What Ellen White Wrote About Sabbath Travel and Using Public Transportation

Ellen White does not automatically forbid the use of transportation on the Sabbath to get to church. She emphasizes something else: the Sabbath must remain a holy day, so unnecessary travel should be avoided, and everything needed must be planned in advance. If the travel is connected with worship, ministry, or genuine necessity, it should be done with reverence for God’s day.

In the writings of Ellen G. White, the topic of traveling on the Sabbath is mentioned primarily in the context of steamboats, trains, and carriages, as that was the transportation of her day. However, the principle itself is easily applied today to buses, trams, subways, or commuter trains when a believer is traveling to a worship service. The question is not merely about the mode of transportation itself, but about the intention of the heart, the necessity of the trip, and whether we are turning the holy Sabbath into an ordinary day.

The Primary Principle in Ellen White

In her counsels on this subject, she generally cautions against traveling on the Sabbath, but at the same time acknowledges that occasionally a journey may be necessary for God’s cause. It is essential that tickets, preparations, and everything possible be arranged in advance, not on the Sabbath day itself. Thus, taking public transportation to church is not in itself called a sin if it is genuinely a journey for worship and cannot reasonably be avoided.

This approach harmonizes with the biblical understanding of the Sabbath as time set apart for God:

“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words” Isa 58:13

Here the emphasis is placed not simply on physical movement, but on “your own ways”—that is, on one’s own secular pursuits and routine interests. If a person is traveling not for recreation, business, or personal errands, but to worship God together with the church, that is an entirely different moral situation.

Can One Take City Transit to Church?

In most cases, the answer is this: if a church member has no other viable way to reach the worship service, using a bus, subway, or tram on the Sabbath for the sake of participating in worship may be permissible. This is especially true in large cities where distances are significant and the church gathering may be far from home.

Here it is fitting to remember the biblical call not to neglect assembling together:

“not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” Heb 10:25

If the journey to worship requires public transit, the believer should weigh not only the technical letter of the question, but also its spiritual purpose. The Sabbath is given for worship, fellowship with God, and fellowship with His people. Therefore, traveling to church can be part of proper Sabbath keeping, provided it is not accompanied by levity, rushing, bustle, or unnecessary secular activities.

Which Extremes Should Be Avoided?

The first extreme is to consider that any use of transportation on the Sabbath is a violation of the commandment. Ellen White does not formulate such an absolute rule. The second extreme is to treat the Sabbath as though there were no difference between traveling to a worship service and taking routine trips for shopping, entertainment, or personal errands.

The Bible teaches that the Sabbath is holy time:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work” Exod 20:8-10

Therefore, the Adventist approach does not consist in seeking the bare minimum of what is allowed, but in a desire to honor God. If a person can walk to church without hardship, that is often the better option. If one can move closer beforehand, stay with fellow believers, or otherwise arrange the route, that is also wise. But when such options are not available, using transit in itself should not automatically be equated with sin.

The Spirit in Which the Trip Is Made

Ellen White emphasizes that even when Sabbath travel is necessary, it must be conducted in a spiritual frame of mind. The journey should not be turned into a time for ordinary business conversations, shopping, or secular plans. The mind should be stayed on God.

This accords with the words of Jesus concerning the true meaning of the Sabbath:

“And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath’” Mark 2:27

Jesus did not diminish the holiness of the Sabbath, but showed that it should be understood through mercy, worship, and doing good, rather than through soulless legalism. That is why traveling to the place of worship does not conflict with the spirit of the Sabbath, provided it helps a person draw near to God.

Practical Advice for the Believer

First, plan everything ahead: top up your transit card, check the route, and prepare your clothes and Bible before sunset on Friday. Second, avoid unnecessary trips on the Sabbath; do not combine the journey to church with other errands. Third, maintain a Sabbath frame of mind: you can pray along the way, meditate on Scripture, and attune your heart to worship. Fourth, whenever possible, look for ways that keep you less entangled in the everyday bustle of the Sabbath.

It is also important to remember the words of Christ:

“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” Matt 18:20

The goal of the journey is not merely to reach a church building, but to enter into God’s presence together with the congregation. That is what gives the journey its spiritual meaning.

In conclusion, from the standpoint of Adventist teaching and the principles of Ellen G. White, using city transit on the Sabbath to travel to church can be acceptable if it is necessary, if everything possible is prepared beforehand, and if the person upholds the sacredness of the day. The practical application is this: before each Sabbath, ask yourself—does this trip truly lead me to worship God, can I make it simpler and holier, and does my heart belong to the Lord along the way?