Cleveland, OH-- On a hot summer July day, few things are as refreshing as a glass of something cool.
And that's why a group of 20 nuns from around the U.S. motored into Cleveland to pass out lemonade to attendees at the Republican National Convention.
They call themselves "Nuns on the Bus", and as ideastream's Katherine Boyd learned, their mission is about a whole lot more than just quenching attendees' thirst.
Sister Simone Campell is clad in a blue t-shirt and black & white print skirt. Not the traditional nun's habit.
She's pulling a small red wagon down Cleveland's bustling East 4th Street.
(Sound of lemonade pouring.) "There you go." "Thank you. Can I get a second one for my friend?"
Sister Cambell's plastic wagon is filled with paper cups and a cooler brimming with ice and lemonade. Every few steps she stops, offers a passerby a free cup, and asks them a question: "What distresses you the most about what's going on in this campaign season?"
The passerby says, "I think half the people here don't like the candidate."
That scene is repeated over and over.
I ask, "What do you hope this will accomplish?"
Sister Simone replies, "We're doing a bus trip around the United States to say that we the people have to come together to mend the gap in our society. What we realize is that we're treating holes in the fabric of our society and we want to reweave it."
So the sisters say they're passing out lemonade to start a dialog of healing.
"We're going to have conversation about what worries people in this election and what gives them hope for our nation," says Sister Simone.
The Nuns on the Bus will be back on the road tomorrow, working their way to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia next week.