Religion and Ethics Newsweekly

View the PBS Religion and Ethics Newsweekly episode Religion and the Environment, aired April 19, 2013 (featuring the cyclists both on their bicycles and cleaned up in the halls of Congress).

Want to see Interfaith Power & Light founder Rev. Canon Sally Bingham's extended interview?  It's online over at PBS, too, as is the extended interviews with Sarah Jawaid, and Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb.

Before you head out to the wider 'net, scroll down to see the elevation change pictures from the cyclists, thanks to Dave Hunter's nifty GPS watch.   The first-day ride was a little longer than it appears -- he forgot to start the watch until the end of the community ride.

Bike blog 2013.6: Hill Visits

Bike blog 2013.6 – final installment 

It is good to be back in State College, where spring comes at a more normal pace. It was 92 degrees yesterday in Washington as we walked the halls of Congress, and it seemed that the cherry trees that had only just blossomed were already losing their beauty in the hot breeze. 

This was my second time visiting our Congressional representatives, and I absolutely recommend that everyone go to Washington to do this at least once in your life! Dan Tomaso (Ray’s grad student who drove the van down from State College to transport the tandem back home) came along for some of the visits and said afterwards that he came away feeling much better about his government than he ever had before. 

I understand what he means. Our Congressional representatives may seem far away, but I really get the sense that the whole place is designed to provide access to any citizen who makes the effort. All the office buildings are open to the public, and the security lines were better than most airports. Every office door says: “please enter” and when we did, a receptionist was always friendly and happy to help. 

Cricket made all of our appointments in advance, and when she writes and asks for an appointment to talk about climate change (not everyone’s favorite subject), they carve out some space in their busy schedules. Generally, this means 15 minutes with a legislative aide, but sometimes it’s more. 

We separated into three teams: Jess and Hannah met with aides to both our senators, and they were very solicitous of Hannah. When she brought out the more than 100 prayers and drawings she had collected, they were delighted, even making copies of several for their own records. The PBS cameras were right there to record the moment as well. 

I was with Ray and Dan, and our most surprising meeting was with Jordan Clark, chief of staff for Rep. Glenn Thompson, Republican for PA-5. Rep. Thompson is my representative, so I was particularly pleased to have the opportunity to speak with someone in the office. 

A few things about this visit were unusual. In the past, we have spoken with John Busovsky, a staffer who specializes in energy issues – John joined the meeting, but it was Clark who controlled it. Also, meetings are often in cramped quarters, even out in the hall, but Clark sat us down in GT’s own spacious office. Finally, meetings are usually quick and intense, but we sat and discussed the issues for over an hour. 

True to what I had heard about him, Clark is a tough old politico: he had no interest in our bike trip or Hannah’s letters; he feigned ignorance about climate science and tried to goad Ray and me into arguments over alternative energy and carbon taxes. He was playing with us to see what we were made of. 

Far too much happened during that meeting to record here, but about 30 minutes in there was a palpable shift in his tone. I guess he realized that we were serious about finding truly pragmatic solutions to this civilization-challenging crisis. He emphasized his own concern for the poor and for the environment, and invoked his Catholic faith. He seemed genuinely interested in our energy efficiency programs (especially our cooperative venture with Interfaith Human Services) and even offered that at some point, perhaps “GT” (Rep. Thompson) could even help us with an insulation project. 

This sort of shift is precisely what I was hoping for. I am convinced that climate change is too big a problem to be caught up in partisan politics. All parties have to be involved in the solution, and there are many ways that we can work together, at least on some short-term solutions. 

As we now settle (or rather crash) back into our normal lives, my thoughts turn to the members of our immediate families who kept things running for us while we were away: Barb, Jean, Jim and Louise, and Paula. I know I speak for everyone when I say that this trip would not have happened without your support – thank you! 

Finally, I want personally to thank my fellow cyclists: Andy, Dave, Hannah, Jess and Ray. You were terrific, and your good humor in the face of small adversities was very much appreciated! I can’t imagine a nicer group of people to spend five days with. 

See you all next year! 

Jon 

(to see my whole blog, click here) 

(to see Hannah’s blog, click here) 

Bike Blog 2013.5: Maryland

Editors' note: pictures will come when we get home and get them in the right format.  For now, you should be able enjoy the videos of the day posted here, and here, and here.

Day 4 (Guest blogger: Jess) It’s been like riding into springtime, each day a little warmer, a little greener.

