Share
RSSCross Country Bike Ride Kicks-off at Episcopal Church’s General Convention in Anaheim and Heads to New York
Episcopal Relief & Development Aims to Raise $100,000 for Malaria Nets in Africa
Anaheim, Calif. - The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Bishop of the Diocese of Ohio, and seven other cyclists will ride across the country beginning at the close of the Episcopal Church’s 76th General Convention on Friday, July 17 at approximately 6:00 p.m.
The eight to ten day journey - “Riding for Their Lives” - starts at the Anaheim Convention Center in California and ends at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City with a goal of raising funds for Episcopal Relief & Development’s NetsforLife® program partnership. NetsforLife® provides insecticide-treated nets in 17 countries to prevent malaria which kills nearly 1 million people each year.
Bishop Hollingsworth says, "This ride embarks from a General Convention that has demonstrated again the Church's explicit and sacrificial commitment to addressing the needs of the poor through the work of the Millennium Development Goals. Having passed legislation that seeks to inspire individuals to save lives by supporting NetsforLife®, “Riding for Their Lives” is intended to inspire and encourage all to join enthusiastically the Church's lifesaving work."
Bishop Hollingsworth organized the first Bishop's Bike Ride in 2006- a 245-mile ride home to Cleveland from the General Convention in Columbus, Ohio. For the 4000-mile Anaheim to New York trip, Hollingsworth will alternate riding with seven fellow cyclists and colleagues passing through 20 Episcopal dioceses along the way. He will be joined by the Rev. Kelly O'Connell, rector of St. Mark's, Toledo, and route planner; the Rev. Stephen Sedgwick, rector of the Church of the Redeemer, Lorain; the Rev. Daniel Orr, priest-in-charge of St. Paul’s, Fremont; Carl Petterson, from Christ Church, Hudson, and recent high school graduate; Greg Daniels, an IBM consultant from Christ Church, Hudson; Isaac Hollingsworth, the bishop’s son and high school sophomore at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire; and Michael Obel-Omia, former head of the Upper School of the University School in Cleveland and parishioner at St. Paul’s, Cleveland Heights. Providing encouragement and helping drive the support vehicles are the Rev. Gary Mitchener, a retired priest of the Diocese of Ohio, Erin Kirby, an Episcopal Relief & Development Seminarian Coordinator and Martha Gardner, an Episcopal Relief & Development Diocesan Coordinator and Deputy from the Diocese of Newark.
To make a donation in support of the ride or to learn more about Episcopal Relief & Development and NetsforLife®, call (800) 334-7626 or visit www.er-d.org.
Follow the cyclists on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EpiscopalRelief
Bishop Hollingsworth’s blog: http://ohiobishop.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=98625948876
Or on this map:http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&vps=1&jsv=165c&hl=en&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=116379344375437994955.00046e256c1ac3b3e6174
Episcopal Relief & Development is the international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church of the United States. As an independent 501(c) (3) organization, Episcopal Relief & Development takes its mandate from Jesus’ words found in Matthew 25. Its programs work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Together with the worldwide Church and ecumenical partners, Episcopal Relief & Development strengthens communities today to meet tomorrow’s challenges. We rebuild after disasters and empower people by offering lasting solutions that fight poverty, hunger and disease, including HIV/AIDS and malaria.
