Making vroom for God

May 23, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

HUBBARD

Harleys and Hondas and ... Huffys? Oh my.

They were all part of the second annual Blessing of the Bikes on Sunday outside First Baptist Church on Orchard Avenue. The bikes were parked across the street from the church, in the Hubbard Board of Education parking lot.

The event originally was scheduled last week but was postponed due to rainy weather.

The sun shone this week, though, and about a dozen bikers brought their rides to the church, where Pastor Luke Oskin, church members and other bikers circled around each bike, joined hands and prayed for showers of blessings on the bikes, the riders and their passengers.

Most of the bikers were local, but four rode in from Erie, Pa., to be part of the service.

Pastor Oskin said the special service was kick-started last year when church members saw an opportunity for outreach.

“No other Christian organization in the city, or in Hubbard Township, reaches out to motorcycle riders,” Oskin said, noting three bikers belong to the church.

Oskin is not a biker himself but got into the spirit of the day by sporting biker chaps and a leather vest, then riding a small bicycle down the center aisle of the church to the pulpit to start Sunday’s service.

And while most of the bikes blessed Sunday were of the motorized variety, there were three bicycles, including a kid’s bike with training wheels.

“They all need prayer,” Oskin said.

Steve Mayer, 50, of Austintown is a member of the church and also a member of the Light Riders, a Christian bikers organization, and a member of Bikers Against Child Abuse. Mayer said he’s been riding for some 40 years and saw the blessing service as a way to help break down stereotypes about bikers.

“This opens eyes,” he said. “It lets everybody see that, hey, we’re all the same. Some of us might talk different or dress different, but at the end of the day, we’re all God’s children. Some of us just like riding motorcycles.”

The special service is a means of introducing people to motorcycle riding – and to Jesus Christ, Mayer said.

He said only about six bikers attended last year, so he was encouraged that the number doubled this year, and he’s hoping for even more next year.

Mayer’s best friend, Frank Rickman, 52, of Sharpsville, Pa., also was among those who brought his bike to be blessed. He doesn’t attend the church but came at Mayer’s invitation.

“For me, it’s about fellowship and about supporting Steve and his church,” said Rickman, a member of the Christian Motorcycle Association. “This is a great way to get bikers together and bring them into the church.”

Art Phillips of Girard was another church member who brought his bike, a three-wheeled Harley-Davidson, to be blessed by Oskin. Phillips, 66, said he’s been riding bikes since he was 15.

“My first ride was on a 1965 Honda Scrambler. After that I was hooked,” Phillips said, adding, “I always ride in God’s name.”

The day also included an element of missions for the community, Oskin said. Donations of disposable diapers were collected during the church service, and a special offering was taken to go toward purchasing more diapers.

The collection will continue through August, and the diapers will be given to families who need them beginning in September. The distribution will be through the Hubbard Christians in Action food pantry, Oskin said.

After the blessing service in the parking lot, church members and bikers were treated to lunch of grilled hot dogs in the church basement.