Aerospace engineer
Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Millersville, Md.
We have been attending Christ Lutheran for roughly 18 years. After moving to Maryland we did a bit of church shopping in our area. We were visiting each Lutheran church for a couple of weeks to find out which one was the best fit for us, a family of five with three young children. Christ Lutheran stood out to us immediately. Not only were we greeted in a very inviting manner at the door, but a fantastic couple recognized us as visitors immediately and invited us to sit in a row with them. We instantly felt like we were part of the community and have been going back ever since.
My family has been involved with all aspects of the church community, from Sunday school teaching to several stints on the church council. My children have all risen through the ranks of acolytes to crucifer to usher. We recognize that the church isn’t just a place [where] we show up to worship; it is a community of people whose talents and skills can all be utilized to move the church forward and do God’s work.
The church community at Christ Lutheran is phenomenal, and it is one of the strongest motivational factors for us to attend each Sunday morning. When my daughter was little, we had arranged for a baptism in early February. My in-laws were flying in to attend, and we had planned for a small party afterwards. Unfortunately it snowed the night before and they had to cancel the service. Knowing the grandparents had to fly back, the pastor agreed to hold an intimate baptism that Tuesday for our family. We were amazed that one-third of the church had shown up—not for communion or a sermon or a blessing, but just to share in our joy as our youngest received the sacrament. That is the community that we have and why it is so important to us.
I work as an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. I am a subcontractor, and my job focuses on satellite navigation and autonomous determination of satellite positions in the sky. My time is split between developing software simulations for missions and testing flight hardware before [it is] launched into space.
When I was in the sixth grade, back in California, an engineer from NASA Ames Research Center [in Mountain View] came to our school and brought large posters—computers were just making their ways into schools at that point—to talk about all the cool things NASA was doing. From that point on, my life’s goal was to become an astronaut. Unfortunately that vision didn’t pan out, but working with spacecraft was a fantastic fallback option.
Hands down, the best part of my job is that every day there is a new challenge to overcome.
Hands down, the best part of my job is that every day there is a new challenge to overcome. I have been fortunate enough to work on several NASA flight missions, and there is an immense amount of pride felt when a satellite launches and the payload you’ve been working on for five years works perfectly out of the box. And then, four weeks later, it’s back to the lab to start developing the next thing.
The most important lesson that I have learned is that you can’t do things on your own. I spent a very long time in school, where they focus on doing things by yourself, with an “eyes on your own paper” mentality. However, once I joined the workforce, it became readily apparent that you can’t really do anything alone. Projects only succeed when people utilize their strengths to help others, and also when they reach out for help when they’re struggling. These are the same lessons that we see throughout the Bible, and this same communal support is what builds healthy churches.
A math teacher once told our class that you will never know what you are capable of unless you try; the fear of failure is what’s holding you back from being something better. So I spend my free time exploring different ways to fail at new activities. I quite enjoy physical, outdoor sports—marathons, triathlons—as well as pretending to be an artist through visual and written artwork. But the most enjoyable time to me is a great family conversation at the dinner table or a board game with my kids before bed.
I’m fully aware that I have been blessed with the opportunities that have been laid before me. I pray, every day, that I can recognize those around me that need help, and that I would have the courage to help them.
To me grace is the unearned and undeserved forgiveness of sins through God’s bountiful goodness.
I’m a Lutheran because, honestly, my wife was a Lutheran—but I have remained a Lutheran because it is a perfect fit. I had grown up as a “Chreaster” (Christmas and Easter) attendee of a Catholic church but was always turned off by the rigidity of the sect and by the impression, real or imagined, that the priest was the gateway to God. I began attending a Lutheran church in California with my wife’s family and saw a whole different side of church. One where you were encouraged to form your own, intimate relationship with God. One where the mechanical Hail Marys were replaced with open discussions with God.
If you’d like to nominate someone for “I’m a Lutheran,” email livinglutheran@elca.org.
