Page 35 of In This Moment
The others nodded. Luke was young, but he remembered the tragedy. “A hundred people were killed, right?”
“Actually 168 people.” Dayne paused to let that sink in. “It’s calledTo the Moon and Back.”
“To the Moon and Back?” Kari took a sip of water and turned to Katy. “Like the bedtime story?”
“Yes.” Katy’s eyes filled with emotion. “The main couple... both their mothers used to say that to them. But now it’s more like the story of their lives. They’ve been to the moon and back and still not found peace.”
“Wow.” Luke caught the vision for the film. “Sounds amazing.”
“It’ll be powerful.” Dayne took a deep breath. “Difficult, but powerful. A story of true healing and redemption.”
The conversation shifted to Ryan and Kari and the football season under way at Clear Creek High. “Those Flanigan boys score half the touchdowns.” Ryan laughed. “No one can keep up with them.”
During a lull, Luke looked at his niece Maddie. “Speaking of the Flanigans, how are things with Connor?” The oldest Flanigan boy was a sophomore at Liberty University this year.
Maddie’s cheeks turned pink. She looked down at her plate and then up at the others. “We’re struggling a little. Still friends, though.” She smiled at Brooke. “Mom and I were talking about him on our way here.” Maddie looked at Luke again. “He wants to talk to you about the cases you’ve been taking. He’s really thinking about going into film. But he’s not sure. Sometimes he thinks he might be a lawyer.”
Hayley, Maddie’s younger sister, motioned with her fork toward the others. “And yes, if you want to know, they are no longer officially boyfriend and girlfriend.” She raised her eyebrows. “But if you ask me, they’ll get married one day.”
No one was more loving and kind than Hayley, even when it came to a teasing moment like this.
“Thank you, Hayley...” Maddie’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “You never know. We’ll see.”
The meal was nearly over when Luke felt his cell phone buzz in his pocket. He took it out and read the message. It was his answering service. Apparently an urgent call had come in the day before. For some reason, the message was only getting to him now. Luke excused himself and headed out the front door onto the porch to listen.
“Mr. Baxter, you don’t know me. My name’s Wendell Quinn. I’m the principal at Hamilton High School on the west side of Indianapolis.” The man paused. “Mr. Baxter, I’m in a great deal of trouble. I run a voluntary Bible study here at the school, and now I’m being sued.”
Luke felt his heart sink. There was nothing he could do for the man. He had read enough about the case to know that.
“The truth is...” The man sounded desperate. “I need your help, and I wondered if you’d give me a call. I was on my knees earlier and God reminded me of your name. I’m not saying that to coerce you, but... there’s no one I’d rather have on my side than you.”
Wendell rattled off his phone number twice—just so Luke wouldn’t miss it. “I’ll be praying for your call. I’m not afraid, Mr. Baxter. But I definitely need some help here. Please call me back at your soonest convenience.”
For a long moment after the message ended, Luke stared out at the front yard where he’d grown up. Who would have ever imagined such a thing? A principal helps bring a school back from the brink of destruction, and now he’s sued? All because the solution involved God?
Luke went back inside the house and found the adults around one of the tables, drinking coffee and still talking. Luke tried to smile. “Where’d the kids go?”
Reagan laughed. “Every direction.” She explained that the younger boys had gone out back to explore the pond, while the older kids had gone upstairs to watch the last half of the Indiana versus Michigan football game. The little girls were coloring in the craft room.
The heaviness in Luke’s heart made its way to the surface. “I just got a message from the principal we were talking about, the one being sued for holding the after-school Bible club.”
His siblings and their spouses were instantly in tune. Dad and Elaine, too. “What did he say?” Luke’s father leaned back in his seat. “You look upset.”
“I don’t know what to do.” Luke sighed. “He wants me to represent him.” Luke crossed his arms. “Only the case is a no-win. There’s literally nothing I can do for the man. Much as I’d like to.”
“I read about the case.” Ryan leaned his forearms on the table and shook his head. “The program was voluntary. Seems like he should have a chance.”
“Precedent isn’t on his side.” Luke had gone over this more times than he could count in recent years. Always when a case involved prayer or Bible reading, courts would look back to the original cases that had changed things in the United States. “It all started in 1962 withEngel v. Vitale. It happened in New York.”
Luke explained that back then the children in the New Hyde Park school district recited the same prayer each morning. “I happen to think the prayer is beautiful.” Luke looked at the faces around him. “The kids would say, ‘Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, and our country. Amen.’ ”
Ashley looked as shocked as the others. “Kids in a public school used to start their day like that?”
“They did.” Their dad nodded. “I remember praying something similar to that when I was in school.”
Elaine nodded. “Me, too.”
“It was commonplace.” Luke hesitated. “Anyway, that year some of the parents formed a group and sued the school district, claiming that the prayer violated the Constitution’s establishment clause—which basically says, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’ ”
