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ROXANA - Over 400 motorcycles and over twice as many people gathered at Roxana Community Park Sunday morning for the 21st annual Bike Blessing and Memorial Dedication.
Pastor Jack Hyden, of the Edwardsville General Baptist Church and Chaplin of the Christian Motorcycle Association, led a prayer and blessing after a ceremony and bell ringing in memory of 28 riders that have died.
“Holy Father we come to you today with sadness, also with joy in our hearts,” Hyden said. “We mourn for those who are no longer with us because we miss them and would like to have them here with us now.”
Hyden thanked the Outlanders for starting the ceremony over 20 years ago to honor those that have been lost.
“Today we honor those who are no longer with us,” Hyden said. “This is good and proper. We are the living and we must go on. We should live our lives fully because you never know when that bell will be tolling for you.”
“May the wind always be at your back, may the rain always be behind you, may there be a friendly face where ever you stop, may your roads be smooth but with enough curves to make it fun, may you find what you’re looking for, may you find happiness in this world and eternal rest in the next, may the good lord watch over you and protect you where ever you roam,” Hyden added.
Following the blessing and dedication, Hyden and the Christian Motorcycle Association performed individual and group blessing to those in attendance.
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