​4th Annual Blessing of the Bikes at Ebenezer Ridges Campus in Burnsville – May 30, 2018
 
Why would a care center of all places want to bless motorcycles?  Especially when our residents can no longer ride them!  Well, even though our folks are unable to ride a motorcycle they continue to miss the roar of a bike and the deep smell coming from the exhaust.  True story.  One of the residents even awaits his copy of the Harley Davidson magazine each month and then proceeds to call the dealer to learn about current prices and the waiting list for the most popular bikes!
 
We bless motorcycles each year to honor those memories.  We bless the riders and their helmets at the beginning of the riding season to pray for safety.  Many of them are staff or family members who ride.  Over the years we have added other forms of transportation to the blessing service.  Some come on pedal bikes in their Spandex.  The fifty-six kids in our daycare haul out their tricycles from the playground and bring their bike helmets from home to have them blessed.  The Burnsville Police Department joins in each year to help honor our hopes and prayers for the safety of all who ride on the roads and trails.  And the color guard and rifle team from the Apple Valley Legion joins us to recall the helmets that protected and continue to protect the men and women at time of war.  There is a lot of blessing to go around!
 
We bless motorcycles and all manner of wheeled devices (even wheelchairs and walkers!) because they are signs and symbols for us of the freedom of the open road, the happiness associated with moving our bodies, the safety for which  we fervently pray  and most importantly for the sights and sounds and smells that connect us to our deepest memories.  You see, to have our hearts and spirits so uplifted helps to remind us of who we truly are, blessed children of God.  That’s why we bless motorcycles.
 
Chaplain Chris Beckman
Ebenezer Ridges Campus
Burnsville, MN