Scripture says faith without works is dead. For the Rev. Lee Gandiya, a veteran who most recently served as chaplain to Her Majesty’s Armed Forces in the United Kingdom, the work involved biking 1,000 miles for two weeks.
Gandiya is known to his parishioners at St. Paul’s Church in King George, Virginia, as “Padre Lee.” His congregation dates back to 1667, but its current building was completed in 1766, a full decade before the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The village and its county are named for Great Britain’s King George I, who reigned from 1714 to 1727.
But its early 20th-century roof is falling apart. A new one will cost $250,000, according to the Diocese of Virginia. The project will include asbestos removal, and needs to conform with historic guidelines.
Hoping to contribute to the parish’s fundraising efforts, Padre Lee set off from King George on July 6 for a two-week bike ride across the commonwealth.
His full cycling loop consisted of 16 segments, with the longest day covering 120 miles. He would start riding around 6:30 a.m., aiming to finish roughly 11 hours later, with a short break for lunch. “I couldn’t afford to sit around for too long, because your muscles tense up,” Padre Lee said. “It was a godsend that I still had the energy to keep going and just plow through it.”
The rector, who’s in his 60s, has only cycled off and on in recent years. He credits his muscle memory, developed during his military service, for his endurance—and emphasized the importance of mindset in taking on any daunting task.
“Part of it is I wanted to inspire people—that we can do whatever we set our minds to, particularly on this project,” he said. The title “Padre,” Spanish for father, is used by the British to refer to military chaplains. St. Paul’s sits close to Naval Support Facility Dahlgren, and several parishioners are veterans.
He said the first day was especially tough. But with consistency and determination, he kept going. “It adds up, and that’s essentially what I did on this ride—really, to build up,” he said. In the first few days, he was averaging 40 to 50 miles, then increased to 70 as he went on. One day, he even completed 116 miles.
Asked if he ever thought about quitting: “Many a time. Many a time,” Padre Lee admitted. He described being on a stretch called Dry Bread Road, “which I thought was timely because I was really running out of steam.” The road was long, quiet, and he was riding against the wind. “I really had to dig in,” he said.
Realizing the symbolism while struggling on Dry Bread Road, he started laughing. “I thought there must be a parable for this,” he said. “So I started thinking of dry bread—the benefits of it, you know. It’s humble. It’s basic, but it’s enough.”
He added: “I kept telling myself, every single pedal was enough, and just reminding myself that sometimes life is like that, faith is like that. We’re never given miracles all the time. It’s not a feast every day. But sometimes we are given just enough—just enough to sustain us, to carry on.”
On July 20, almost a dozen parishioners welcomed him back to the church. He ended up biking 1,020 miles and raised $20,000 for the roof project. “Every little bit helps!” he said. And although he felt mixed emotions on the final day, he admitted, “I’ve never been so relieved to see the sign: ‘Welcome to King George County.’”
A local media outlet wrote about his journey and he earned praise from the King George Historical Society, which runs a local museum and research center.
“Fr. Lee Gandiya’s efforts are nothing short of amazing—certainly a testament to the lengths people will go to for something they are passionate about,” Renee Parker, the society’s president, told The Living Church in a statement.
“The preservation of history ensures the link to our beginnings, our struggles, and our successes as a people is secure,” Parker added. “St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is a great example of what can be when the history and importance of a structure’s existence is passed from generation to generation.”
Nathan Vernon Madison, historiographer of the Diocese of Virginia, said Padre Lee’s project “presents a fascinating juxtaposition between history and the present—helping to generate the funds needed for a new roof, for a church with a history reaching back centuries, and doing so using modern bicycles and smartphones.”
Madison said he’s witnessed a similar renewed passion in other congregations, “be that in managing records or archives, writing church histories, or, as evidenced by Padre Gandiya, maintaining historic structures.”
The $20,000 Padre Lee raised comes on top of the $67,000 the parish had already collected for the roof project as of mid-June. Additional contributions are welcome, and may be sent to the church treasurer, Penny Turner (artreasspo@gmail.com, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 5486 St. Paul’s Road, King George, VA 22485).
Note: an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the dates of King George I’s reign. Thanks to the Rev. Carolyn G. Jones for catching the mistake.
Caleb Maglaya Galaraga is The Living Church’s Episcopal Church reporter. His work has also appeared in Christianity Today, Broadview Magazine, and Presbyterian Outlook, among other publications.
