There were 28 motorcyles that carried a total of 40 riders in the 19th Annual Clearwater Chapel Motorcycle Ride Saturday.
BIKERS FOR CHRIST
The American Flag was raised and mounted prior to the 19th Annual Clearwater Chapel Motorcycle Ride Saturday at Camp Clearwater in White Lake.
There were many testimonies imprinted on jackets from the Bikers for Christ who rode and helped raise money to help needy children to have a Christmas.
Pastor Lynn Epps of Clearwater Chapel gave a rousing welcome to all the bikers before he led the group in a word of prayer for a safe ride.
WHITE LAKE – With the weather acting as if it wanted to bring a postponement, the Clearwater Chapel pastoral staff along with the 19th Annual Motorcycle Riders and Bikers for Christ put in a special request for the weather.
The kickstands went up at 10 a.m. after the announcement “Riders to your bikes,” and the ride was on with “Born to Be Wild” cued up by DJ Cox – eventually drowned out by the roar of the startup.
The number “40” in biblical circles means a generation leading to new beginnings and a group of 40 riders and a total of 28 motorcycles (and a few full-sized vehicles) left Camp Clearwater, heading down US 701 S. through Elizabethtown, Clarkton, Whiteville and then over to Lake Waccamaw to view the swamp and look for some alligators before heading back home to White Lake.
“This was our 19th annual run,” organizer Donnie Weaver said. “We have an auction, the bike ride, door prizes, 50/50 tickets and we sell lunch to the whole campground for $10 per plate. The public is free to come and purchase a plate and participate in the auction. Today we have a pork chop plate with white potatoes and green beans, a drink and dessert.”
Each year the food is cooked by Terry Haire from Dunn who brings all the cooking implements and does between 500-750 lbs. of pork on the grill.
The ride and the celebrations are not just for the good times and memories, but there is a very important cause that goes forth from the hearts of Clearwater Chapel.
“We use the funds from this today to help needy kids at Christmas, along with other church expenses,” Weaver said. “We have about 30 kids every year. This is our big fundraiser for the year. We get 10 names from three different schools in the county each year. We clothe them from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet. We also get them food and toys and make sure they have a Christmas. 30 kids total.”
The nondenominational Clearwater Chapel sponsors the run every year and each Sunday the open-air chapel holds Sunday morning services in which the public is invited. The pastor is Lynn Epps with helpmate Debbie Epps. They have been pastoring at CC for eight years.
Registration for the event began Saturday morning at 8 a.m. and for $25 or $35 if you had a rider, you could run with the Bikers for Christ. By 10 a.m. the crowd was called together and after a word of prayer by Pastor Epps, the crowd was invited to sing the national anthem. Another unplanned part of the event was a moment of silence held for Charlie Kirk and his family.
More pictures and a video of the cycles taking off can be found on the Bladen Journal Facebook page on the Saturday morning postings.