Shadow Hills Church blesses bikers and prays for safe travels

As the motorcycles and their riders rumble into the parking lot for Shadow Hills Church’s first Blessing of the Bikes, a (hopefully nonblasphemous) thought occurs.

What would Jesus ride?

He traveled a lot, so a motorcycle certainly could have been useful. But he surely would have opted for something that wasn’t too ostentatious. Maybe a scooter.

The Rev. Neal Creecy, Shadow Hills’ pastor of growth and development, smiles. “I don’t think of him with a scooter,” he says.

Two-wheeled theological speculation aside, Shadow Hills Church’s bike blessing Saturday drew more than a dozen motorcycles, accompanied by more than two dozen motorcyclists and nonriding supporters. The gathering was a way to pray for the safety of riders as autumn riding season kicks in.

“When people are traveling, we often pray for their safe travels and traveling mercies,” Creecy says. “That’s really what we’re doing here, just asking the Lord to give his blessings on people. And, it’s also a chance for us to share the message of Christ.”

Richard Guell brought his 2008 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic and can testify to the practical benefits of a blessing. Once, during a ride, “I was having trouble, I was having some issues,” he recalls. “And there was a group of Christians there who prayed, and I never had a lick of trouble after that the whole ride.”

Several of the riders who attended are members of the church. Scott Lloyd, who has been riding for 47 years, brought his 1996 Harley-Davidson Sportster to the blessing and planned a ride to Mount Charleston afterward.

“I go to church here, but I actually saw a little ad they had over at Red Rock Harley. They put a little flier out.” he says. “I thought that was pretty neat.”

“As a church, we do a lot of around-the-world stuff. We’ve sent missionaries to a lot of different places,” Lloyd adds. “But, as a church, we do a lot around the neighborhood, too.”

During the blessing, Creecy prayed the participants would not only enjoy the community they share as fellow bikers, but also join in community with God, too.

Creecy asked for “a great year for riding” and thanked God for “the beautiful area we live in,” adding that, as riders experience the mountains, desert and scenic roadways here, they “be reminded of what a great and awesome God you are.”

It was, perhaps, a surprisingly moving prayer, and riders no doubt appreciated Creecy’s post-blessing call for them to fill their saddlebags with the snacks the church had provided for the event.

Creecy says the gathering, which was spearheaded by church member Pam Ildefonso, meshes nicely with the congregation’s focus on outreach.

“We want the biker community to know they’re welcome at Shadow Hills, and a lot of people who ride are part of this fellowship,” he says. “So we do see it as an outreach, a chance to minister to the community.”

Ildefonso says she got the idea from her cousin, who lives in Maine. “He was telling me his church started the blessing of bikes with just a few people and, within five years, it filled up the church,” she says. “I thought, what an excellent way of reaching out.”

Creecy was the perfect pastor to offer the bikers a blessing. He owns a Yamaha 750 and began riding again a little more than a year ago after a layoff of several years.

“I used to have a BMW 1100R, but I sold it when I moved to Las Vegas to do ministry,” he says. “So it’s nice to be back on a bike.”

By the way, a too-charitable Creecy doesn’t think that “what would Jesus ride?” question particularly absurd.

“We think of Jesus as serious, but I think he was someone who loved joy and loved happiness,” Creecy says. “I don’t believe he was a prude.”

Creecy’s guess about WWJR: A Triumph, he says, smiling, “because he is triumphant over all.”

Read more from John Przybys at reviewjournal.com. Contact him at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com and follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter.