Summits for Source

This Lent, Help the Homeless by Helping the Priests Do Something Stupid

You might not be aware — since they don’t really talk about it — but Father Brendan and Father Justin like to ride bikes.

Who are we kidding? They might talk about riding bikes more than they talk about the Gospel. They might not even see a distinction there. But if they do, they’re looking to collapse it further by using their cult hobby to support the good, Gospel-driven work being done in Baltimore City by Source of All Hope. Source missionaries minister to the homeless and poor on the streets to encounter and love in them the same Christ they adore every day in the Eucharist.

To that end, on April 1, your ECB priests are competing in The Appalachian Journey, a 110-mile bike race in Floyd County, Virginia, and they’re hoping to have every mile of our race — 220 miles altogether — sponsored with a $100 donation.

It’s not uncommon to hear them call their biking endeavors stupid. This race is, they assure you, stupid. But on the Adventure Venn diagram, stupid is coextensive with fun. The 110-mile course on gravel and pavement will have them climb over 11,000 ft. As a duo race, they’ll race as a team and have to stay within 5 minutes of each other. Hidden checkpoints — like parishioners waiting to talk to them about a homily — will keep them honest. It’ll be stupid, and fun, and it’ll support a wonderful ministry.

Donations to Summits for Source can be made here. They promise to do their priestly thing and keep all their supporters in their prayers.