At Scarboro United Church, on June 4, 2017, the first Sunday of the Faith Commuter Challenge, we celebrated with a Blessings of the Bikes (and equipment) liturgy. We came forward with one representative bike and our Minister, Rev. Lee Spice, led us is seeking blessings over all we do to reduce our environmental footprint.

At Scarboro Church, we’ve celebrated what we call Bicycle Sunday for the past 10 years (one Sunday, every year in June). We make it a friendly competition within the church where we give simple prizes e.g. reusable coffee mugs) to participants who: cycled the furthest, walked the furthest, used public transport, the youngest participant, etc. etc. Each event, we’d have the front lawn of the church covered with bikes, and surrounded by balloons to add colour to the event.

This year’s Faith Commuter Challenge allowed us to grow the event, to expand by inviting other churches, other faith communities to join in. Next year we expect a big increase in participation! Thanks to the Faith Commuter Challenge for giving a very convenient venue to reach out to others, to have fun, and to encourage reflection and change!