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OREGON: Portland church unveils bicycle liturgy
Parish dedicates 'ghost bike,' adds new logo for bicycle shrine
Now an Oregon parish has developed what is believed to be the church's first liturgy for two-wheeled commuters—for bicyclists.
On April 14, the Rev. Dennis Parker, priest-in-charge at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Portland in the Diocese of Oregon, dedicated a "ghost bike" and a memorial plaque as part of the bike liturgy.
About 85 people attended the healing service, which included prayers with "a two-fold purpose, to acknowledge and dedicate a plaque in honor of Tracey Sparling and to dedicate the ghost bike as well as to do a blessing of the bicycles," Parker recalled.
The ghost bike was adorned with flowers and outfitted with a sign saying "A cyclist was killed here."
Included in the liturgy were such prayers as: "Our streets are filled with people like you, Tracey, who want to live, who want to be fully themselves, who want to be remembered. May this plaque and the bike placed here in your honor remind us that memory is sacred, that memory is the lifeblood of our love for one another, and that we are united in memory.
"We remember you, Tracey, and hold you always in our hearts."
Sparling, 19, a Pacific Northwest College of Art student, was killed in downtown Portland in Oct. 2007 a few blocks from her apartment, and about ten blocks from the church. She died instantly when a cement-truck driver failed to see her while making a turn, according to news reports. The driver was not prosecuted.
After her death, the "ghost white-painted bike appeared" at 14th and Burnside, the site of the accident, Parker said. Eventually, a decision was made to move it to a more permanent location, he said.
The plaque, commissioned by Sparling's family, read: "This bicycle reminded all who passed it … that a beautiful young woman's life was cut short while riding her bicycle. We dedicate this bike to Tracey, and all other fallen riders who are loved and terribly missed by so many," according to Parker.
Both the ghost bike and the plaque were added, along with a new sign and logo, for the church's bicycle shrine, also believed to be one of a kind.
"The Portland Bicycle Shrine was established as a place of prayer and memory in support of those in our community who travel by bicycle and in supplication for the safety of everyone on our streets," according to the liturgy.
"Named for the Madonna del Ghisallo in Italy, the Patron of Bicycles, our shrine is for everyone. All are welcome to come here to pray. We also welcome all who wish to dedicate a plaque in memory of loved ones who have died or give thanks for prayers fulfilled.
"The shrine is open every day the church is open," Parker said.
For Amos Hunter, a cyclist and a founder of the Bike Temple, a local agency offering biking resources and serving as a liaison between the religious and bicycling communities, the bike liturgy felt "bittersweet.
"It was great … to see simply the act of dedication to the community from the parish," said Hunter, who helped lead prayers. "The shrine was put in place last year and that was great, but what really made this event special was that they were … commemorating a person who has really become a bit of an icon for sacrifices made for the bicycling community here in Portland."
"Tracey's ghost bike being placed at the shrine is very symbolic of both the issues we face on a daily basis, in terms of making things safer for everyone in town for all modes of transportation as well as a commemoration of what's been done since that time, how the community and government have reacted to solve problems since her death," he added.
Included among those changes are "green bike boxes," consisting of green spaces bearing a white bicycle symbol and painted on the street at some intersections considered high accident risks. The boxes are intended as a safety design to prevent bicycle-car collisions, especially those between drivers turning right and bicyclists going straight. The "green bike boxes" also include green bicycle lanes approaching and leading from the boxes.
Halley Weaver, 24, a harpist and cyclist who transports her harp via a wagon attached to her bike, said she resonated with "the heartache and sorrow that the community has suffered from the loss" of cyclists killed in traffic accidents.
"Portland's cycling community has a very 'small-town' feel to it in a way, and gathering together to remember and honor our fallen cyclists is always a somber reminder towards safety in our city," she said.
Weaver, who performed several musical selections during the bike liturgy, described the worshippers as "wearing cycling jackets, carrying helmets and panniers."
Also accompanying them were their bicycles, which were later blessed with consecrated lube oil by the clergy. After the blessing of the bikes, cyclists sounded their signaling devices "so the church rang out with the sounds of honking horns and ringing bells," Parker recalled.
"It was quite moving and then we did a litany of prayer asking for safety and protection for the bicyclists and for understanding and cooperation between motorists and bicyclers," Parker recalled.
"We are having some struggle in our city as people begin to become more and more aware of bicycles as a primary mode of transportation. We also said some prayers for reconciliation and healing among the two communities," he added.
In February, a Portland motorist was accused of intentionally striking and seriously injuring a bicyclist, according to a Portland Oregonian news report.
In "Hard Drive," an Oregonian commuting blog, reporter Joseph Rose said he was moved by the service. He said Lee and Sophie Sparling, Tracey's parents, also attended the liturgy and declared the shrine, dedicated Nov. 2, 2009, a fitting place for Tracey's ghost bike.
"We're hoping that it will remind people about how important safety is -- for bicyclists, drivers, anybody who is on the road," Sophie Sparling said.
Since 2005, nearly 15 ghost bikes have been installed as somber reminders of bicycle deaths around Portland, according to Hunter.
The bike shrine's new logo hangs beneath the familiar 'The Episcopal Church Welcomes You' sign to mark the site "a bit more clearly so people know this is where the shrine is," Parker explained. "Our red doors were wide open and the city itself was feeding into the doors of our church, which is what we wanted—to be able to help the neighborhood use the church as a resource for all of the aspects of their journeys."
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