I
went to church this morning (5-7) for the first time since I left home
last May. Of course, the way
I look at things, I’ve been in church every day since I began this
journey. I’ve been waiting all year for some “holier-than-thou”
couple to slow their car beside me on a Sunday morning while I’m
pedaling along a beautiful highway and chastise me for not being in
church. My response would be
that I’ve been in church every day - the chapel of the churning river,
the temple of the tall pine, the sanctuary of the soaring eagle and the
mosque of the majestic mountains. It
never happened, however, and that is just as well.
I’m sure that I would have had no more influence on them than
they would have had on me.
But
today, I really went to church – to a real service in a real building.
There’s much more to the story than that, however, which is why
I’m writing about it in my journal.
This morning, I either experienced another “world-class”
coincidence or encountered further evidence that there is a higher spirit
along for the ride with me. I’m
really leaning toward the latter. I’ve
felt right from the start that there was “purpose” to this yearlong
journey of mine, and I’m seeing these “coincidences” as affirmations
that I really am doing the right thing.
This life on earth is not a dress rehearsal, rather it’s for
living to its fullest, and by god (and maybe with God), I’m gonna do it.
As
I rode into the town of Franklin, New Hampshire (a town that I entered
only because I changed my route through New Hampshire yesterday) about
9:40 this morning, I noted a sign for the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Franklin at 206 Center Street. It
took me a minute to even realize it was Sunday, but once I did, I decided
that if I could easily find the church and if their service was at 10:00am
(so I wouldn’t have to wait around), I would go to church this morning.
It would be the first time for me to attend a real church service
since I had told my home congregation (Unitarian Universalist Church of
Akron) last May that I was leaving for a year on this journey. Well, it was easy to find the church as I was already on
Center Street, and low and behold, their service was at 10:00am.
I parked my bike around back and went into the church where I was
joined by 20 – 25 adults and a few children.
During
a portion of the service where individuals are invited to share concerns
and joys with the congregation, I expressed my “joy” at finding their
church this morning. I went
on to explain briefly that I was a member of the Unitarian Universalist
Church of Akron and that I had been riding my bicycle around the country
for the past 11½ months.
Immediately
following the service, a woman came over and introduced herself to me.
She went on to say that she wasn’t sure I would remember her, but
that she had been at the Akron Church last May when I had announced my
journey to that congregation, and she had spoken to me about it after that
service. I do remember
talking with her, although I didn’t really know her. In September, she had moved from Akron to New Hampshire.
So just what are the odds of one person being at both those church
services that I attended one year and 700 miles apart?
Pretty darn slim, I’d say.
(Great
Adventures to Scenic Places)
