VANCEBORO – Always upbeat, always positive, local evangelist Ray Griffin’s ‘Church on Wheels’ is one of the best-known of our local parade entries. In one way or another, Griffin has been doing this sort of thing since 1995! Plan to see him again this month in numerous Christmas parades throughout the area
During an interview, Griffin shared some recollections, and hinted at his motivation:
“I guess it all boils down to the fact that I’m just trying to make the world a little bit better!”
The rig – mounted in the cargo hold of a 2006 Dodge Ram pickup – is homemade. Griffin’s original inspiration came from an unlikely source.
“Year and years ago, my momma had a salt-and-pepper shaker in the form of a small church. You could detach the front part – the doors and steeple contained the salt – and the pepper came out of the roof-part at the back of the shaker.”
And, sure enough, after a quick Internet search using weird keywords like ‘church-theme salt & pepper shaker’ Griffin was pleasantly surprised to find a photograph that brought back plenty of memories.
“Yep, this is almost the same thing,” said Griffin, acknowledging that the original replica no longer exists.
“When I was building my first one,” recalled Griffin, “I would set the little church shaker on a board across the top of a 55-gallon drum, and I would refer back to it again, and again.”
One fairly recent upgrade to earlier designs is a rotating cross – the first thing parade-watchers see as the truck approaches. A peek into the inner workings of Griffin’s ‘Church on Wheels’ reveals the engineering prowess of the former Police Department chaplain.
“All it is – I took a 12-volt drill, which runs off the truck’s battery, and it powers a pulley around the rim of an old bicycle wheel and that slowly turns the cross on top of the church roof.”
Along the various parade routes, Griffin also uses a small PA system to play hymns, Christmas music, and he can even pick up a microphone to make quick announcements. This pastor has fun with his ‘Church on Wheels.’ However, Griffin turns serious when he discusses his true passion – teaching the Gospel.
“We’re not as spiritual in this country as we used to be,” said Griffin, shaking his head. “And, that really concerns me.” This holiday season look for Griffin in any number of local parades. Here are a few that come to mind:
Saturday, Dec. 6 at 10 a.m. New Bern
Saturday, Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. Oriental.
Sunday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. Aurora.
Saturday, Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. Bayboro (Pamlico County Parade)
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