VALPARAISO, Ind. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Walt Wangerin Jr., speaker for Lutheran Vespers, the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and staff completed a 65-day tour of the Upper Midwest here Oct. 21. The tour, "OutSpoken for Lutheran Vespers," included 22 rallies, visits to ELCA congregations and stops at radio stations that carry the 30-minute program each week.
The tour ended here at Valparaiso University, where Wangerin is writer-in-residence and Emile and Elfriede Jochum University Professor. Wangerin was welcomed at the university's regular daily worship service, and he spoke to supporters about the tour in the evening. Valparaiso students and staff gave a $500 gift to the radio ministry.
"This is my home," Wangerin said in an interview after arriving at the Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso. "Several things come to mind. One is the gratitude for the people who followed me and welcomed me. I'm also beginning to allow myself to know how tired I am."
"While the tour itself is over, in a very real sense it continues," said Susan V. Greeley, director/producer for Lutheran Vespers, ELCA Department for Communication, Chicago. "We need to strengthen the relationships made during Walt's trip so that his vision of partnership with our listeners becomes a reality." Greeley, staff and volunteers accompanied Wangerin throughout most of the trip.
Wangerin left Chicago Aug. 17, intending to ride most of the 2,000-mile, seven-state trip on a bicycle, but on Sept. 9 he fell off his bike near Alexandria, Minn., breaking his left hip. After surgery and recuperation, Wangerin was able to resume the tour 10 days later, riding to each stop in a motor home. Using crutches to help him stand, Wangerin spoke to crowds who came to meet him.
"I often felt like I was being welcomed home by so many people who listen to Lutheran Vespers and know me because of my voice," Wangerin said of the trip. "I got to know them, and I felt constantly welcomed home."
The OutSpoken tour was intended to begin raising an endowment fund, seek endorsement for Lutheran Vespers and involve listeners directly in the radio ministry. Lutheran Vespers has 235 affiliates and is heard annually by some 3 million to 4 million people.
Despite his injury, Wangerin said the tour was worthwhile, and he was able to talk to listeners about being partners with the radio ministry.
"I wanted to meet as many people as possible face-to-face in the various places where Lutheran Vespers is on the air," Wangerin said. "This is only representative, because I couldn't meet 4 million people. But I did meet face-to-face more than 5,000 people."
The tour has generated $32,891 in gifts so far, including rally donations and donations received at the Lutheran Vespers office in Chicago. Forty-five people pledged to contribute funds for each of the 686 miles Wangerin rode his bicycle during the tour before he was injured. Since July, gifts designated for a Lutheran Vespers endowment have totaled $14,650.
"Some things about the OutSpoken tour are easy to quantify -- how many people Walt met, how much money was collected in offerings," Greeley said. "But we have no way of knowing the way in which hearts were touched, what kind of insights people received, or how many relationships across generations will be strengthened as a result of hearing Walt's message. Those are fruits of the spirit that we simply trust and believe will blossom."
March 28-30, 2003, Wangerin and the Lutheran Vespers staff will host a rally at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, Charleston, S.C. Now that Wangerin has met many listeners directly, he hopes the Charleston event will be a working event, at which supporters will help solidify the ministry for future years.
At the Charleston rally, "I hope to begin to establish groups of people throughout the country who will now work together as partners, that they will support one another and share ideas about how they may continue and increase Lutheran Vespers in their various areas," he said.
The rally is intended to organize supporters to help undergird the radio ministry and keep it functioning strongly long after Wangerin has concluded his tenure as the program's speaker, Greeley said.
After concluding the OutSpoken tour, Wangerin took a few days to rest, then left Oct. 27 for Japan. While there, he will visit several cities "as an author and a Christian," he said, to talk about his 1998 publication, "The Book of God," a novel based on the Christian Bible. -- -- --
Information about the OutSpoken for Lutheran Vespers tour, including dispatches from Wangerin, news releases and financial support information can be found at http://www.elca.org/lv/outspoken on the ELCA Web site.
See a video news release on the conclusion of the tour at http://www.elca.org/co/news/videos/video.index.html 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
- - -
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
