Photo Courtesy of Richard Bryant
Special to United Methodist Insight |n Aug. 28, 2025
On Tuesday afternoon, I was in a car accident in front of the local middle and high school. In those first seconds of shock, before I could even process what had happened, two teachers rushed to my car. They didn’t hesitate, didn’t pause to think about what it might mean for them. They came running. Moments later, the school resource officer was standing by my door.
The helpers came.
That phrase has stayed with me all week. What happened to me is just one glimpse of a larger truth: our survival as a society depends on ordinary people who respond to extraordinary moments.
We saw it yesterday in Minneapolis. In the midst of violence, children shielded their friends from gunfire. Police and first responders ran toward the danger. Teachers did what teachers are called to do: care for those entrusted to them, regardless of the circumstances.
The helpers keep us alive.
It’s tempting to think that help is someone else’s job, someone else’s responsibility. However, the truth is that communities survive only because of people who decide that helping is their calling as well.
Please be a helper, not just in moments of tragedy, but every day. When you witness an accident or the unthinkable happens, someone will need you to act. You may discover that you were the one who could step in.
The helpers are not rare. They are us. We need you.
Richard Bryant
The Rev. Richard Bryant is a clergy member of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. This post is republished from his Substack blog, Elevate the Discourse.