Eastern Oklahoma Catholic July/August 2010 : Page 15
c o v e r s t o r y On the road for Christ Stories and Photography by Dave Crenshaw Broken Arrow biking family hopes others join them in their Catholic motorcycle ministry Y ou may see them in some unlikely places, riding motorcycles and wearing their colors. They have been to March for Life rallies, motorcycle rallies, Knights of Columbus and Girl Scout meetings. They look like bikers, but their goal is far different from the common perception of that term. “We’re not a motorcycle gang, we’re a motorcycle ministry,” Hank Stanco, state coordinator of the Catholic Cross Bearers Motorcycle Ministry, is quick to point out. There’s a big difference. Christian motorcycle ministries have been around for a long time. There’s even a national coordinating group, the Christian Motorcycle Association, but the chapters are associated with Protestant or non-denominational churches. The Catholic version of this evangelical ministry is new. How the Catholic Cross Bearers started and came to Oklahoma is the story of a convicted murderer from Cleveland, Ohio, and a former paramedic and law enforcement officer from Watertown, Conn. Hank Stanco and his wife, Jessica, started riding motorcycles shortly after they married in 1988. It quickly became their favorite pastime. Their hobby was put on hold when their daughter, Alyx, was born in 1993. A career change and job transfer brought the Stancos to Oklahoma in 2001, and the cradle Catholics joined St. Anne Parish in Broken Arrow. “People here ask us, ‘Are you cradle Catholics?’” Hank said, laughing. “We’re Italian. We have traced Jessica’s Catholic roots back to the Crusades.”
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