Light of Christ Lutheran Church/Ray of Light Food Pantry

06/22/2026

Ray of Christ Food Pantry served 324 households and 925 individuals this past week. For comparison: this same week in 2023 we served 127 households and 336 individuals. The need keeps growing. So does the response.

And this week the response got tested.

Friday and Saturday distribution happened under torrential rain and flash flood warnings. June has already pushed La Porte ahead of normal rainfall totals for the year, and at this rate we may need to hire a lifeguard and post surf condition flags outside the pantry. But volunteers showed up anyway. People loaded groceries in the rain, got soaked together, laughed more than seemed reasonable, and kept serving. Adversity has a funny way of making a group of people into a team. We suspect even the young man working off community service hours may have accidentally had a meaningful experience.

One reminder: our Crisis Pregnancy Center Baby Bottle Fundraiser officially wrapped up, but if your bottle is still sitting on the kitchen counter or riding around in the back seat of the car, bring it this Sunday anyway. We’ll gladly take late arrivals.

Thursday at 6:30 PM our journey through Acts continues with one of the great turnaround stories in Scripture: Acts 9:1–19, the conversion of Saul. The man who thought he was defending God discovers that God was already ahead of him. Come join us.

Sunday we’ll hear Jesus say something surprising: when we welcome one another, we welcome him. We’ll talk about hospitality—not as charity from people who have it together, but as people who have already been welcomed by Christ learning to recognize him in ordinary places. Sometimes in bread. Sometimes in a neighbor. Sometimes standing in the rain handing out groceries.

Worship is at 10:00 AM at Light of Christ Lutheran Church, 2530 S Broadway St., La Porte.

Come as you are. Everyone is welcome. No exceptions.

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06/19/2026

Fear clenches. The Gospel opens the hand.
Sunday we’re talking about Jesus’ strange command: “Do not be afraid” — and why courage isn’t something you manufacture but something that grows from knowing your life is already held by Jesus.
Worship at 10:00 AM. Light of Christ Lutheran Church, 2530 S Broadway St., La Porte.
Come as you are. No exceptions.

06/15/2026

Ray of Christ Food Pantry served 302 households and 913 individuals this past week. For comparison, during this same week in 2023 we served 125 households and 340 individuals. The need in La Porte is growing, and so is the response. Every grocery cart loaded, every box packed, every conversation in the parking lot is one more reminder that care and compassion still matter. If you'd like to be part of that work, come get involved.

Sunday also included one of those very Light of Christ moments: we celebrated our June birthdays with a cake that proudly announced “Happy July Birthdays.” Nobody seemed especially troubled by this. Cake was eaten. People were celebrated. The Kingdom survived. Time warp portal may have opened.

One quick reminder for our church family: please bring your Crisis Pregnancy Center baby bottles back this Sunday (June 21), filled with spare change, bills, checks, or whatever has accumulated in the cupholder of your car. Small things add up.

Thursday at 6:30 PM our journey through the Book of Acts continues. This week we follow Philip and the Ethiopian official (Acts 8:26–40) — a story about interruptions, unexpected conversations, and the way God keeps reaching people nobody expected.

Sunday we’ll hear Jesus say something three different times: “Do not be afraid.” That sounds simple until you realize how much of life gets organized around fear — fear of conflict, fear of rejection, fear of losing control, fear of not being enough. We’ll talk about why Christian courage isn’t about personality or trying harder. It begins with knowing your life is already held by Christ.

Worship is at 10:00 AM at Light of Christ Lutheran Church, 2530 S Broadway St., La Porte.

Come as you are. Everyone is welcome. No exceptions.

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06/11/2026

Most people aren't looking for another lecture. They're tired, worn down, and carrying more than anyone knows. Jesus calls them "harassed and helpless." On Sunday we'll talk about what he does for people in exactly that condition.

Worship starts at 10:00 AM. Come as you are. No exceptions.

Light of Christ Lutheran Church, 2530 S Broadway St., La Porte.

06/08/2026

Ray of Christ Food Pantry served 319 households and 989 individuals this past week. Even more remarkable, during the month of May the pantry served 1,633 households and 4,692 individuals throughout the La Porte area. Those numbers represent thousands of meals, thousands of conversations, and thousands of reminders that no one should have to carry life's burdens alone.

This past Sunday was a meaningful one at Light of Christ. We paused to remember the 82nd anniversary of the Normandy landings and give thanks for those who served and sacrificed. We also celebrated the Rite of the Anointing of the Sick, gathering around brothers and sisters in prayer and asking God's healing presence to be with them. (Photos below.)

This Thursday at 6:30 PM our Bible study continues through the Book of Acts. This week we'll tackle Acts 5:1-11, the story of Ananias and Sapphira. It's one of the most unsettling passages in the New Testament and forces us to confront some uncomfortable truths about honesty, community, and discipleship.

On this coming Sunday we'll hear Jesus describe the crowds as "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." That's an ancient description that feels surprisingly current. We'll talk about the voices that accuse, shame, and wear people down—and the authority Jesus gives his people to bring hope, healing, and freedom instead.

Please “like” and “share” this post so that the Facebook algorithm drops us into the feed of more and more folks who might need our services.

Worship is at 10:00 AM at Light of Christ Lutheran Church, 2530 S Broadway St., La Porte.

