No tags yet.
Walk to Haiti:
A Spiritual Journey of Faith and Exercise
Richmond, Virginia to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
What is it?
Lent is a time of preparation, a time to practice discipline and focus on our relationship with Jesus. Many of us will practice abstinence, perhaps giving up a favorite food or activity. It can also be a time to grow in faith and relationship with Christ and his children. The Diocese of Richmond has 54 parishes twinned with parishes and other organizations in Haiti. We invite members of twinned parishes, and anyone who would like to participate, to join with us on a “virtual walk” to Haiti during this spiritual season of Lent.
Haiti is 1345 miles or 1169 nautical miles or 2164 kilometers from The Church of the Redeemer in the Diocese of Richmond. This is the real, as the crow flies mileage. As we undertake a journey with Jesus this Lent, we are challenging ourselves to take time each day to pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti as we take a walk, run, bike or swim – ultimately making the trek from RVA to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.
What if I hate to walk?
Well, what do you like to do? Below are equivalents for running, biking, swimming and rowing. Raking leaves is a healthy exercise too, but we will only be counting traveling miles!
Bicycling: Each 2 miles on your bike = 1 mile of walking (May be stationary bike)
Running: The same as walking
Swimming: Each 10 minutes of active swimming = 1 mile of walking
What do I get?
Well, hopefully healthier. But also a participant packet, ways to track and report your mileage, and weekly words to think on along with a health tip – both related - sometimes rather loosely - to the spiritual theme of the week. In addition to the theme for the week, a spiritual “something” will be sent via email during the week…just something to get you started. Feel free to expand on it or just let it be.
When does it start?
We will start to count miles beginning on Ash Wednesday and end on Easter Sunday. This gives us 40 days to complete our journey in time for Easter. Remember, we will be walking, running, swimming or biking together – this is a combined, community effort!
How do I sign up?
This Lenten walk is a work of Diane Atkins, Minister of Human Concerns at the Church of the Redeemer and Chair of the Diocesan Haiti Commission. To participate, just send your name and email address to Diane Atkins at Datkins@ChurchRedeemer.org. Information will be available online at the Church of the Redeemer website www.ChurchRedeemer.org , or on Redeemer’s Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ChurchRedeemer page by Ash Wednesday. For participants in RVA who would like to pick up a packet, just stop by Redeemer and packets will be available in the worship commons.