In 2024, Calvin Presbyterian Church travel to South Dakota for the eighth time, delivering about 130 bikes as part of its Without Reservations bike ministry.
Since 2017, Calvin Presbyterian Church’s Without Reservations bike mission has made a trip to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Wanblee, SD, to give away refurbished bicycles. On the reservation, bicycles are an important means of transportation, enabling people to travel to their places of employment and to reach other basic necessities (for example shopping, etc). Additionally, the bikes provide healthy recreation, socialization and enjoyment for the children living on Pine Ridge. The latest trip by Calvin Church came in the summer of 2024, which was partially funded by a Synod of the Trinity Innovation Grant. What follows is a bullet point recap of the trip by Craig Barlow of Calvin Church, which is located in Zelienople, PA.
June 2024 Mission Trip to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
- The 2024 trip was our eighth and about 130 bikes were provided.
- A group of about eight people made the trip in June 2024. Those from Calvin included Glen Sanders, Dave Wuchina, Susan Linscott and Adam Swarts. This year we were able to also have Grove City College students participate in the trip. Grove City College students have been helping repair bicycles in Grove City since 2016.
- More than 800 refurbished bicycles have now been delivered to the people of Pine Ridge.
- After three years of trying to hand out bike helmets with little impact, we were able to hand out more than 100 helmets to children and adults in 2024.
- We continue to build and strengthen relationships within the Pine Ridge community. Zaptan, the young Lakota man who came to Pennsylvania last year to learn more about repairing bikes, participated with us. Community residents such as teachers and respected community leaders also helped us organize and pass out bikes and helmets.
- We now are in the planning stage of making our ninth trip to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which will occur during June 2025.
Handing out helmets is also an important part of the Without Reservations bike mission at Calvin Church.
Construction of Pine Ridge Bike Repair Shop
- A bike repair shop is being built at Pine Ridge in Wanblee to ensure that donated bikes are repaired rather than discarded. The goal was to have this constructed and fully functional by October of 2024 but winter set in with the shop about 80 percent complete. Final completion will get back on track once spring arrives in 2025.
- The cost to accomplish this is being funded by a $5,500 grant from the Synod of the Trinity.
- Further work to be completed includes finishing construction of a door, covering the inside walls with paneling, fixing a leak in the ceiling, insulating and covering the ceiling, and installing a heating unit for use during cold weather. The Synod grant has a balance of $1,500 left, which will cover the cost of the remaining items to complete construction of the workshop. Our goal is to finish the workshop during the June 2025 visit to the reservation.
- Finally, during the 2024 trip, bike parts and tools were transported and delivered to be used once the bike shop is completed.
Other Activities
Use of Faith House to Refurbish Bikes
- Calvin Church owns a small house that is named “Faith House.” It is located on our church property behind the main church building. It has been used in the past for various activities but has been underutilized over the last several years.
- Calvin Session recently approved the use of Faith House to begin refurbishing bikes.
- This repurposing of Faith House enables our overall bike mission project to provide refurbished bikes to be donated locally to people in need as well as augmenting the capacity to repair and provide bikes to Native Americans living on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
- As of this writing the structure is in use and used bikes are being repaired for donation.
Ron Cotner’s Eagle Nest Butte Children’s Center
- Ron Cotner has been our liaison and partner to help us make the Calvin Church Without Reservations bike mission an ongoing success during the last eight years.
- Ron lives on the Pine Ridge Reservation in the small town of Wanblee, SD, and operates the Eagle Nest Butte Children’s Center.
- Ron has made it his mission for more than 15 years to help the Lakota people live a dignified life of hope, love and respect for one another.
- The Children’s Center is a refuge for children where they can experience a degree of normalcy away from the crime, drugs and poverty that exist at Pine Ridge.
- We are having on-going discussions with Ron to better understand what he believes is needed to support the people of Wanblee in other ways beyond our bike mission.
- The needs are many, and we will continue to explore whether there is more we can do.
