Blessing of the Bicycles
(& bus passes, scooters, carpools…)
Each year in the Vancouver area, Hub Cycling sponsors two Go By Bike weeks. Salal + Cedar, in partnership with various area congregations, has run a Blessing of the Bicycles event during the spring Bike to Work week. It has included things such as free snacks and drinks, an on-site bicycle tech to do tune ups, and a short liturgy.
Below you will find prayers of intercession for the Blessing of the Bicycles. You can also download the full bulletin for the 2022 event, which includes the whole liturgy.
Prayers for a Blessing of the Bicycles
Read Ezekiel 1: 15-21 or a portion
As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel. When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved. Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all round. When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
To the words “God of Life” please respond “Hear our Prayer”
Let us pray:
Present in a world groaning under the excesses of consumption we give thanks for the goodness of human powered transportation, for the simple beauty of the bicycle.
God of life, Hear our prayer.
We give thanks for all those who cycle, scooter, wheel, walk, bus, or carpool as a way to be mindful of and care for your creation and for those who travel this way because it is what they can afford, we ask you to bless them and keep them safe.
God of life, Hear our prayer.
We pray for children and those learning to ride and to use mobility supports. Keep them alert, safe, visible, and cared for in their communities.
God of life, Hear our prayer.
When many are physically excluded from the places where we gather we give thanks for curb cuts, ramps, handrails, bike lanes, electric assists, elevators and all kinds of designs that make our community accessible to all our good bodies. We pray and we pledge to work so that accommodations are universal.
God of life, Hear our prayer.
We give thanks for those who labour. We pray for those who build, repair and clean our bikes and those who rely on bicycles to earn their living. We pray for bus drivers and all those who work for and in public transportation systems. Bless those who choose to not drive to work and those for whom driving is not an option.
God of life, Hear our prayer.
We pray for health care workers in rural Mozambique, India, Columbia, in urban core neighbourhoods in North America and elsewhere in the world who use bicycles and bicycle ambulances to visit and to transport patients.
God of life, Hear our prayer.
Present in a community of diversity we ask your protection and blessing on all who ride; and roll: athletes, commuters, the unhoused, students, children, environmentalist, bike co-op anarchists, couriers and all the others who take to the streets, bike paths, parks, and mountains. Keep us safe as we ride.
God of life, Hear our prayer.
We pray for all those who are already living with the consequences of climate change, who have been impacted by floods, fires, hurricanes and human-caused extreme weather events that disproportionally harm coastal, Indigenous and racialized communities. We pray especially for (recent and local examples)
God of life, Hear our prayer.
We pray for all those who have been killed, injured and displaced by wars fought for access to oil. We pray especially for (recent and local examples)
God of life, Hear our prayer.
We pray for those who challenge our dependence on fossil fuels. Those who look for ways to divest from extraction industries, those developing and investing in alternatives. We pray especially for those who are taking action (recent and local examples)
God of life, Hear our prayer.
We give thanks to the leadership of Indigenous people who have been adamant in their protection of creation, their work on front lines and their right to free, prior and informed consent to whatever happens on their land. Here we are grateful for (recent and local examples)
God of life, Hear our prayer.
In a world that is often filled with strife we pray for the victims of road rage. We observe a moment of silence for all who have died while cycling on streets and roads made for cars and not for human beings, for the many lives lost to wars fought for oil, those who are collateral damage in the brutal policies of extraction industries—particularly of (examples of local culpability or recent concern)
God of life, Hear our prayer.
All this we pray, confident that you are a God who hears prayers and who answers them. Amen