wfn.org | Lutheran Vespers' Wangerin Injured in Bicycle Mishap

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 10, 2002

LUTHERAN VESPERS' WANGERIN INJURED IN BICYCLE MISHAP
02-216-LJG*/JB

     ALEXANDRIA, Minn. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Walt Wangerin Jr., speaker
for Lutheran Vespers, suffered a fractured left hip and abrasions in a
bicycle accident near here Sept. 9, during  the "OutSpoken for Lutheran
Vespers" bike tour.  Lutheran Vespers is the radio ministry of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
     Wangerin, 58, underwent surgery the same day to repair his damaged
hip at Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria.  Wangerin had completed
three-and-one-half weeks of the nine-week bicycle tour through the Upper
Midwest when the accident occurred.
     Wangerin was injured when a pannier came loose and lodged in his
bicycle's back tire, causing him to be thrown to the ground.  His
injuries were not life-threatening.
     "Walt's primary concern continues to be raising up the ministry of
Lutheran Vespers," said Susan V. Greeley, Lutheran Vespers director-
producer, ELCA Department for Communication, in a phone interview.
Greeley is among the staff accompanying Wangerin on the journey.
     Lutheran Vespers canceled Wangerin's scheduled appearances this
week in Alexandria, Fergus Falls, Minn., Fargo, N.D., and a Sept. 11
appearance at Concordia College, an ELCA higher education institution in
Moorhead, Minn.  Wangerin hopes to complete the rest of his planned
tour, although he will no longer be riding a bicycle from town to town.
     "He said to me in the emergency room, 'This trip is too important
for me to stop now,'" Greeley said.  "We would welcome people's prayers
for Walt's recovery, and the rest of his journey."
     "The people in Alexandria have been very, very gracious," said
Brenda J. Engelby, Lutheran Vespers associate director for promotion and
placement, ELCA Department for Communication.  She is also accompanying
Wangerin on the bicycle trip.
     "Lonnie Wing of radio station KXRA announced the news of Walt's
accident, and people flocked to Shalom Lutheran Church to offer
assistance," she said. Wangerin was scheduled for an on-air interview
Sept. 9 at KXRA and lunch with Lutheran Vespers supporters at Shalom.
      On Sept. 11, Wangerin was to be part of a morning prayer service
at Centrum Chapel at  Concordia College, and was to meet with pastors,
youth leaders and supporters at an afternoon reception.  That night, he
was to conduct a communion service at the college following a community-
wide commemorative event at the Fargo Dome in Fargo.
     To date, Wangerin had bicycled through parts of Wisconsin and
Minnesota and participated in several Lutheran Vespers rallies and
appearances.  The tour also includes planned visits to North Dakota,
South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.
     To prepare for the two-month trip, Wangerin trained regularly
since May, riding some 50 miles a day about four days a week.  During
the trip, day treks varied from 25 to 90 miles per day.
     The 2,600-mile trip, scheduled from Aug. 17 to Oct. 20, has three
goals: 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.  Wangerin has been sharing dispatches and
photos of his journey at http://www.elca.org/lv/OutSpoken/on the ELCA
Web site.
     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.
     Lutheran Vespers  reaches an estimated 3- to 4-million listeners
annually.  In addition to listeners in the United States, it reaches
audiences in Africa, Australia, Europe, Guam, Puerto Rico, and ELCA
missionaries throughout the world.  The program was founded in 1947.
-- -- --
     *Linda Janssen Gjere is Lutheran Vespers rally facilitator for the
OutSpoken for Lutheran Vespers bike tour.  She is also director for
communication for the ELCA Nebraska Synod.

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