Thank God for Bikes

At tonight’s Blessing of the Bicycles, cycling enthusiasts of all gear speeds and denominations are invited to the House for All Sinners and Saints at St. Thomas Episcopal Church for a celebratory anointing of human-powered transport. Ordained Lutheran minister and House for All founder Nadia Bolz-Weber will be swinging her...

By Bree Davies

June 21, 2012

Audio By Carbonatix

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At tonight’s Blessing of the Bicycles, cycling enthusiasts of all gear speeds and denominations are invited to the House for All Sinners and Saints at St. Thomas Episcopal Church for a celebratory anointing of human-powered transport. Ordained Lutheran minister and House for All founder Nadia Bolz-Weber will be swinging her incense thurible made of bicycle parts over pedals, seats, wheels, gears and frames as a way of showing gratitude to the simple machines responsible for getting their human counterparts around.

“We have a lot of bikers at our church, and we see our job more as blessing things that we think are cool and awesome rather than being judgmental about people we don’t agree with,” says Bolz-Weber. The mildly tongue-in-cheek affair will use cycle-centered prayers and holy water sprinkled from handlebar streamers to thank and protect the bicycles. Plus, “helmets just aren’t enough,” jokes the candid minister.

The fourth annual Blessing of the Bicycles begins at 6:30 p.m. at the church, 2201 Dexter Street, and will be followed by a group ride and community picnic of pizza, red velvet cake and Fat Tire beer. All ages, orientations, denominations, creeds and colors are welcome to join in the ceremony. For more information, go to www.houseforall.org or facebook.com/houseforall.
Sun., June 24, 6:30 p.m., 2012

Bree Davies is a multimedia journalist, artist advocate and community organizer born and raised in Denver. Rooted in the world of Do-It-Yourself arts and music, Davies co-founded Titwrench experimental music festival, is host of the local music and comedy show Sounds on 29th on CPT12 Colorado Public Television and is creator and host of the civic and social issue-focused podcast, Hello? Denver? Are You Still There? Her work is centered on a passionate advocacy for all ages, accessible, inclusive, non-commercial and autonomous DIY art spaces and music venues in Denver.

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