A pastor from Connecticut is driving 2,300 miles across the country to support grieving communities impacted by two recent mass shootings and to spread the hopeful message that “love goes farther” than hate.
The Rev. Adam Bowles, from Castle Church in Norwich, started his drive with his brother-in-law and a family friend on Monday. The trio are first making their way to Dayton, Ohio, to visit a memorial site for victims of a shooting massacre that left nine dead. Their final destination is the border city of El Paso, Texas, where a gunman killed 22 people at a Walmart on Aug. 3. The Dayton and El Paso shootings occurred within 13 hours of each other.
Bowles and his companions are hoping to raise at least $1 for every mile driven, according to the fundraiser’s Facebook page, where the group is documenting their journey.
As of Tuesday night, the group said they’d reached the Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel in Pennsylvania, roughly 350 miles from where they began.
Bowles said he’d decided to embark on this cross-country journey after learning that the Walmart shooting suspect had driven hundreds of miles to El Paso to commit the crime.
“I’ve been struck by the fact that the shooter decided to drive 10 hours to El Paso in the name of hatred,” Bowles said on Facebook. “The thought since then has been: ‘Love goes farther.’”
The pastor said all proceeds from the fundraiser would be donated to the Paso del Norte Community Foundation’s El Paso Victims Relief Fund.
“Every mile and every donation is our way of condemning hatred,” Bowles said.