Father Johnnie Davis leaves his troubles behind when he rides off on his Harley. "Tell everyone that it can all work. I've given you everything you need."

—George Burns as God in Oh God.

Father Johnnie Davis, chaplain at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community, uses the above quote to help explain his ministry.

Davis rides a 1993 Harley- Davidson Black Dyna Low Rider in his spare time. He says there's nothing like the sense of freedom he gets from riding his motorcycle. When he takes off on the bike his troubles seem to drop away as the miles pass by. He says being a Harley rider has opened doors for conversation and has been a tool for establishing relationships.

The love affair with Harley began for Davis when he was about five years old growing up in Florence, S.C. His mother, a school teacher, had a student who rode an old Harley. The student would come over and give five- year- old Johnnie an occasional ride.

Not so long ago, he was with his mom and a Harley drove by with its signature roar. When Davis's head whipped around in the direction of the sound, his mother laughed and said, "You're still not over them are you?" And he's not.

Father Johnnie Davis,chaplain at Still Hopes Retirement Community His wife doesn't mind his riding, although she jokes that he loves his bike more than he loves her. He says that's not true. Having worked for years as a trauma nurse, she won't ride with him.

Although Davis does ride a Harley… and listens to the Allman Brothers, he firmly believes in traditional church values.

He has been an ordained minister for 36 years, beginning as a Southern Baptist, and later moving to the United Methodist Church, then to the Episcopal denomination. The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina ordained him in December 1997, after a year of additional education in Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1996. He served as rector of Holy Trinity in Ridgeland, S.C. for 12 years before gaining the opportunity to serve at Still Hopes. He and his wife of 44 years, Carol, moved to West Columbia May 1.

Davis believes having background in several denominations is a plus for his work at Still Hopes because while the retirement community is an Episcopal run organization, residents are from various faiths.

Davis enjoys the sense of family he has found at Still Hopes. Using a line from the TV sitcom, Cheers, he says it is a place "where everybody knows your name." And while he doesn't have a community church parish, the chapel at Still Hopes is a Consecrated Chapel of the Holy Spirit, and the residents and staff are his parishioners.

In addition to serving in full time ministry, Davis has worked in an alcohol and drug rehab center, has served at the Department of Juvenile Justice, spent time in the United States Air Force, has been an assistant school principal, and a steel worker.

His mission toward his parishioners is establishing relationships, to connect God with people, and people with themselves and each other. His desire is to help them discover the best in themselves and to use it for God's glory.