Glazed with Faith

Often times, our faith and our culture are interwoven.  You might think it’s silly, but for me, my faith, and particularly my faith in the local church, is bound up in Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  (Not Dunkin’ Donuts, or some other brand.  That would be anathema!).

But its’ true. Hymns, prayers, scripture passages, images, smells, Chrismons, candles, robes, stoles, banners, and other liturgical elements connect me with deep emotion and memory to the people and places of my past, and to the stories of my faith.  But none more so than hot, glazed, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and the familiar white rectangles that house them.

I remember Thanksgiving gatherings between two neighboring churches in Buie’s Creek, NC — doughnuts after dark!!! And I remember the youth lounge of First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, where daring middle schoolers would smash two together in a napkin (you can eat more that way!) in an attempt to finish the twelve dozen that were delivered promptly every Sunday morning. I remember riding in a van at Millbrook Baptist Church in Raleigh — we had just finished a community service project, and of course we passed the KK on Peace Street.  And it wasn’t a formal communion, but it sure was special to pass that box of glazed treats from row to row, and oh how everyone laughed.

And each week at Sardis, Jonathan faithfully ensures that one dozen hot doughnuts are sitting on our coffee table.  My two-year-old daughter waits like a sentinel for his arrival. And she is SO disappointed when she visits me on a weekday.  “Where’s my buddy, Jonathan?” she asks.  And more importantly, “Where are the doughnuts?!?” And this past week, Jonathan was sick. Not wanting the congregation to be disappointed, two staff members made a doughnut run!

When I see those familiar round treats, or see those boxes stacked high, I am instantly reminded of the loving communities I’ve been a part of.  I’ve had thousands of doughnuts. They never get old. And when people have them for the first time, they are amazed at how great they are.  And at the table in the back, I see someone from every age group trying one.  And they never seem to run out.  And I think the sugar flakes they leave behind are a kind of modern day manna. And every Sunday, rain or shine, those doughnuts are there, just waiting to put a smile of someone’s face.

And I think God is a lot like a Krispy Kreme doughnut: always there; always warm; always consistent; always surprising; always inter generational; always familiar.  And of course, always getting your hands sticky, and always leaving a trail behind, and always eager to be served up at the next table or gathering.