We rolled away from our overnight stay at Christ Reformed United Church of Christ in warmth and bright sunshine to an excellent breakfast with some of our new friends in Hagerstown. Rev. Tim Leighton, pastor at another United Church of Christ in Hagerstown and an avid cyclist, rode along with us, pointing out many points of interest along the way. For me, one of the blessings of this trip has been seeing something of the rich uniqueness of places like Hagerstown that I’ve only known as name on a highway sign. There is so much beauty in our country that you’ll never see from the interstate.

After a relatively short ride through the Antietam Battlefield and the town of Sharpsburg, we made a steep descent to the C&O canal towpath for most of the day’s 57 miles of riding. The level terrain along the Potomac was a welcome change from yesterday’s hilly, wind-blasted challenge. We rode along relatively easily through the growing warmth and dappled sunshine, stopping to take in some of the stirring views of the river and some of the beautifully restored aqueducts along the canal.

There aren’t leaves on the trees yet, but wildflowers were in bloom along the trail. The most alarming moment of the day came after stopping in the small town of Brunswick for lunch at a charming local place called Sloppy Tacos. Andy had been having increasing trouble working the gears on his bike for the last two days, and he discovered that his rear gear cassette was actually coming loose – a problem we were not going to be able to solve with the few basic tools we are carrying along even if we could figure out how. We saw that there was a local bike shop – Three Points Cycle - just across the street from the taqueria, and Andy brought his bike over to see if there was anything that could be done. The owner fixed it up in 15 minutes for free.

That was the second time a great local bike shop bailed us out on this trip. In Huntingdon, Jon discovered that his chain had actually chewed through his front derailleur cage. The owner of Rothrock Outfitters in Huntingdon fixed that up in a half hour, charging only $12 for the part. These local bike shops are such a great resource - support them with your business! I’d also like to mention how thankful we are for our own great local shop in State College, Freeze-Thaw Cycles, for its generous support of PA IPL.

We ended the day’s ride by climbing up out of the Potomac valley to Poolesville, MD to the home of Joyce Breiner and Dave Yaney, some friends of PA-IPL that Jon made on last year’s ride (Hannah and I will be staying with Laurie and Brian Hundertmark; Laurie is the daughter of Barb and John Fisher – members of Grace Lutheran in State College). We had wonderful meal out on the back deck, enjoying the warm evening air, the wonderful food, the funny, passionate conversation ranging widely over our experiences and aspirations working for a greener world. Sitting there, it was easy to believe that spring had finally arrived, and that another, more just, more sustainable world is coming.

Of course it is. You can’t hold back the spring.

 Jess (and the gang)

bike trip 2013.4: Headwind!

By unanimous consent, the word for the day is “headwind!” There’s nothing like a stiff breeze to take the pleasure right out of a long downhill glide. For much of the day, we were hunkered down against the wind, when we wanted to have our heads up, enjoying the beautiful scenery. But wind and weather, sun and stone – it’s all part of the experience of spending most of the day on one’s bicycle.

We awoke to the smell of bacon, as Dave rustled up some bacon and eggs in the kitchen of the outreach center. We washed up, packed our bags and headed over to the church for Bible study. Pastor Ed explained that once a month (i.e. the Sunday we were there) the church has gone to a combined service at 10:15. So we decided to attend the 9 a.m. Bible study to meet some folks. 

Our Bible study was a circle of about 20 members, all of whom clearly knew one another very well. The leader, Joe, asked for prayer concerns, and I introduced our group. Joe then engaged in a running meditation on what it means to have character as a Christian, what ways Jesus exhibited his character and how we can strive to be more like him. The examples were personal, deeply meaningful, and we were grateful to be invited in. 

Hannah and Jesse joined the Sunday school classes, where Hannah talked about her trip and the children sent along some drawings and prayers. Turns out one of the Sunday school teachers was SO pleased, as she has been trying to get the congregation to work on sustainability issues for years. We felt embraced, loved and blessed as we headed out on our trip.

Then: SMACK! From the get-go we hit strong winds as we made the long, slow climbs up through Shade Gap to Cowan’s Gap State Park. For me, it was a special pleasure as I still have fond memories of this part of the trip from last year, the mill, the farms and the quiet country lanes (Ray was somehow able to keep up with his family while riding, and whenever we stopped). I also knew, from my experience, to plan for us to stop and picnic by the lake. It was hard to leave that lovely piece of paradise.

It was a long day of biking, but we made it. Bill Shank and his wife Sandy, members at Christ’s Reformed UCC in Hagerstown received us warmly, along with a few other members of the congregation and Tim, pastor at another UCC church in town. There’s nothing quite so delicious after a long ride as lasagna, fresh salad and fruit, all lovingly prepared. Christ’s Reformed recently bought an old factory building next door to the church and is in the process of transforming the space inside. We are staying in part of the homeless shelter, which is now closed for the season – the food, the showers and now actual cots are all very welcome pleasures tonight. 

