TransAmerican Crosswalk 2014 -- A Walk Across America

The saying goes, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” For Pastor Walter “Chick” McGill, the journey is almost three thousand miles and consists of a great many steps.

Beginning in March, Pr. McGill will embark upon a nation-wide walk with the purpose of calling attention to various civil and religious liberty issues in America. During the hike from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina to Santa Monica pier in California, the 68 year old pastor intends to meet with several civil, religious, and media organizations along the way in order to promote the causes associated with the walk.

Among those causes are the labeling of GMO products to provide consumers with freedom of choice, the use of natural treatments for illness, homeschooling as an alternative to public education, and protection of parental rights for the education and health of their children. “The violations of parents’ choices are not yet wide-spread,” says McGill, “and the outcomes are not predictable, but the few isolated cases are warning signs that the pendulum is beginning to swing away from family rights to state controls.”

The Romeike asylum case is one such example that is currently awaiting a response from the Attorney General. The issue at hand is whether asylum should be granted to a family of German refugees who consider homeschooling their children to be a religious conviction. Homeschooling is illegal in Germany, carrying the potential for fines, imprisonment, and loss of custody. The legal question under discussion is whether homeschooling qualifies as a religious conviction, and whether the criminalization of homeschooling constitutes religious persecution. How the White House responds to the Supreme Court petition, and whether the case is accepted, is expected to have potentially far-reaching consequences for how the justice system views parental rights in America.

Abortion is another issue which McGill intends to raise. “My personal belief is that abortion is a crime that should end. I also realize that unusual situations arise that cannot be easily decided — though I currently believe any medical intervention during the term of a pregnancy needs to be a life-saving procedure.” Regarding the national talking points, the pastor responded that he believes that “Roe v. Wade needs to be overturned,” and that “the debate about when life begins is a moral question — neither a legal one nor a scientific one.”

Of course, as an acting pastor and full-time missionary, the walk is not just about social reform; it’s also about sharing his faith. In addition to the above issues, the pastor intends to distribute a devotional prayer booklet during the walk. He will also be promoting KeepSabbath.info, an educational webpage that shares the physical and spiritual benefits of the “spirit of the law” found in the fourth commandment. “Resting from labor and occupational endeavors on the Sabbath day provides untold benefits, but the spiritual rest that the spirit of Sabbath affords affects the mental, spiritual, and the physical makeup of man in a way that few have realized,” he explained. He went on to add that “implicit trust in the working of God on a moment-by-moment basis — resisting all temptations to control others, file lawsuits for redress of grievances, defame the reputations of others, seek vengeance to ‘get even,’ and every other action which violates the ‘golden rule’ principle, is the essence of Sabbath rest.”

He concluded by adding that, while the theme of the walk is liberty, “Jesus said, ‘Ye must be born again’ in order to enter into everlasting life. There is no liberty outside of a new-birth in Christ. True liberty is experienced when the flesh and all of its lusts are crucified with Christ, resulting in the keeping of the perpetual Sabbath — implicit trust in the promises of God. The gospel, the Apostle wrote, is ‘the power of God unto salvation,’ which when rightly understood and practiced, brings forth true liberty.”

“Lawsuits for redress of grievances” are something with which the pastor has personal experience. McGill is a minister and charter member of the Creation 7^th Day Adventist church, a denomination whose membership officially separated from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists nearly thirty years ago. As a result of a trademark lawsuit filed against him by the General Conference, Pr. McGill spent thirty days in federal custody for contempt of court. He fasted for the duration of his incarceration, and another ten days after his release. When asked about the challenges of a forty-day fast versus his present undertaking, he reported that his “fast presented its challenges. But, as all who have embarked on such a fast know, the first three days are the most difficult. The body soon shifts into a co-operation mode. I have read stories about others who walked across America, and I sense that the potential for discouraging issues arising is high — such as blisters on feet, muscle cramps, joint pain, etc. The walk will likely prove to be much more challenging than the fast.  One thing is sure — I must stay hydrated, and with the support of my wife along the way, I expect to have all that I need in the nick of time.”

His wife, Barbara McGill, will be traveling ahead in a pace car to make arrangements with local authorities and media before the walker’s arrival in each town along the way. Various individuals have expressed interest in joining for portions of the walk, including one man who plans to share the Georgia portion of the route and a former Tennessee mayor who intends to raise public interest in joining the walk to a nearby city. Pr. McGill says that he has encouraged “all who have an interest in fundamental human rights and societal freedoms” to join him, adding that “there is no restriction on who can participate, and in fact, the person joining in Chattanooga is Hindu.”

When asked what led him to undertake the walk, Pr. McGill answered that “it was certainly a mandate from God Himself. I was approached three consecutive nights and awakened by the Angel of the LORD. I resisted His assignment the first two times arguing that a younger and much more qualified person should be chosen. On the third and final night, I realized that the Master-planner would not yield or relent, so I surrendered to His will. This is the most daunting endeavor I will have ever undertaken, but I trust in the promises and mandates of a faithful heavenly Father.”

“I would say in summary, as Thomas Paine rightly observed, ‘We have it in our power to begin the world over again.’ Perhaps the American people will respond to God’s invitation and promise in 2 Chronicles 7: 14 which reads, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
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Pastor McGill intends to update via Facebook and blog daily once the walk begins. More information can be found at www.walkthewalknow.com, or on the blog at walkthewalknow.wordpress.com. Pastor McGill also will be promoting www.LibertyPetition.com during the walk in an effort to end the aforementioned trademark litigation.   (Lucan Chartier reporting — [email protected])