Luke 11:5-10
And Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
The Pedaling Pilgrimage left Xenia this morning encouraged by the flatness of Ohio and the beauty of the bike trails, but they realized the night before that they had no real plans to connect with a church once they arrived in the Granville, Ohio area. Enter First Presbyterian Church of Newark, Ohio and "Rev" Ellsworth, who welcomed the Sweaty Sheep to a midweek prayer service with open arms. When "Rev" was called upon late Tuesday night, he invited the group to join them for the Wednesday service and dinner. The bikers didn't have to be persistent like the character in Jesus' parable with Rev and the congregation of First Presbyterian. The congregation practiced radical hospitality - welcoming in sweaty bikers to worship and offering up their knowledge of the area and even (though reservations had already been made elsewhere) offered up their homes for sleep and a hot shower.
The great part about a connectional church like the PC(U.S.A.) is that it connects us with people across the country and around the world. It was a beautiful ride today through the Columbus area, flat and fast and full of scenery - but the welcome at the end of the ride was even more beautiful.