Motorcycle service
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A motorcycle service or motorcycle rider service ( MoGo ) is a target group-oriented form of service with the purpose of offering motorcyclists, including people distant from the church , a service tailored to their needs and language.
procedure
Usually such a service is offered by a Christian group of motorcyclists or a congregation that has either a motorcycle enthusiast pastor or a certain number of bikers in their ranks. Church services for motorcyclists are also offered as part of motorcycle events (e.g. MEHRSi ), club events, etc. Therefore, the services do not necessarily take place in churches.
The service is carried out in a more or less traditional form, depending on the character of the organizer. Of course, the motorcyclists take part in the service in motorcycle clothing and with their helmets removed.
The motorcycles and motorcyclists in their individual appearances are part of the service. No distinction is made between different motorcycles. As a special element of worship z. B. distributed colored ribbons symbolizing the solidarity of the bikers. These are attached to the motorcycles or as an accessory to clothing.
At some services the machines are blessed.
If possible, a motorcycle service is held in an environment that is attractive for driving, e.g. B. on a farm near a winding route or in the beer garden of a biker meeting. In other cases, people consciously seek proximity to a church, e.g. B. at the Hamburg MOGO.
Often a convoy drive is then undertaken over a route cordoned off by the police .
At the Hamburg MOGO, up to 40,000 motorcycles start and drive on the specially cordoned off motorway into the Hamburg area. It takes 1½ to 2 hours from the start of the convoy to the passing of the last motorcycles.
history
On Sunday, January 7th, 1962 at 10 a.m., Pastor Manfred Dörr held a service in front of motorcyclists who took part in this year's elephant meeting at the Nürburgring . That was probably the first service especially for motorcyclists. The services at the elephant meeting have been taking place since then. Another custom, the honorable memory of the unfortunate comrades, also began in these years at the elephant meeting.
On March 10, 1974, the Berlin pastor Bernd-Jürgen Hamann led a parade of 300 motorbikes from the Berlin Spinner Bridge to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church to hold a funeral service for an injured motorcyclist. Since 1975, a commemorative trip and service has been held in Berlin at the end of the season. This was the first time that special services for motorcyclists were established in a church and, according to the language used at the time, Hamann received the title of rocker pastor from the press.
Pastors Hamann and Dörr cooperated at the German Evangelical Church Congress in Nuremberg in 1979 and called for a drive-in service. 5,000 motorcyclists followed the request and, in praise of God, started their engines on command in the main market. Hamann's message "... the guardian angels descend at more than 130 kilometers an hour ..." became a popular saying. Since then, motorcycle worship services have been established at the German Evangelical Church Congress, which takes place every 2 years in a different German metropolis. Most of these drive-in services on site led to the establishment of a Christian motorcycle group, which in turn regularly invited regional motorcycle services.
Organizations in Germany
Some regional Christian motorcycle groups joined forces in 1990 to form a federal association called the gcm community of Christian motorcycle groups with the motto “Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly” . The gcm publishes the association magazine Der Kradapostel and, as a church for motorcyclists, represents the interests of motorcycling Christians in church and motorcycle association bodies in Germany. There is also the Association of Christian Motorcyclists , which is also Protestant-Lutheran. One of the largest motorcycle church services in Europe is the MOGO in Hamburg every year at the beginning of June.
Current
In the meantime, motorcycle services of all denominations are becoming increasingly popular. There are different characteristics both in the design of the service and in the size. The spectrum ranges from manageable church services with 10 participants to internationally recognized mega-events with well over 35,000 motorcyclists.