Especially The Crumbs
“No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
I really enjoy looking back, to be honest. I have a pile of photos and old programs and what not tucked away into storage boxes (even some recitals and performances on cassette tape and probably a mini-disc or two). It can be really grounding to look at where I’ve been, occasionally. And so, sometimes this line from Luke’s Gospel kind drives me bonkers— when it’s misused, anyway. Remembering and cherishing our history is a sacred part of knowing who we are today. As James Baldwin so aptly observed, “history is not in the past, it is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.” The author of Luke has an important point with this line about hands on plows and being unfit if you’re looking back… and the point is that we simply must stay open to the road we are currently on, and what’s ahead—even when it’s unfamiliar, uncertain, or winding. If we’re trying to move in the now and forward while only looking back…well, that’s likely to come with some extra messy results, no?
Which brings me to Henry.
Recently, Henry—our favorite Faith Lutheran big little man— has started coming up to the altar. He stands between his Mimi (Joyce) and me. Sometimes he’s dancing around a bit with a few proverbial ants in his pants. Always ready to help deliver collection plates and break bread. Each week after we break the bread, as I pray the remaining words of the eucharistic prayer, Henry happily snacks on the crumbs that have fallen from our communal loaf. Tiny pieces of crust, gathered in the most reverent three-almost-four-year-old way, delicately placed in his mouth as if no one were the wiser. Tasted with, as far as I can tell, total joy.
Honestly? It might be the best part of the whole entire Sunday morning for me. Here is this human, right there at the table, relaxed and 
enjoying a snack while we pray. Not particularly phased by the scene, just…present. What might worship be like for all of us, if we were able to enter that fully, simply gathered around table just as we are, all the time? Isn’t this just exactly what we’re all invited into for weekly nourishment? Maybe crusty crumbs isn’t quite what you have in mind when you think of what brings you joy and relaxation at table, maybe you’re more of a sip from the cup kinda person. But the concept is the same— to simply be present in the joy of what is and revel in just that. And, I can’t help but notice how much more joy ripples out to everyone around Henry, just because of his simply being himself in these moments. He’s doing his own version of putting his hand to the plow and being very fit for the kingdom of God. And look just how quickly that joyful kingdom of God spreads to the rest of the room in response! How powerful we Christians can be, when we are able to choose to just be there at the table in our joy, not too phased, just relaxed and enjoying a meal among one another— and then allowing that to radiate outward into the world.
Luke’s Gospel reminds us not to live looking backward—not because memory isn’t sacred, but because the kingdom of God is here. And we can miss it entirely if we keep our eyes set on the “what has been” and the “what was.” Every one of us is fit for the kingdom. Not because any one of us has figured everything out, but because we can trust that the finite in life carries the infinite. God is here with us, beckoning us toward rest and joyful being—even in the smallest, most ordinary ways from the smallest most ordinary places—especially in breadcrumbs picked up from the altar.
-Intern Pr. Sam
Let those Pentecost fires burn, for the world is always about to turn:
A little project that will become a big gift, titled “The World is About to Turn” | June 2025
Well, here we are. The world is blooming, the sun’s sticking around longer, the scent of sunscreen and charcoal is in the air, creativity is flowing, and Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit is right here living and breathing among us- inspiring us to one turn after another–over and over again!
I remember being a young girl, sitting outside my home parish as my mom weeded the front garden, having just placed red banners all around the interior of the church. Mom, telling me that it was Pentecost, as I mused on how much I liked the drape and color of the red fabric while the sun beat down on my skin, warming it past golden brown and into pink-ish red. I received a bit of a sunburn that day. And, I imagine the disciples received a bit of a burn (proverbial or literal) on their own initial day of Pentecost, too. Encounters with the Holy Spirit change you. It’s inevitable, and important. And so, as we engage our annual celebration and commemoration of that first Pentecost, or just as we work our way through the year…we re-member that part of our intention is, indeed, to be changed, to be transformed, by the fires of the holy.
And, one of those holy fires is our strategic planning work. You might not think “strategic planning” screams Pentecost energy—but I’d argue it does. Because discernment is spiritual work. Every time we ask, “Who are we? What are we here for?”—that’s Holy Spirit work. And soon, when the committee presents our new mission and identity statement, we’ll be handed something that’s not just a sentence to memorize and take to heart—it’s a filter. A lens for looking at ourselves and all of our decisions going forward. A way to hold up all our choices and ask: does this line up with who we say we are and who we say we want to be?
Because that’s what the Spirit does. She reminds us who we are. Who we’re committed to becoming. She breathes life into dry bones, transforms with heat and pressure, and keeps moving the church toward resurrection living, even when we’re trying to cling to more familiar deaths.
And summer, with all its warmth and openness, is a pretty great metaphor for that kind of Spirit energy. It’s not a flash-in-the-pan blaze. It’s a slow, steady burn—sustaining us through the seasons, keeping our hearts soft and our minds open long after the fireworks fade.
The mystic and theologian Howard Thurman once said:
“Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
This Pentecost, may we have the courage to let that heat ignite something in us, and come a little more alive. To let the Spirit move us into clarity, into boldness, into the new thing. Even if it scares us a little. Even if it sets something old on fire and means allowing the ash to become the soil for the new thing God wants us to see them doing.
Amen Amen, I say to you— let us enjoy this special Pentecost season!
-Intern Pr. Sam
Laughter, Singing, & Glorious Water Splashing
We had a joyful Easter morning! — Laughter, singing, and a glorious splashing of water as we re-membered our baptismal promises. We re-membered our commitments to walk in the way of Jesus, as water sprayed around and ran over our hands and faces. One of my favorite liturgical reminders that we are baptized not once, but daily, into fulfilling Jesus’ promises, helping to build the kindom that God creates here on earth.
Speaking of baptismal waters and building kindoms, the poet Rumi once said, “Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.” I wonder if this isn’t part of the shape of resurrection — learning to listen carefully, shedding the tears that need to be shed, and stepping bravely into new life, however unfamiliar or even empty it may feel.
In that spirit, about 25 of us gathered at the end of April with Evan Moilan, our GSB consultant, and soon-to-be Gulf Coast Bishop Emeritus Mike Rhinehart, for a community listening session in Charter Hall. Thank you to each of you who participated — you showed up with open hearts and honest words, sharing your hopes, worries, and dreams for Faith Lutheran. We thought deeply about our strengths and needs, where we shine, where we ache, and where the Spirit might be waving for us to come and play along.
The Strategic Planning Committee is hard at work. We will meet again in early May to review the results of our congregational survey and a summary of everything we shared in our listening session. The next steps will bring us into conversation with community leaders, as we learn more about the real gaps and opportunities around us. As always, we’ll keep you posted and invite your prayers as we continue this journey of discernment.
Finally, I’m considering starting a little regular gathering I’d like to call the Co-Creator’s Collective — Maybe an hour or two every other week for anyone who wants to dabble in art, sip a cup of something good, share a snack, and simply enjoy one another’s company to come together. No skills required, just a willingness to have some fun and love one another. If this sounds like something your heart might need, let me know. I’d love to get this going and gather with you.
with joy,
– Intern Pastor Sam