Circuit-riding preacher uses horse to carry the gospel

Pelted by a cold, steady rain, Ken Downey and his quarter horse Pilgrim seemed unbothered, if a bit out of place. His Bible tucked safely in his saddlebag, Downey and his companion trotted across the Freedom Memorial Bridge, followed only by an old bus with a trailer on the back and four sets of blue lights to warn passersby. Downey had a lane essentially all to himself, and Pilgrim had a good rhythm, so he just let him go. It would take him 45 minutes to cross the Trent River on Monday. But a little rain isn't much of a bother to those who are used to the climes of Minnesota this time of year. And besides, Downey was on the lookout for divine appointments. "They are always there if your antenna's up," he said. "Out here, I've learned to keep my antenna up." Downey, for the next six months, is a circuit-riding preacher. He will travel through Bayboro, New Bern, Cove City and Kinston this week on a 3,370-mile journey that will end - eventually - in Everett, Wash., a town just north of Seattle. He plans to spread the word of God to as many churches, characters and lost souls as he can along the way...Sun Journal