We reflect on the many blessings we have received on this trip: food, support, love, a good place to sleep, cell phones – and surprising drive-by visits by the executive director of PA IPL (who also happens to be Dave’s wife!). 

Jon (and the gang)

bike blog 2013.3

Day 2, Saturday April 6.  (guest blogger:  Dave)

Everyone slept well at Bethany and Micah’s house after Friday night’s feast, even two-and-a-halfmonth old Benjamin.  After less than twenty miles of biking the previous day, I’d say we were all feeling ready toget on the bikes again.  We even agreed to do some weeding and carrot-thinning in Plowshare’s greenhouse, which seemed more than fair given the wonderful breakfast of baked oatmeal Bethany had prepared.  After a sample from the world’s largest bucket of peanut butter and a few final words of goodbye to our gracious hosts,we were on our way to Huntingdon by 10am.  

The beautiful weather we had enjoyed for our sendoff heldfor another day, and we felt very lucky to be on the road on such a beautiful morning. 

As we got closer to Huntingdon, we picked up a couple extra bikers: Laura White and her daughter Sarah accompanied us for the last few miles into town.   Then our group roughly doubled after we were joined by several other riders, includingthree fourths of the Juniata College Cycling Club, after a short stop at the College.  From there, a short ridethrough Huntingdon took us to St. James Lutheran Church, where Pastor Morelliand several others had set up a fantastic potluck spread that included four giant urns of coffee that Greg Anderson had brought from Standing Stone Coffee House.  We stopped at the Coffee House on the way out of town for more refreshments and good conversation.  The several hours we spent talking withpeople in Huntingdon reminded all of us why we’re making this ride:  So many people care so much about so many aspects of the issue of climate change.

Leaving Huntingdon onHighway 22 east was NOT one of the highlights of the trip:  A narrow shoulder littered with gravel and made even narrower by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s misguided attempt to create rumble strips by carving divots into the asphalt.  So we opted to turn off 22 as quickly as we could do so and wound up on a peaceful, tree-lined street along the Juniata River.  Beautiful.  

Thinking we would take a bit of a scenic route down to Orbisonia, we crossed over the river and were about to start down a bucolic highway when some guy pulled up next to a stop sign, got out of his truck, and flagged us down.  He explained that the road was about to get a lot steeper and narrower, and if we were headed to Orbisonia we’d be much better advised to double back across the bridge and take an alternate route.  After consulting our surprisingly pathetic navigational aids, Jon commented that we couldn’t simply discard this bit of serendipitously provided advice. Long story short:  Our guardian angel was absolutely right:  We were much better off, and the rest of the trip to Orbisonia was pleasant and uneventful.  

Ed, the local Methodist pastor in Orbisonia, could not be more helpful and welcoming.  He has put us up in the local community center, where I now sit in a comfortable, spacious room, typing and getting drowsy and deciding it’s time to sign off…

Dave (and the gang)

Blessing of the Bicycles and Riders 2013

Friends (with and without bikes) gathered on Friday afternoon for a blessing and send-off of the PA-to-DC bicyclists.  Many thanks to all who participated: leaders, long-haul cyclists, in-town cyclists, and all who brought voices to raise in song, prayer and joyful cheer.

Barb Ballenger joined us in song, teaching those gathered a round based on the words of Hillel the Elder:

If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? If I am only for myself than what am I?  If not now, when?

 Pastor Steve Lynn offered the blessing:

We begin our blessing of the bicycles, the riders and their mission with a reading from scripture. 

From Ezekiel: When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 

Let us pray:  

Present in a world groaning under the excesses of consumption, we acknowledge the goodness of non-motorized human powered transportation and give thanks for the simple beauty of the bicycle. Lord In your Mercy, Hear our prayer. 

We ask your blessing and protection today on all who ride: Pedi cabbies, weekend bikers, athletes, homeless folks, students, children, eco-bikers, bike messengers and all who take to the streets and highways, bike paths, parks and mountains. Lord In Your Mercy, hear our prayer 

We pray for the safety of Jon, Dave, Jesse and Hannah, Ray and Andy as they ride. Please keep them safe, give them energy and enthusiasm, good judgment, grant them welcome in their rest stops, and restful sleep at night. Lord In Your Mercy, hear our prayer 

We pray for their mission, Please bless their example of riding their bikes to Washington, bless their words about caring for creation and allow their words to fall on receptive ears. Lord In Your Mercy, hear our prayers. 

