by Mike Ford, Associate Pastor of Youth, Blooming Glen Mennonite Church
This past month, PA Interfaith Power and Light (PA IPL) organized two groups totaling 18 bicyclists to ride from Philadelphia and State College, PA to Washington, DC. Our cause was to gather as an interfaith group to travel to our nation’s capital to meet with our legislators, to make a moral case for long term environmental care and clean energy legislation. Riding bikes helped create relationships within the diverse groups, as well as demonstrate to our legislators our commitment to care for the environment in our travel. Three pastors with ties to Franconia Mennonite Conference participated in Philadelphia to DC ride, including myself, Mike Ford from Blooming Glenn Mennonite, Conference Youth Minister John Stoltzfus, and former Associate Pastor at Salford, now Campus Pastor at 3rd Way Collective at Penn State, Ben Wideman.
Ben, who rode in the past with the State College group, initiated this riding group from eastern Pennsylvania. In addition to the three Mennonite pastors, our Philadelphia group consisted of two Jewish rabbis and a SAG (Support and Gear) wagon driven by a Unitarian Universalist minister. Sharing with each other about our faith traditions was fascinating and enlightening. Daily discussion and daybreak rituals mixed Christian prayer, poetry, Jewish blessings, song, scripture, and the blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn). Particularly with our Jewish friends, we found an amazing amount of commonality in the history of our people and their persecution and migration around the world.
Rabbi Nathan Martin summed up the trip well in commenting, “It just seemed to me like a really powerful statement, to bring different people of faith together to do something positive by getting on their bikes, by connecting with faith communities along the way and then bringing their voice to the halls of Congress and making their concerns known about climate change.”
People from various faith communities supported us along the way. Lodging, meals, and hospitality were provided by a UCC minister’s family, a Presbyterian church, the House of Peace (Baltimore), a Jewish synagogue, and an elderly Quaker couple. Part of the purpose of our ride was to fundraise to support the work of PA IPL, and over $15,000 was donated.
The ride took us from the oil refineries of South Philadelphia to beautiful countryside, challenging hills, and busy city streets. The State College crew rode 200 miles over 5 days, while the Philadelphia contingent tallied 180 miles in 3 days. Our final day was spent off the bikes on Capitol Hill, meeting with Pennsylvania Senators and Representatives to encourage them to work on bipartisan efforts and existing bills that take a long term look at creation care and stewardship through greater support for renewable, clean energy sources.
The trip stirred in all of us a deeper desire to inspire and educate others to heed God’s directive to be good stewards of our common home. You can read more about the trip here.
