With a spike coming out of his bottom lip, tattoos up and down his arms and on his neck, Chris Fritze doesn't seem like a typical guy you would find at church, let alone someone who would want a prayer said for his motorcycle.
Yet Fritze was one of several hundred bikers who came to Vineyard Church on Sunday for what has become the annual "Blessing of the Bikes," where motorcyclists come to have prayers said for them at the start of the riding season.
"I know I've got the hand of God following me around," said Fritze, who said he typically goes to a Catholic church and is considering making a change to Vineyard after finding out about the event through Facebook.
The event is perhaps part of what has helped the church see a substantial growth, increasing about 30 percent annually, said Vineyard Church senior pastor Michael Gatlin, himself a rider who gave the sermon Sunday dressed in a T-shirt, jeans and leather chaps and a headband.
"This is a community that doesn't necessarily fit in and we want to let them," he said.
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The dress code at Vineyard is come as you are. Chaps and leather jackets weren't out of place, said member Chad Amborn, who had his motorcycle blessed Sunday.
"If you're dressed up, you probably get more looks," he said.
The turnout Sunday was the biggest ever, said Nick Capra, president of the Lake Superior Chapter of Christian Motorcycling Association, which has helped to organize the event. Capra, along with members of the CMA and the church walked around to each bike owner and formed circles to pray for them and the bikes. While there are other bike blessing events in the Twin Ports, the one at Vineyard is by far the largest, he said, with many coming who don't attend the church.
"I've had several people approach me and say this has become a tradition for them now," he said.
Janis Greene isn't a member of the church and said she only goes occasionally, but came back to the event this year after coming in the rain last year to be with friends and have a prayer said for her safety.
"It's an awesome thing to get your bike blessed," she said.
