June 1, 2023 at 12:00 a.m.
THE CHAIN GANG
Do you know about the biker gang at Immaculate Conception Church?
“Father Tom’s Chain Gang,” led by pastor and fellow biking enthusiast, Father Thomas Konopka, LCSW, is hitting the streets this Sunday, June 4, as part of the Capital District’s Tour de Cure, a fundraising bike ride for the American Diabetes Association.
“I think we’re all excited to do it,” said Thomas Winterberger, parishioner at Immaculate Conception. “The planning and preparation has been fun and it’s brought a lot of us together. It’s another way to build a little more sense of community.”
The “gang” is a mesh of Father Konopka’s tri-parish community: Immaculate Conception in Glenville, Our Lady of Grace in Ballston Lake and St. Joseph’s in Scotia. Fifteen parishioners from across the three churches are strapping on their biking shoes for the ride, which takes place at Ellms Family Farm and offers options for either a 10, 30, 62, or 100-mile route.
While for a good cause, the ride also serves as a means for the faithful of three parishes to come together.
“After being with these communities for a year now, I am learning that having meetings isn't the way to form community; it is doing things together that people are interested in and have fun doing,” Father Konopka said. “I get to know them better and they get to know me better because right now I am not at every Mass on the weekend. I am also dreaming of parish communities that learn about Jesus outside of the classroom model, but by doing stuff like this together. What better way to teach someone about giving of the self than to ride to help cure a disease that wreaks havoc in a person's life.”
Both Winterberger and Father Konopka have been avid riders on their own for years. The two got talking about doing a bike ride as a parish community and landed on trying the Tour de Cure.
“I used to bike ride a lot when I was younger but was into running in seminary,” Father Konopka said. “I just like being out on the roads and being in nature. I ride a lot in Washington County where I grew up and enjoy watching the cows, horses, etc. There is a sense of freedom from the ‘stuff’ of ministry.”
On May 21, the tri-parish community held a “Blessing of the Bikes” for everyone on the Tour, as well as any motorcyclist or rider. All three parishes have been generous in their donations to the “Chain Gang,” as a result, the team is one of the top fundraisers for the Albany race.
Father Konopka hoped that the group helps to teach “that to be a church doesn’t mean a building or a certain area.”
“We can be a church on a bike ride for a good cause, or in a road race for a charity,” he said. “I am hoping that being a part of something like this will help people see that our church has a joyous side. We need to remember that right now; to be church can be fun and joyful.”
To make a donation to “Father Tom’s Chain Gang,” visit https://diabetes.org/get-involved.
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