Church opens its doors to leather-clad bikers

Live to ride and ride to church may not be the traditional biker axiom, but if Orange’s Trinity United Methodist Church has its way, it may soon be.

The congregation is proving its Methodist motto of open minds, open hearts and open doors by inviting different community groups to church, including folks like firefighters, police officers, lawyers and town and county officials. Even leather-clad roadrunners and their motors have a special Sunday to drop by and get blessed.

Considering how often bikers get blessed out, it’s a nice change of pace.

Nothing crazy about it

“We did something similar last year and we were thinking of how we could do it better,” said the Rev. Tom Barnard. “We thought that motorcycle riders have been looked down on for years as being, well, crazy. A lot of folks have finally got the bike they’ve always wanted and just enjoy riding. They’re great members of society, family people who hold jobs and just enjoy riding. Bikers can be anyone from plumbers to vice presidents.”

They can even be Methodist ministers.

“I’ve been riding since 1965,” Rev. Barnard admitted. “I have a 1978 Honda Hawk, but haven’t been on it for awhile for [medical reasons]. I need to get riding again.”

Bikers are invited to roll into downtown Orange on Sunday before the 10:55 a.m. service. Bikes can be parked at Taylor Park during the service and will be monitored by security guards to give riders a chance to worship with peace of mind.

After the service, the congregation will adjourn to the park for the blessing of the bikes and bikers.

The congregation will continue its community recognition month with a special invitation to education professionals on Sept. 20 and town employees on Sept. 27.

Back-to-school effort

While the events coincide with the United Methodist Church’s current back-to-school publicity campaign, Rev. Barnard said the church wants local residents to know they take to heart the openness touted in the ads.

“We want to say thank you to the people who serve us as a community and to welcome them,” he said. “We hope they will find friendly people and maybe what they’re looking for spiritually.”

The special services are simply part of the congregation’s special position of being a downtown church.

“We’re downtown and we should function like a downtown church. We should be there for the people who need us. We work with the homeless, we’re major contributors to local food pantries and we want people in the community to feel comfortable asking us when they need help,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of bike someone rides or what someone does for a living,” he said. “We’re here.”