And last Holy God, please bless our riders with a strong sense of your presence, joy and peace.    Amen

Please receive one more blessing: 

May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back, may your journeying be joyous; and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of God’s hand. Amen and Godspeed.

 and finally, Cricket added a closing:

We gathered here today to bless and send off these intrepid bicyclists as they
travel to spread the word about the enormous challenge facing us; urge others to action; join in with communities of faith as they demonstrate and explore their own strength of conviction

But in fact, they are also blessing us.
 They are, of course, blessing PA IPL by fundraising to help make it possible for us to do this work.  As importantly, they are blessing us as individuals and communities, by being visible signs of hope.
 As the rest of us walk through the next few days, let us recall your pedals with our steps.  Let us feel the strength of hope in your pedaled prayers.
 In these days we will pray for that same bright hope of healing action to awaken in each of us, in all those aware of your trip, and in the leaders you are going to visit.
 Thank you.
 Travel in hope.
Join in community.Be safe.
 Thank you.

Bike Trip blog 2013.2: Send-off and welcome

This is the best way to begin our trek to DC. We arrived at Micah and Bethany’s farm (Plowshare Produce) about six p.m. after a short, but tough, 18-mile ride from State College. We had a short tour of the farm, saw the impressive Percheron draft horses that plough the fields, and cooed over the new lambs and goats. 

This farm is such an inspiration – from solar-powered pumps to a woodstove heating the greenhouse, this is what a low-carbon lifestyle is all about. Some 20 family members and friends joined us for a wonderful dinner and conversation – we even broke into song – seriously! Now we’re sitting around, relaxing and getting ready for bed (there are, however, three computers open and running). 

Many, many folks showed up to wish us off from Grace Lutheran Church. We loved all the hugs, well-wishes and prayers. Pastor Steve Lynn read from Ezekiel 1:19-20: “When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.” Most impressive, however, were all the prayers, drawings and well-wishes that were presented to Hannah – she’s carrying them in a bag over her shoulder! 

About fifteen people accompanied us on bikes out of State College, causing University students to spontaneously cheer us on. We even stopped traffic on Atherton (our main street) as our group crossed. It was a great atmosphere. But, gradually, we six were abandoned to face Pine Grove Mills mountain alone. 

We all made it, though not without scars (sorry, Ray); I was particularly impressed with Hannah and Jesse pushing their way up on the tandem! The view from the top is so great, though, and with the warm sun and light breeze, we felt a real sense of accomplishment. 

Huntingdon, where we’re looking forward to helping make the town more bicycle friendly. Tomorrow, we’ll do some weeding and other farm chores in the morning and then head to 

Jon (Andy, Dave, Hannah, Jess and Ray)

 

PA IPL bike trip 2013.1: training and preparation

Bike Trip blog: 2013.1 

Our big trip is only five days away, and there’s still a lot to do. I’ve decided to start the blog early this year to give everyone a sense of the preparations that the six of us are undertaking. I’m the only veteran in the crowd, and I have to say that everything’s a bit easier than last year, since I now know most of the route and the places we will stay. The training is harder, though. 

Frankly, we’ve had trouble getting in training rides in between snowstorms here in Central PA. We did get together last week for a 30-mile ride, and our local paper wrote up a nice story, with pictures. You can read it here. Personally, I’m about a week behind my training regimen, but I did make it up Pine Grove Mills’ mountain (pictured above) on Saturday and now have a picture of the view to prove it. 

Donations have been pouring in from family and friends – almost $2,000 so far, which is great! Thanks to everyone who has responded to our appeal; we’re very humbled by your support. If you haven’t donated, there’s still time, and it’s tax deductible! We’re still quite a ways from our goal of $6,000, and we could use your support. Just click here. 

We have also received many letters from kids of all ages who have written to support 12-year-old Hannah, who is riding along on a tandem with her father, Jesse Ballenger. You can read Hannah’s letter here, and I’m including a few photos of submissions we’ve received. On Friday, April 5, the morning of the day we leave, Hannah will be visiting the pre-school at Grace Lutheran Church; the kids there have been making drawings to send along and are excited for the chance to talk with her. 

Grace is also the site for our send-off. If you’re in State College, please come join us at 4 p.m. You can even ride a few miles with us. If you can’t join us, please say a prayer. It’s a long trip and we hope to all make it in one piece! 

More from our first stop, 

Jon (Andy, Dave, Hannah, Jesse and Ray)