Come as you are. Everyone is welcome. No exceptions.

06/04/2026

What if all you've got left is one last reach toward Jesus? This Sunday we're talking about the kind of faith that shows up when confidence is gone, options are exhausted, and hope is hanging by a thread.

Worship at 10:00 AM at Light of Christ Lutheran Church, 2530 S Broadway St., La Porte.

Following worship, Pastor Steve will offer the rite of Anointing of the Sick for anyone who desires it.

Come as you are. Everyone is welcome. No exceptions.

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Image: freepik.com

06/01/2026

Ray of Christ Food Pantry served 354 households and 1,009 individuals this past week. Every one of those numbers represents a neighbor, a family, or someone trying to make it through another week. Thank you to the volunteers, donors, and supporters who make this ministry possible week after week. The need continues to grow, and so does the response.

Pastor Steve has written a new article about the food pantry and the ministry of this congregation. If you haven't read it yet, head over to Substack, give it a read, and be sure to like, share, and subscribe. It helps more people learn about what God is doing through this small congregation in La Porte. Here’s the link: https://revstevestutzdmin.substack.com/p/this-church-has-30-people-on-sundayand

Our Thursday evening Bible study continues as we work our way through the Book of Acts. Thursday night we're looking at Acts 4, where Peter and John discover that the resurrection is considerably less controversial until you start talking about it in public. Arrests, threats, courtroom drama, and one of the boldest prayers in the New Testament. Come join us at 6:30 p.m. We have room at the table for you.

This coming Sunday (Jun 7) we'll hear the story of a woman who had exhausted every option and had nothing left but one last reach toward Jesus. The sermon is called “Last-Scrap Faith.” Sometimes faith isn't confidence or certainty. Sometimes it's simply reaching for the hem of Jesus's robe because you've run out of everything else. Jesus seems to think that's enough. Following worship, Pastor Steve will offer the church's rite of Anointing of the Sick for anyone who desires prayer for healing, strength, comfort, or God's presence in a difficult season. This is definitely a Lutheran “thing”—it’s in our hymnal on p. 276ff. Bring a sick friend or two with you!

We're also continuing our Baby Bottle Fundraiser. Please return your filled bottles by Sunday, June 21.

Please “like” and “share” this post so that the Facebook algorithm will get us before more people who might find our ministry just what they need at time in their life!

Worship is Sunday at 10:00 AM at Light of Christ Lutheran Church, 2530 S Broadway St., La Porte, TX 77571. Come as you are. Everyone is welcome. No exceptions.

The numbers don't add up. That's exactly the point. Why our church metrics are broken.

05/25/2026

Ray of Christ Food Pantry served 304 households and 877 individuals this past week. The weather was rough — hard rain, flood advisories, streets nobody really wanted to be driving on — and still the volunteers showed up and the neighbors came. Three years ago this same week, the pantry served 113 households and 311 individuals. The need keeps climbing, and this community keeps responding anyway. We can always use more hands on deck.

As we enjoy the Memorial Day holiday this weekend, we also remember why the day exists in the first place: lives given in service, families who carried the loss afterward, and freedoms that were not free. Memory matters.

Pentecost Sunday last week reminded us again that the Spirit still has a habit of showing up in un-likely rooms and among unlikely people. That includes this little church on South Broadway. Thursday night Bible study at 6:30 P.M. also continues, and there’s always room at the table if you’d like to come take a look. We are exploring the book of Acts—come along for the adventure of the early church!

This coming Sunday at Light of Christ Lutheran we’ll observe Holy Trinity Sunday. In the sermon we’ll talk about the difference between a vague “higher power” and the God Christians actually confess: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — not a distant force, but a God who knows your name, meets people in the wreckage, and stays present in the middle of real life.

Worship is at 10:00 AM, 2530 S Broadway St, La Porte, TX 77571. Come as you are. Everyone is welcome. No exceptions.

05/21/2026

The disciples locked the door because they were afraid. Jesus walked through the lock anyway. This Sunday (May 24) we’re talking about what happens when the Holy Spirit shows up in rooms built by fear.

Worship at 10:00 AM

2530 S Broadway St, La Porte, TX 77571.

Come as you are.

05/18/2026

Ray of Christ Food Pantry served 354 households and an estimated 970 individuals this past week. For comparison: this same week in 2023, we served 110 households and 324 individuals. The numbers keep climbing because the need keeps climbing. And every week this little congregation keeps showing up anyway.

This Sunday we also celebrated the completion of Shanea Brunson’s culinary externship with us. Shanea is a culinary arts student at the Escoffier School and spent part of her training serving alongside our pantry ministry. In a letter to the congregation she wrote: “Seeing the compassion behind everything you all do truly warmed and touched my heart.” She has also been developing recipes built around common pantry distribution items so families can make fuller use of the food they receive. We’re hoping to begin sharing those recipes later this summer.

Sunday is Pentecost — wind, fire, locked doors blown open, frightened people suddenly turned loose into the world. We’ll be in John 20, Acts 2, and 1 Corinthians 12 asking what happens when the Holy Spirit shows up in a room full of wounded people who thought their best days were over. Turns out resurrection people are hard to keep contained.

Worship is at 10:00 AM at Light of Christ Lutheran Church, 2530 S Broadway St, La Porte, TX 77571.

Come as you are. Everyone is welcome. No exceptions.

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