless of which side of any policy debate you may fall on, you must admit that the ability to have polite disagreements has become increasingly difficult and, sometimes, even dangerous. According to the Pew Research Center, “Large majorities say the tone and nature of political debate in the United States has become more negative in recent years – as well as less respectful, less fact-based, and less substantive.” (1)

The result is a despair that makes us believe we have to carry this grief alone, and it is this very isolating loss of hope that makes such a time feel so unbearable. The reality of human life, however, is that no one makes it through alone. The ability to survive and strive alone is a cultural myth. We need each other—not just sometimes—but all the time.  

Resilience is a group effort; it requires a supportive community and a dedication to the well-being of all. It begins with a recognition that I become better when I help others become better because growing together makes us stronger. We can see the same truth in nature. A stand of trees can work to grow together and share resources so that they can resist storms and diseases more successfully than a single tree could. This is an important concept to grasp if a community is going to thrive.

Many of the world’s religious traditions have understood this truth and have developed their own supportive communities. The Buddhist Sangha is a group of practitioners who understand that enlightenment is easier to attain together. In Judaism, the synagogue was originally meant to be a place of communal prayer and study. “Ummah” is the term Muslims use to recognize the collective of all Muslims throughout the world. After every service, Sikhs provide a Langar, which is a completely free communal meal open to anyone and everyone who wishes to partake. Attendees can be of any religion and do not necessarily have to attend services to participate. In Christianity, St. Paul talks about “the body of Christ,” which represents how Christians should support each other. The weakness of one is balanced by the strength of another.

It was often through religion that nations defined themselves. Those religions taught the importance of finding strength through community rather than through individual effort. Those who survived learned that a population can only thrive when they come together. Resilience is best achieved in mutually supportive groups of people. Cooperation, not competition, endures.

That is why the church is one of the best places to create and share resilience. We are the chainsaw brigade, standing ready to help people cut through fallen trees and blown debris. Our entire purpose is to recognize the divinity in all of us, not just in some of us. We are committed to supporting one another. We may not be able to change the news, public policy, or other opinions. We may not be able to repair everything that’s broken, but what we can do is lift each other up. We can provide a safe space to grieve, to speak out, and to imagine a better world. We can help ensure that no one has to go through it all alone. No one has to be left trapped in the storm.

I invite you to do one thing this week. Find someone you know, or maybe someone you don’t know, like a neighbor, a workmate, or a member of a group you belong to, perhaps someone in your church. Take a moment to check in with them. Ask how they are holding up in these challenging times, and then just listen. You might exchange names, contact information, or even invite them to church—not to convert them to a belief, but to connect them with others who both need and can offer support.

That family trapped in their house by the remnants of a powerful storm may have eventually escaped their predicament, but it certainly took a great deal of hard work and struggle. The appearance of the volunteer chainsaw brigade made it possible for them to be free from the stress and pressure of feeling trapped and alone. We need a social chainsaw brigade that can cut through the debris thrown at us every day by the storms of hatred and indifference. We can be that brigade of hope when we choose to work together. You don’t have to move the trees by yourself; you just have to be willing to grab your tools and join in the effort.

Notes

1. “Public Highly Critical of the State of Political Discourse in the U.S.” The Pew Research Center, June 19, 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/06/19/public-highly-critical-of-state-of-political-discourse-in-the-u-s.

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