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From atheists to faithful, bikers rode to a Southern Oregon church for a motorcycle blessing
A Catholic priest in Central Point blessed more than 20 motorcycles to kick off the spring riding season — drawing riders from across Southern Oregon, including at least one self-described nonbeliever.
By Emma Maple | FāVS News Reporter
Main Points
CENTRAL POINT, OREGON — By mid-morning one sunny Saturday in May, over 20 bikers clad in various shades of leather had gathered in the parking lot of a Catholic church in Southern Oregon, waiting for their motorcycles to be blessed by a priest.
Many of the men and women who lined their bikes in neat rows in front of the church sanctuary had travelled up to an hour and a half to the Shepherd of the Valley Catholic Church in Central Point.
Some had never been to a Catholic church before, and several weren’t even religious.
Roy Smith, a 70-year-old rider with a Star Cruiser motorcycle, said he doesn’t believe in God, but he showed up to the event because it “sounded like a cool thing.”
Smith had been biking since he was about 16 years old. Now, more than 50 years later, he still likes to take his black and silver bike out for a spin when he can.
Although not all the bikers gathered in front of the Catholic church were religious, they did have two things in common: they loved motorcycles and they wanted to receive a blessing from the Rev. Silverino Kwebuza to usher their bikes into the spring riding season.
A Moose Riders tradition going back to 2004
The May 9 event was arranged by motorcycle rider Francis Fischer, who is part of the Medford branch of the biking group the Moose Riders.
The Moose Riders are an activity group affiliated with Moose Lodges, a network of social groups that bring people together for activities and charity.
Moose Rider Bike Blessings were started in 2004, according to the organization’s website, after a small group of riders from Illinois made a pilgrimage to a religious building on a Moosehart campus to have their bikes blessed.
Since then, according to the organization, hundreds of riders around the country have participated in the annual event, which continues to gain traction.
Although Moose Riders have often organized bike blessings, overall, Fischer said, “It’s very uncommon to have a priest bless bikes.”
He said he is one of the only motorcycle riders at Shepherd of the Valley, and he wanted to see more bikers go to church. So, he decided to mix the two.
The priest blessing Fischer orchestrated was open to all. On the day of the event, Fischer said he had met riders from Gold Hill, a city with less than 2,000 people that was about 12 miles up the freeway from Central Point, and Klamath Falls, a city of over 21,000 people that was about 80 miles away from Central Point.
“People are showing up that I’ve never met before,” Fischer said. “It’s great. Let’s have more of this.”
Smith, who was from Gold Hill, was meeting new people that day, too. After mingling and socializing with other riders, he walked up to Kwebuza and shook his hand, flanked on all sides by gleaming bikes.
“It’s good to meet you,” Smith said.
Saturday morning was a new experience for Kwebuza, the priest who walked around chatting with bikers in billowing white robes with a blue Bible tucked under one arm. Kwebuza said he had blessed many things in the past — houses, animals and more — but the motorcycles were a new one.
“Blessings are not limited,” he added.
After the blessing, a poker run through Southern Oregon
Following Kwebuza’s blessing, many people set off on a poker run. The event, which cost about $20 to enter, involved driving to five different locations in Southern Oregon. At each location, the bikers were handed a card. At the final location, the bikers would play a round of poker using the hand they had collected along the way.
The money raised by the event went both to Shepherd of the Valley and Moose Riders.
Kwebuza said the money would go to church projects, while Fischer said the Moose Riders portion of the money would go to charity.
Fischer, who spent the morning of the poker run directing incoming riders to coffee and donuts, said he hoped the bike blessings could be brought back in the future.
“I’d like to do it once a year,” he said.
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