Murrysville church's Blessing of the Bikes expected to draws thousand Sunday

On Sunday morning in the late 1990s, a Murrysville police dispatcher took a call from a woman who was concerned about the number of motorcycles roaring through town.

“Don't worry,” the dispatcher told her, “they're going to church.”

Pastor Dan Lawrence tells the story with a hearty laugh.

The bikers were headed to Lawrence's Murrysville Alliance Church for the annual Blessing of the Bikes, which will mark its 22nd year on Sunday.

The blessing — Lawrence conducts a short service and prays for all the bikers to have a safe riding season — has grown from about 100 motorcycles to a crowd of thousands.

It began when a group of riders asked Lawrence about attending one of his services.

“They asked if they could come to the church, and I said, ‘Of course, why wouldn't you?' ” he said. “They told me that several other churches were not too welcoming of them attending in their leathers and riding their bikes.”

That was the start of the church's biker ministry.

“God loves us all,” Lawrence said. “That includes bikers.”

A few years later, some of the riders asked Lawrence to hold a blessing ceremony, which has grown into the Blessing of the Bikes and now draws riders from all of Western Pennsylvania as well as Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia and New York.

Once it grew, Lawrence asked the Murrysville Police Department for a little logistical assistance with accommodating 1,000-plus motorcycles.

“We're working with other agencies, including for the first time this year the Westmoreland County Public Safety mobile command center,” Murrysville police Chief Tom Seefeld said. “It's probably the biggest event we're involved with.”

Municipal police monitor the event, provide security and, if necessary, briefly close some roads to move large groups of motorcyclists effectively.

Motorists headed through the Route 22 corridor around lunchtime Sunday are likely to experience a few stoppages as larger groups of riders leave the church on Old William Penn Highway near Lillian Avenue.

“We want to have all our resources ready in case they're needed,” Seefeld said. “But Pastor Dan is very good at deploying his folks to coordinate the event. We've never had any problems that I'm aware of.”

For Lawrence, who has been riding since 1996 and prefers his 1988 Harley-Davidson Low Rider, it's a chance to extend the church's ministry, make new friends and enjoy the freedom that riding offers.

“I really enjoy seeing the biking community come together for prayer, and for safety,” he said. “It's a time to get together to give thanks for the country we live in, we pray for a safe riding season, and it's an opportunity for a local church to say to these bikers that God loves you.

“They need to hear that.”

The event will take place rain or shine.

“They're telling me that the weather could be interesting on Sunday,” Lawrence said before casting a finger skyward. “So we're making our request (for good weather) known.”

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2862, pvarine@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MurrysvilleStar.