(Matthew Streib is traveling across the country on his bicycle exploring religious sites that are inspiring and uniquely American. You can read more about his travels at www.americanpilgrimage.com.)

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. _ This city in western Massachusetts is the home of Jonathan Edwards, who began the First Great Awakening, a revolution in religious thought in the 18th century when emotional preaching became commonplace and the amount of American churches doubled. A fascinating man, Edwards had the ability to make parishioners cry and swoon with his fire-and-brimstone lectures, something that hadn’t been seen before in staunch New England.

I stopped by the First Churches, Edwards’ home church, now a combined congregation of the American Baptist Church and the United Church of Christ. It was closed for renovation. So I went to Edwards Church down the street, a UCC congregation started by Edwards’ followers. That Sunday, there was a joint service for members of both First Churches and Edwards Church.

Just walking in, images of Edwards were everywhere: his portrait in the vestibule, keepsakes from his 300th birthday celebration are in the common room, and a hand-drawn timeline with important church dates hangs above the pews.

It was a rather pleasant service with a welcoming sermon from a guest preacher about being ready for God’s grace and learning to admire the beauty of God’s creation. Most striking was both congregations’ adamant promotion of inclusiveness, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, you name it.

Now, that didn’t seem to fit the profile of Edwards, as he made judging others one of his main pastimes. In fact, his parishioners eventually turned him out for judging them too harshly.

After the service, I sought out someone who could tell me of Edwards’ legacy, but no one knew anything about him. Granted, the ministers for both churches were out of town, but I expected the congregants would have some knowledge. No luck. The closest I got was a woman who offered to read me from a pamphlet on Edwards’ life.

It was a little sad that I had to leave empty-handed, but I certainly got my answer about Edwards’ legacy on the church. Just as Edwards prompted churches in America to change, giving our country its unique style of evangelistic preaching, new trends have caused his church to change and leave him behind. And, as the Great Awakenings are uniquely American, perhaps this ability to change forms of faith is also a part of our religious heritage.