When I was about 12, my mother and father separated. Money was tight. She worked three jobs. Every Sunday she took us to Calvary Baptist Church in New Orleans. When the offering plate came around, she dug into her wallet. Then, she passed the plate to my sister and me.

It is only through giving that we can receive, said St. Francis of Assisi, and so it has been for Calvary Presbyterian Church with Erica Land. Land, the pastry chef at Waterbar along the Embarcadero, recently appeared on “Beat Bobby Flay,” but long before her cooking showdown with the celebrity chef, she was baking for the congregation at Calvary. The church helped her in a time of need.