Lutheran Pastor to Begin Coast-to-Coast Unicycle Ride

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Lars C. Clausen, Greenback, Wash., a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), plans to ride his unicycle 5,000 miles, from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts of the United States, to raise $5 million for the church's ministries on Alaska's Seward Peninsula. He will leave Neah Bay, Wash., on April 29 and arrive in New York on Aug. 10 -- 103 days later.
Clausen's trip, "One Wheel -- Many Spokes," is to benefit the Seward Peninsula Lutheran Endowment Fund, managed by the ELCA Foundation, Chicago. The endowment now has $222,000 to provide a consistent funding source for the ELCA's ministry on the Seward Peninsula, jutting out 200 miles into the Bering Sea from west-central Alaska.
Clausen intends to spend most evenings during the trip making presentations about unicycling and Inupiat Eskimo ministry in churches along the route.
"I'm riding this summer in the hopes that the church at large and the ministry in particular will benefit by securing the endowment for Seward Peninsula Lutheran Ministry," said Clausen. Everyone across the United States would benefit from learning more about the culture of Alaska Natives, he said.
The ELCA "would do well to recognize Seward Peninsula Lutheran Ministry as a unique treasure and do everything it can to support the needs of this ministry and to learn from the wisdom and experience embodied in this ministry," said Clausen.
"The unicycle and the ride do attract attention. They give us and all who are interested in Seward Peninsula Lutheran Ministry an opportunity to talk about the value of the ministry and the endowment," he said.
"The Seward Peninsula Lutheran Endowment was in existence before I ever thought of riding my unicycle across the United States," said Clausen. "This unicycle ride provides a focus for people to put their energy into the endowment effort at this time."
An avid runner, Clausen developed plantar fascitis -- an overuse injury to the soles of the feet. So, he diverted his energy toward unicycling.
"On one of my first rides out I had such strong remembrances of bicycling across the United States in 1987 that I started dreaming about unicycling across the country," said Clausen.
In 1992, Clausen's first parish as a pastor of the ELCA was Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Nome, Alaska -- one of six parishes that make up Seward Peninsula Lutheran Ministry. The ministry there dates back to 1894, when the Rev. Tollef Brevig came to Teller, Alaska, to serve as pastor for transplanted Norwegian reindeer herders.
Clausen and his family fell in love with the people and their culture. "People shared their lives with us and included us in their traditions," he said. "Our two children have Eskimo names -- Ayayat and Kooyoruk -- that were given to them there."
The hunting-gathering culture there is entirely renewable and exists "only at the margins of the agricultural-literate culture that dominates the globe," said Clausen.
Inupiat people "offer us a window into the past as well as cultural values that can be an important resource for the whole world. Respect for elders and traditional wisdom, care for children, community values of sharing are but a few of the resources which Seward Peninsula Lutheran ministry can offer to our global world," said Clausen.
"They have also adopted Lutheran Christianity as an integral part of their lifestyle," he said.
Clausen brought his unicycle to Nome and his dream to set a long- distance record unicycling across the United States.
"I thought that I would offer to do the ride for some cause that I care about. Seward Peninsula Lutheran Ministry came quickly to mind," said Clausen. "I rode home and asked some elders if they thought it would be a good idea. They thought so, and that was the beginning of the One Wheel -- Many Spokes project."
The six ELCA congregations in Alaska's Seward Peninsula Lutheran Ministry are: + Alaska Native Lutheran Church, Anchorage + Brevig Memorial Lutheran Church, Brevig Mission + Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Nome + Shishmaref Lutheran Church, Shishmaref + Teller Lutheran Church, Teller + Thornton Memorial Lutheran Church, Wales -- -- --
The "One Wheel -- Many Spokes" campaign maintains a site with route and donation information at http://www.onewheel.org/ on the Web. There are also pages with information about the ministry and culture of Alaska Natives.
The ELCA Foundation is at http://www.elca.org/fo/ on the Web.

EDITORS: While Clausen is on the road, media contact will only be
possible by e-mail to his lars@onewheel.org address. Leave a phone
number.

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