Eastern Oklahoma Catholic July/August 2010 : Page 16
c o v e r s t o r y Alyx Stanco wears her colors at the National March for Life in Washington, D.C., in January. They became active in their new parish home. Hank is a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus Council 6606. He was a member of Council 2 in Watertown, Conn., the birthplace of the Knights’ founder, Father Michael McGivney. All three are members of the Girl Scouts. With Alyx’s assistance, Hank and Jessica teach religious education classes at the parish. Alyx is an active member of St. Anne’s youth group, a member of the Diocesan Youth Activities Board, an alternate lector and a regular volunteer during Vacation Bible School. She has received three of four possible Catholic awards from her Girl Scout activities. Hank is four classes away from a bachelor’s degree in pastoral ministry from the Pastoral Studies Institute, the Diocese of Tulsa’s adult religious formation program. All three are fluent in Spanish and reliable volunteers at Catholic Charities Hispanic Helping Center. In the midst of all this activity, Hank says, God has led them back to motorcycles. While attending a family funeral in Waterford, an old friend approached them with an offer they couldn’t refuse. “He had two perfectly good motorcycles in his garage that he wanted to sell us. The price was right, so we bought them and had them shipped back to Oklahoma. Alyx was old enough to start riding, so she took a motorcycle safety course, and we bought her a bike so she could join us.” The Stancos were back on the road. They wanted to merge Eastern Oklahoma Catholic 16 July/August 2010 | www.dioceseoftulsa.org their hobby with their first love, the Church, so they began a search for an appropriate group to join. They chose the Christian Motorcycle Association because it was the largest. “They’re really wonderful people, and we have attended – and will attend their events, but there are theological differences,” Hank said. “They were uncomfortable with our devotion to Mary and the Eucharist. So I started looking on the Internet for something more Catholic.” That was in the summer of 2009. Hank’s Internet search quickly landed him on the web site of the Catholic Cross Bearers Motorcycle Ministry, founded just a few months earlier by Eric Wardrum, a convicted murderer who had just finished serving 18 years in an Ohio prison. “I emailed him about starting an Oklahoma chapter. I believed that his return to the Church was genuine. He realized the extent of his sin, and since his release he had become very active in his local parish. Then he told me that he was the only member.” Hank, Jessica and Alyx quickly became the second, third and fourth members of the Cross Bearers. On the local level, the ministry is just beginning. An unusually cold Oklahoma winter kept even the most ardent bikers indoors, and the Stancos are just beginning to get the word out. Nationally, the ministry has had surprising growth, acquiring members in seven states. “My hope is to get the Tulsa chapter up and running, and then I will focus my efforts
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