wfn.org | Lutheran Vespers Prepares for Wangerin Bike Journey

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 30, 2002

LUTHERAN VESPERS PREPARES FOR WANGERIN BIKE JOURNEY
02-178-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In an effort to increase support and build an
endowment for Lutheran Vespers, the radio ministry of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the program's speaker, the Rev. Walt
Wangerin Jr., is in the final few weeks of preparation for a bicycle
ride through seven states in the Upper Midwest.   The journey,
"OutSpoken for Lutheran Vespers," will cover some 2,600 miles during its
Aug. 17-Oct. 20 run.
     Wangerin is an ELCA pastor and award-winning author.  Since 1991
he has been writer-in-residence and Emile and Elfriede Jochum University
Professor at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind.  In 1994 he assumed
the role of speaker for Lutheran Vespers, a weekly 30-minute radio
program of the ELCA.
     Wangerin's trip includes 24 rallies, stops at more than 35
stations that carry the Lutheran Vespers program and meetings with
supporters.  It has three goals: increasing listener participation,
thanking volunteers and station personnel who help keep the program on
the air, and raising funds to sustain the ministry in future years, said
Susan V. Greeley, director-producer for Lutheran Vespers, ELCA
Department for Communication.
     Lutheran Vespers airs on 235 stations, with most concentrated in
the Upper Midwest.  It reaches an estimated 3 million to 4 million
listeners a year in the United States, Africa, Australia, Europe, Guam
and Puerto Rico.  ELCA missionaries also receive copies of the program.
     During the trip Wangerin will be accompanied by Lutheran Vespers
staff and volunteers. Wangerin will bicycle through parts of Illinois,
Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa.
OutSpoken for Lutheran Vespers will begin Aug. 17 with a formal send-off
at the biennial ELCA Communicators Consultation at the ELCA churchwide
offices here and conclude Oct. 20 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church,
Schaumburg, Ill.  Valparaiso University is planning ceremonies to
recognize Wangerin when he leaves and returns.
     Each rally will begin at 6:45 p.m. and include remarks by
Wangerin, music, devotions and acknowledgment of Lutheran Vespers
supporters.  Valparaiso University will be represented as well.
     Wangerin has been training regularly for the trip since May.
Currently he rides 50 miles a day about four days a week, Wangerin said
in a telephone interview.
     "The more I've ridden, the more I've been aware of what I need on
a bike for this trip," he said.  "I'm learning how to be safe about it."
     In addition to the physical training, Wangerin has been preparing
for his meetings with supporters throughout the trip.   That will come
in the form of bicycle riders who will accompany him into different
cities and towns, personal visits and the rallies -- the key public
events during the bicycle journey.
     "In every place I stop, there is someone who is responsible for
keeping Lutheran Vespers on the air," Wangerin said.  "I want to
introduce that person to friends and neighbors who may want to join in
supporting the program."
     As more people become involved in the ministry, the financial
foundation for Lutheran Vespers will be stronger, he said.  "Ultimately,
our goal is to strengthen this ministry, so it's not 'chasing itself.'
We want to be out in front."
     The rallies are important venues for recognizing key supporters of
Lutheran Vespers, Wangerin said.  "When I leave each rally, I hope the
people will see it's the beginning of something, not the end.  And I
hope each person will realize how important each is to this radio
ministry."
     Wangerin sees the trip and its components as a "contemplative,
meditative experience."  He will be writing regular dispatches from the
road, which will be posted at http://www.elca.org/lv/outspoken/ on the
ELCA Web site.
     Though the two-month trip will at times be rigorous, Wangerin, 58,
said he has few worries about whether he will be able to complete the
journey.
     "There shall be a 'nomadic quality' about my trip," Wangerin said.
"It really has made me think about the period of time when the people of
God traveled and lived in tents.  They had no land, but they had the
promise of a place to live.  In our world today, our sense of propriety
and possession, among Christians and others, diminishes in us what it
means to live in the promise."
     Much of the funding for the trip came from a significant financial
gift to the ministry, Greeley said.  All regular contributions are used
to produce and distribute the program, she said.
     OutSpoken for Lutheran Vespers rallies are scheduled:
     + WISCONSIN: Aug. 18, Kenosha; Aug. 21, Hartford; Aug. 22, Green
Bay; Aug. 24, Appleton; Aug. 27, Mauston; Aug. 29, Viroqua; and Aug. 31,
Rice Lake.
     + MINNESOTA: Sept. 4, Minneapolis; Sept. 7, Willmar; Sept. 10,
Fergus Falls; Sept. 11, Moorhead; and Sept. 19, Marshall.
     + NORTH DAKOTA: Sept. 16, Grand Forks.
     + SOUTH DAKOTA: Sept. 21, Sioux Falls.
     + NEBRASKA: Sept. 23, Fremont; and Sept. 25, Omaha.
     + IOWA: Sept. 30, Des Moines; Oct. 2, Grinnell; Oct. 5, Ottumwa;
and Oct. 9, Cedar Rapids.
     + ILLINOIS: Oct. 13, Princeton; Oct. 16, Peoria; Oct. 18,
Rockford; and Oct. 20, Schaumburg.
     On the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United
States, Sept. 11, a special program will take place in the Fargo,
N.D./Moorhead, Minn., area.  It will be held at Concordia College, an
ELCA higher education institution in Moorhead.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html