Highway Rest Area Ministries

[lyoncoeur]

For a quick Background… I live in Portland, Oregon, but work in Eugene, Oregon…a 120mile Commute. Because of this commute I choose to remain in the Eugene area 2-3 nights a week…sleeping in my Pickup at the nearby Highway Rest Area.

I usually pass my time away by Listening to EWTN on my Short Wave Radio… Praying my daily Rosary and the Evening Liturgy of the Hours. It has occurred to me that I am not alone there, and I begin to wonder if I am being called to something here.

I wonder… some of you travelers… what would you do if you saw a sign in the Rest Area, offering an opportunity to say a Rosary while you are passing the time away? There are also numerous transitional persons there frequently and I wonder if this might be helpful in their day to day lives… am I being foolish, or crazy? Does anyone have an opinion if this might be a good idea to pursue?

 

[puzzleannie]

I think it is a nice idea in theory, but as a woman who often travels alone I would never approach someone at a rest area, no matter what the sign said. I usually don’t stop in rest areas unless they happen to be well-lighted and well-populated like on the toll road, instead I pull off into the town and go to a fast food place or a mall. If I am driving all day I make at least 30 minute stops where I walk and pray the rosary or divine mercy chaplet, to keep my circulation going, but I would not approch strangers to do so. I do however keep a lookout for shrines, holy places, historic churches etc. along my route and frequently detour there for rest stops.

I do know of a unique highway reststop ministry in Ohio, on I-77 just before the junction with I-70 at a rest stop, that area is pretty rural and no nearby town. there is a Catholic Church that mans a refreshment van, at least on the weekends. The van and softdrinks are provided by the area beverage bottler, who gets the profit from the soft drinks, but volunteers donate or make and sell cookies, snacks etc. the youth group has been volunteering the last couple of times we stopped there.