The Bishop of Chester, Mark Tanner will swap his robes and mitre for a crash helmet and motorbiking leathers when he takes to the roads on a 1200cc BMW to journey through Holy Week and celebrate the Easter weekend.
Bishop Mark has confirmed a schedule of appointments marking Holy Week, starting in Knutsford Deanery with a service on Palm Sunday (13 April), when Christians commemorate the triumphant arrival of Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem.
Bishop Mark will lead a procession of motorcyclists to the Palm Sunday Service at St. Catherine, Birtles. Local bikers are warmly invited to join him and members of the Christian Motorbike Association.
Here are the latest details which have been updated.
The Over Alderley Reading Rooms will be open from 10am and you can go to the toilet there, get a cup of tea and possibly even a bacon buttie. Their address is 5 Birtles Lane, SK10 4SN. We are asking bikers to gather from 10.45 at the end of Ashbrook Road, Over Alderley, SK10 4SH. This is two minutes away from the Reading Rooms.At 11am we will say a prayer at Ashbrook Road and then proceed slowly to St Catherine’s Church, Birtles Lane SK10 4RX aiming to arrive at 11.15. If you are not on a motorbike, it might be best to arrive at the church a little early to be there to greet the bishop and the other motorcyclists.
On Holy Saturday (19 April) Bishop Mark will be leading an Easter Ride Out to raise funds for the Biking Bishop’s Biking Mission Fund. This helps fund 125cc motorbikes and transport in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where we have extensive Diocesan Links.
Bishop Mark said: “The church in the Democratic Republic of Congo provides nursing services, midwifery, and education alongside the wider work of the church. Transport is almost entirely undertaken on small motorbikes and it is great to be able to support this work in a practical way. What better way to spend Holy Saturday, as we wait for our Lord’s resurrection, than reaching out in faith to those with particular needs?”
Biking vicars and others (the Revs and the revs) will set off from Church House at Daresbury calling at Chester for a bowl of soup and finishing at Foxhill Retreat House midafternoon. Anyone interested can join in the ride. The cost of the day is a minimum donation of £5 for the Bike Fund, and riders need to attend on their own road-legal motorbike.
Please book in in advance by sending an e-mail to bpchester@chester.anglican.org. The route will not include motorways, so is open to all.
As dawn breaks on Easter Sunday, Bishop Mark will be back in Knutsford Deanery to celebrate the Good News of the resurrection and Jesus rising from the grave, in High Legh where there will be a 6am service outside with a fireside vigil. He will then get back on his bike to preach and preside at the 10am Sung Eucharist at St Cross, Knutsford. The service will be a meaningful conclusion to an eventful Holy Week, during which the Bishop will have worshipped with churches across the Knutsford Deanery.
Bishop Mark said: “I love it when I get to combine biking and faith: there is something about the open road, the sense of freedom, and (if I am honest the fact that no one recognizes me when I have my helmet on). This will be a new way for me to journey through Holy Week, and I hope it enables folk who wouldn’t normally engage to experience something of the joy of Easter for themselves.”