Better Not Bitter
by Heidi Reichert
A few weeks ago, during a typical morning of prepping for the day, I heard a familiar voice coming from a favorite podcast. “That’s Robbie Pruitt!” I said to myself. I smiled and knew exactly why they were interviewing him before they even said it: Robbie’s bike ministry!
The Rev. Robbie Pruitt’s (Holy Spirit Church in Leesburg, VA) mountain bike was stolen last fall during quarantine (when bikes were especially hard to purchase). Robbie’s response was to forgive and show empathy. He chose to get “better from it and not bitter.” He began to repair donated bikes and give them to those in the community who needed them most. Since then, he’s repaired over 140 bikes. Robbie recently offered a Youth and Young Adult Ministry Bike Repair and Maintenance Clinic for his church.
From Robbie:
Since September 2020, with the help of the community, I have been repairing and donating bikes to people who need them for free.
If you desire to give a tax deductible donation towards these efforts, you may use this link, select the drop down menu that says “giving type” and select “bike ministry”, Church of the Holy Spirit has offered to manage donations to this project. https://pushpay.com/g/holyspiritanglican?src=hpp
Your donation will help us to get parts to repair more bikes for free, and to get bikes into the hands of those who need them.
The news coverage has been stunning…secular and Christian newsgroups from around the world have interviewed Robbie, focusing on his response to the theft: his desire to forgive and give back instead of with anger.
The ministry continues to expand as Robbie offers free clinics to help others learn how to repair bikes. (See photos below.)
Below are just a few of those articles. The current list of all the coverage is available on Robbie’s blog here.
World News Network: https://wng.org/podcasts/outreach-with-broken-bicycles-1617913568
The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/01/11/bike-repair-giveaway-ashburn-virginia/
NPR News: https://www.npr.org/2021/01/19/958253122/anger-over-stolen-bike-leads-to-bicycle-ministry
CBS Morning Show:
Heidi Reichert is the Communications Coordinator for the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic.
