wfn.org | Wangerin to Resume Lutheran Vespers Tour Sept. 19

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 12, 2002

WANGERIN TO RESUME LUTHERAN VESPERS TOUR SEPT. 19
02-219-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Walt Wangerin Jr., speaker for Lutheran
Vespers, the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), plans to resume the "OutSpoken for Lutheran Vespers"
tour through the Upper Midwest Sept. 19  -- but not on a bicycle.
Wangerin has been hospitalized in Alexandria, Minn., since Sept. 9 after
he fractured his left hip when he fell off his bike.
     Wangerin, 58, underwent surgery to repair his damaged hip at
Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria. Wangerin had completed three-and-
one-half weeks of the nine-week bike tour when the accident occurred.
     "Walt is scheduled to be released from the hospital Sept. 13, and
will be able to continue," said the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director of the
ELCA Department for Communication, in an announcement to the ELCA. The
tour will resume its original schedule Sept. 19, with a rally in
Marshall, Minn.  Wangerin will travel to the rallies by motor home,
Shafer said.
  "We thank everyone who has prayed for Walt this week and contacted
us with wishes for his speedy recovery," said Shafer. "And, we thank you
all for your continued support of the Lutheran Vespers radio outreach
ministry."
  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.
  From his hospital bed, Wangerin told the ELCA News Service that
his good physical fitness, a benefit from preparing for the multi-state
bike tour, "was a blessing."  He said he has received many cards and
letters, delivered to the hospital and his home in Indiana, and is
grateful for the outpouring of support.  He said he will use crutches
and a walker to help him move around until he fully recovers.
  Following the bicycle accident, Wangerin's scheduled appearances
at rallies were canceled in Alexandria, Fergus Falls, and Moorhead,
Minn.  He will also miss a scheduled rally in Grand Forks, N.D., and a
visit to a radio station in Madison, Minn., next week before resuming
Sept. 19.  Wangerin said he does not know if the missed appearances will
be rescheduled.
  Before the accident, Wangerin had bicycled through parts of
Wisconsin and Minnesota and participated in several Lutheran Vespers
rallies and appearances. The tour schedule also includes planned visits
to South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.
   The 2,600-mile trip, scheduled through Oct. 20, has three goals
for Lutheran Vespers: increasing listener involvement, raising an
endowment to help keep the program on the air, and seeking endorsement
of the program from ELCA leaders and others.
-- -- --
  Information about the tour, including scheduled rallies and other
appearances can be found at http://www.elca.org/lv/OutSpoken/ on the
ELCA Web site.

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