Churches Show Warm Hospitality in Nebraska
Aug. 4, 2008—After some hot weather and warm hospitality, Sea to Sea riders will say goodbye to Nebraska today as they ride mostly north from Fremont to Sioux City, Iowa.
Sponsored by the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America, the Sea to Sea tour was hosted by three churches on Sunday—two planned and the third a delightful surprise. Neither the CRC or RCA have congregations in Fremont, where the tour stopped for the weekend, so for their Sunday morning worship service, participants were bussed to Omaha and Lincoln, the site of two CRC congregations. Some stayed in Fremont to watch over the camp and attended a Lutheran Church service across the street.
Leanne Talen Geisterfer, of Grand Rapids, Mich., says that when the Lutherans heard about Sea to Sea, they spontaneously organized a show of hospitality. “They opened their doors, providing refreshments and an air conditioned space to hang out. Members went home to bake treats and have been bringing them back all afternoon. They invited us to sleep in the church to beat the 95-degree heat and they gave us the password to their wireless internet system. Yesterday, they had never heard of us, but today, they humbled us with their hospitality.
“We’re thankful for this blessing of encouragement as we recover from a long, hard week and face another,” Geisterfer continues in her blog. “Several of us have also commented together that we’ve been challenged to take this attitude with us wherever we go.”
Marti du Plessis, of Newmarket, Ont., attended the service at Northern Lighthouse CRC in Lincoln. “The pastor spoke on examples from the Bible that show how we should respectfully treat and help the poor, as all people have dignity and society unfortunately rates people according to their income, and they get the corresponding amount of respect, which is so wrong,” she writes in her blog. “He recommended we leave a margin in all aspects of our lives—time, skills and funds—so we have something to draw on to help another person in need when our paths should cross. He stressed the importance of developing a good biblical attitude in ourselves and our environment about the challenges related to poverty.”
In Omaha, Rev. Dan Steen, pastor of Prairie Lane CRC, was in the middle of a sermon series on social justice and the tour’s visit on Sunday fit right in, says Barb Mellema, of Sioux Center, Iowa. “The support from this congregation is wonderful–overflowing with graciousness and kindness. It takes effort from so many to carry it off and we appreciate it.”
The tour takes a turn north early this week for a stop Tuesday at Dordt College in Sioux Center. Dordt is one of the tour’s sponsors and is closely affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church.
Later in the week, riders will be challenged by three 100-plus-mile days in a row, Wednesday to Friday. Ed Witvoet, tour operations and logistics manager, says some construction along the planned route may result in detours that could lengthen the already long rides.
—Sea to Sea Communications