Some churches celebrate men’s day or women’s day. Others go so far as hosting an annual scholarship Sunday. At the C.N. Jenkins Memorial Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Jerry Cannon is inviting local bikers – leather and all — to worship on Sunday, July 26.
Biker’s Sunday started four years ago at the Statesville Avenue church and coincides with an annual donation to a local charity. This year, a special offering will be collected to support the overflow of women and children from the Salvation Army Center of Hope Women’s Shelter.
Last year’s event attracted 70 to 75 riders, said Julie Rudisell, communications director/executive assistant to the pastoral staff. Part of Cannon’s vision for the church, she said, is to build a congregation that is open to everyone.
“It was really a way to connect to a different part of the community you don’t typically see in a church setting,” she said. “You have leather jackets, bandannas. Everyone dresses down so no one feels out of place. People come from all over, black ,white.”
Bikers will begin gathering outside the church around 10 a.m., and churchgoers are invited to hang out and talk. Then, after the 11 a.m. service, some bikers will give church members a ride around the church property.
As for the mission component, Rudisell said this year’s focus is on the need for housing.
The Charlotte Observer reported Sunday that Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte, faced with tighter budgets, built 18 fewer homes than expected over the last 12 months. It will build five fewer houses this year, about 47 total.
To save money, the agency recently began buying and fixing up foreclosed homes in troubled neighborhoods around Charlotte. Even with free/volunteer labor to build new houses, the agency saves $20,000 to 30,000 for each foreclosed home it buys and renovates, the Observer said.
Editor’s note: To see what other Charlotte-area organizations and individuals are doing to help local charities, click the Mission Possible logo below.
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