CRC and RCA Join Hands in Sea to Sea Tour

Dec. 5, 2007—The Christian Reformed Church is partnering with the Reformed Church in America to increase the impact of next summer’s cross-continental bicycle tour in support of the poor.

Presented by the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), the Sea to Sea 2008 Bike Tour is a 3,750-mile cycling trek starting June 30 from Seattle, Wash., and ending nine weeks later in Jersey City, NJ on August 30. Funds and awareness generated by the tour will support programs that alleviate local and global poverty.

Tour organizers were quick to approve the partnership agreement with the Reformed Church in America (RCA).

“This is a key partnership,” said Claire Elgersma, chair of the tour’s steering committee, “not only because we have double the churches and members to draw on in support of this tour, but also because it demonstrates that this project is about bringing people and churches together from various streams toward a common goal.”

The two denominations are about the same size (1,000 congregations and close to 300,000 members in North America) although the RCA has a greater percentage of its churches located in the US.

David Dethmers, coordinator for Reformed Church World Service, said the RCA was drawn to the project because of its goal to eradicate poverty. “We were attracted by the opportunity to enable folks to engage in a healthy activity they love, while at the same time making a difference for the marginalized of the world,” said Dethmers, who also plans to cycle part of the route. “And, of course, it’s another great opportunity to partner with our sisters and brothers in the Christian Reformed Church and affirm that God's family—and God's mission—is bigger than any one body of believers.”

As part of the partnership, the RCA will promote the tour to its congregations and encourage cyclists to register. Half of the money raised by RCA cyclists will be added to the tour’s overall fund-raising total and the remainder will go to the RCA to be used in its own poverty-alleviation efforts.

The Sea to Sea bike tour is the latest in a growing list of partnerships between the two denominations. Faith Alive Christian Resources (formerly CRC Publications) serves as publisher and distributor for both the CRC and RCA, and the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee’s Disaster Response Services recruits volunteers from both denominations.

Registration for the tour closes January 31, 2008. Currently, 138 cyclists are registered to ride all or part of the route—including a few from the RCA so far.

For more information about the tour and how to make a donation to support this project, call 1-888-272-2453 or visit www.SeatoSea.org.