Site
Contents
 |
General Information about the Area Office
North Indiana Conference Office
South Indiana Conference Office
Prayer Guides
(Courtesy of the NIC Prayer Team)
Area United Methodist
Foundation
For resources to assist your congregation in welcoming guests,
click here
Seashore District Volunteer Center VIM project -- Completed
Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
Nov./Dec. 2004 |
Motorcycle enthusiasts ride cross-and-flame on two wheels
By Linda Green
CORCISCANA, Texas (UMNS) -- A column of 25 motorcycles roared through this small Texas town on a recent Sunday morning.
People stopped and stared. Who are they? Why are they here? Are they like the Hell's Angels who are labeled as "bad-guys?" they asked.
No, these motorcycle riders are more concerned about heaven.
The riders traveling through town were members of the United Methodist Motorcycle Enthusiasts, a nearly three-year old organization led by the Rev. Cathy Mordecai and her husband, Guy. The bikers were participating in a 27-mile ride, rally and picnic on the grounds of Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church.
Twenty-five bikes, with one and two riders, lined up for the ride. Some came from more than 100 miles away. Riders from all walks of life -- including factory workers, doctors, teachers, farmers and a bank president -- straddled motorcycles to feel the wind in their faces, enjoy the freedom of the open road and "to just enjoy a bunch of brothers and sisters getting together and taking a ride," said Paul Jones, who participated at the invitation of a friend.
The riders, with this United Methodist News Service writer astride the big, black Harley-Davidson of Guy Mordecai, journeyed through town and around the city's Richland Chambers Reservoir, navigating the twists and turns to the church.
Bike riding preacher
Enthusiastic church members greeted the bikers when they arrived at the Pleasant Grove church. "Having a bike-riding pastor is unique," said Tammy Sloan. "It is wonderful to have this at our small church. Reverend Cathy uses her love for bikes as a gift to reach out to different types of people."
|
"We turned our passion for two-wheelers into a ministry." -- Cathy Mordecai |
Sandra Hughes described her love for motorcycling, how she loves to feel the air and view the openness that can't be experienced from a car.
"UMME is unique because who would have ever thought that riding a motorcycle would be an outreach to people," she said. "Some people view bike riding as something like a gang of outlaws but we are Christians. It is all about God."
"We're not bad people. We're good people. We enjoy it," added Suzanne Armstrong, a rider from First United Methodist Church in Mansfield, Texas, and a member of the Mansfield chapter.
Billy Campbell of Lorena, Texas, pointed out that the riders might be the only contact with Christians that some people have. He, along with Lee Johnson, rode their motorcycles 80 miles that Sunday morning to meet up with riders from other chapters.
Promote fellowship
United Methodist Motorcycle Enthusiasts is the brainchild of the Mordecais. The couple founded the biker group as a way to promote the fellowship of Christians through a common interest and give them the opportunity to be together doing something they are passionate about - riding motorcycles, according to Cathy Mordecai, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Kerens, Texas and Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church in Corsicana, Texas.
"We ride because we love it. And through the church, it's an opportunity to change people's minds about the stereotypes that we form about people," she explained. "We turned our passion for two-wheelers into a ministry."
These freewheeling Methodists say their idea is catching on. They are getting inquiries from across the country about beginning chapters of United Methodist Motorcycle Enthusiasts.
Since its Dec. 2001 beginning, the group has blossomed into seven chapters with more than 200 members in the Central Texas Annual Conference, and in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.
Finding that no such organized group existed they began forming a group and established a Web site, www.UMME.org. They even drafted a code of conduct that requires members to conduct themselves in a respectful Christian manner and practice safe riding habits, so as to not reflect badly on themselves, the UMME, their local chapter and The United Methodist Church.
"The church, you know, isn't your grandma's church anymore. People are looking for new things," Guy Mordecai explained.
Now 47, his passion for motorcycles began as a nine-year-old, when he received a mini-bike from his parents. "I've been on two wheels ever since," he said. "It is the gift that God gave me and that is what UMME is all about, using the gift God gave you for his name."
Linda Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008