Bikes in Church: Vancouver Faith Communities Ditch their Cars
June is Bike Month and lower Mainland Faith Communities are taking part in a National Commuter Challenge to reduce their carbon footprint.
From May 28 to June 11 hundreds of people of faith across Metro Vancouver will take transit, carpool, walk, or hop on a bicycle to make their way to their places of worship.
The kick-off celebration will be at Christ Church Cathedral, 690 Burrard Street at West Georgia, Monday, May 29 where Anglican Bishop Melissa Skelton will preside at an ecumenical blessing of bicycles inside the 120+ year old Cathedral. After the Bishop blesses bikes, compass cards, and commuters, the congregation will process their bicycles out of the church to the ringing of bicycle bells. Local clergy will join her in front of the Cathedral to offer blessings and refreshments to cyclists passing by.
"Climate justice is core to my faith but cycling to church is not just transportation it's meditation, the real beginning of my worship." Chris Bolye, United Church Minister.
People of faith across Metro Vancouver have been raising their voices against the proposed Kinder Morgan Pipeline, and the expansion of other fossil fuel projects, citing a religious responsibility to be better stewards of creation. All of these actions are in line with Pope Francis' controversial encyclical released two years ago, Laudato Si, in which he calls for our economy to be restructured around our moral obligation to tend to the earth and to one another.
The Blessing of the Bikes service is open to media and the public. It will begin at 4:05pm inside Christ Church Cathedral. At 4:25 the event will move outside to Burrard St and Georgia St.