CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A one-wheeled odyssey that began April 9 in Alaska concluded Nov. 16 in Hawaii. The Rev. Lars J. Clausen, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), rode his unicycle on a route that took him through all 50 states of the United States and into the Guinness Book of Records.
In Alaska, Clausen began training for "One Wheel -- Many Spokes," which was to be a cross-country trip to raise money for the Seward Peninsula Lutheran Endowment Fund and to raise awareness of the Inupiat Lutheran Eskimos. The trip began April 29 at the shore of the Pacific Ocean in Neah Bay, Wash.
When Clausen reached the Statue of Liberty in New York on Aug. 10, he had ridden for 111 days and traveled 5,032 miles -- breaking the Guinness world record of 3,876 miles for distance on a unicycle -- but he did not reach his goal of raising $5 million Seward Peninsula Endowment Fund. So, he turned his unicycle around and headed back for the Pacific Ocean on a route through all the states he hadn't visited already.
Clausen arrived back at the Pacific in Santa Monica, Calif., his boyhood hometown, on Nov. 12, after pedaling a total 9,136 miles. From there he boarded a plane Nov. 16 for Hawaii and the completion of his 50-state trek.
"It is finished," Clausen wrote in his Internet journal. "It feels weird not to be getting up for a day-break day-long ride on the unicycle everyday."
"It's a good thing, though, that we didn't start our ride in Hawaii. We never would have left the state. What a wonderful trip," said Clausen.
At stops all along his journey, Clausen spoke about the ELCA's ministry on the Seward Peninsula, jutting out 200 miles into the Bering Sea from west-central Alaska, and about the endowment fund to provide a consistent funding source for that ministry.
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.
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.
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.
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
