Even the toughest of the tough can use a little divine protection from time to time.
On Saturday August 21, members of the Red Knight motorcycle group spent an evening in Granite Falls during a weekend tour that led them through southwest Minnesota. Before rolling out of town, they gathered in the Granite Falls Super Motel parking lot and received a blessing from local Granite Falls Lutheran Pastor, Steve Carmany.
The Red Knights International Motorcycle Inc. Club is an organization composed exclusively of Firefighters with International Affiliation dedicated to promoting motorcycle safety and fellowship among hog riding firefighters. First formed in Massachusetts in 1982, today, there are hundreds of chapters located throughout the world.
Prior to their departure each morning, Carmany said that one motorcyclist is typically designated as chaplain and says a prayer for the leather-clad cadre. But in this instance the Granite Falls Lutheran Pastor was available for the blessing.
Carmany provided both a collective and personal prayer for the motorcyclists and also gifted each one a pocket-sized cross. The group blessing was custom-fit for the occasion, as it was the same prayer that pastor Bob Knutson reads preceding the Granite Falls Lutheran motorcycle ride held at the beginning of each summer.
“LORD, as I ride this cycle, keep my hands in Yours. Let me enjoy my life and freedom while keeping me safe from harm. Allow the beauty of life to dazzle me, but keep my feet firmly on the pegs. Guide me down the twisting roads leading me to tomorrow, while keeping me in the straight and narrow of today. Help me have patience with others so I won’t endanger others or myself. Bring me safely to the arms of my loved ones. Help me to remember that You are always my passenger. Let me live life to the fullest until You call me. In Your name we pray. AMEN.”
Admittedly, Carmany is not a motorcyclist himself. “I ride a pedal bike and it’d be good idea to get a blessing for that,” he joked. But he had no trouble identifying with the Red Knights’ desire to get onto the open road and enjoy one anothers’ company.
