Canada: Blessing of the Bicycles and Bicyclists

Posted by admin on 06/6/07 in Bicycle Culture

Diocese of New Westminster: Blessing of the Bicycles and Bicyclists - Friday, June 29, 5pm on the steps of Christ Church Cathedral

The month of June is Bike Month throughout the Lower Mainland. Organized by Better Environmentally Sound Transportation, Bike Month is an opportunity to celebrate the bicycle, the benefits of using it, and the opportunities for incorporating it into our daily life. In a similar vein, the Diocese of New Westminster is encouraging as many parishioners as possible to dust off their bikes and go for a ride! To celebrate, local Anglicans and Lutherans are offering the 3rd annual Blessing of the Bicycles and Bicyclists! The blessing will take place on Friday, June 29 at 5:00pm on the steps of Christ Church Cathedral.

This blessing is an opportunity to celebrate bikes and cyclists of all ages, shapes and backgrounds. We take time to acknowledge the various moving parts that keep us in motion, and we take a moment of silence to acknowledge all those who have been injured or killed in the past year while riding.

More broadly, this is an opportunity for all of us to consider our personal transportation decision-making in the context of social justice. It calls attention to the lack of public funding aimed at providing transportation alternatives for those in society who are too old or too young to drive, or who can not, or choose not to operate a car. It calls to consciousness that a car-based economy is dependent on our ability to obtain cheap oil – a major source of global conflict and injustice.

This blessing, then, is an opportunity to celebrate Bike month here in Vancouver in a faithful way. We, as organizers rooted in faith organizations would like to say thank you to all cyclists in Vancouver by offering this blessing.

For more information, contact Paige Dampier, Environmental Unit Member at pdampier@vancouver.anglican.ca.