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
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
