wfn.org | United Methodist bishop cycling across United States

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

July 9, 1998	Contact: Thomas S. McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville,
Tenn.    10-21-71BP{406}

NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photo of Bishop Swenson is available with
this story.

By United Methodist News Service

If you still think a United Methodist bishop is an older man in a
three-piece suit, then move over or you may get hit by a fast-moving
bicycle.

Denver Area United Methodist Bishop Mary Ann Swenson and her husband,
Jeff, embarked  from Astoria, Ore., July 6, on a bicycle trip that will
take them through Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois,
Kentucky and to their final destination of Virginia Beach, Va.

This adventure is how Swenson is spending her sabbatical, a time the
church gives its bishops every six years for rest and renewal.  Without
a doubt, this will be the first time a bishop has cycled across the
country, and maybe even around the block.

Swenson, 51, was elected a bishop in 1992 and assigned to supervise two
annual conferences in the Denver Area, encompassing Colorado, Utah,
Montana and Wyoming. She is one of nine active women bishops in the
church. One woman bishop is retired, and the first, elected in 1980, is
deceased.

The Swensons, who have long been avid cyclists, decided a trip across
the United States would be a good way to share a common interest and
escape the pressures of her work. They anticipate spending five to nine
hours a day "in the saddle," exploring side roads and small towns across
the nation. They are riding a Schwinn tandem, a gift from the Denver
Area cabinet for the Swensons' 25th wedding anniversary in 1992. The
bishop will be back at her desk in Denver Oct. 1.

"I am looking forward to experiencing creation, the difference between
learning about something versus actually doing it.," she said. "Riding a
bicycle across the country allows me to celebrate creation in a way that
just talking about it does not satisfy."

Two years ago, the Swensons cycled down the coast of his home state of
Oregon.

"Cycling provides an intimacy with the landscape, with the sounds of
birds and the smell of the trees that I cherish," he said.

The bishop said she is looking forward to the trip despite its physical
challenge. 

"I'm really looking forward to just the riding - it creates a sense of
vitality that is addictive," she said. Cyclists can consume three times
the usual daily calorie requirements by averaging 45 to 65 miles a day,
she noted.

Updates on the Swensons' progress will be reported on the conference's
e-mail system and published in a biweekly newsletter sent to lay leaders
and pastors of the area.    

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NOTE: This story was adapted from one that appeared in the June-July
issue of The Rocky Mountain Vision newspaper.