See Van Go! A bicycle odyssey for healthy leaders begins

by Frank Imhoff, ELCA News Service

A trustee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Board of Pension and his wife are cycling from St. Charles, Mo.,
to Minneapolis on a route along the Mississippi River to raise
awareness for physically and financially healthy church leaders.
According to a Board news release, T. Van and Melinda Matthews,
Simpsonville, S.C., will trek to:
+ Louisiana, Mo. -- July 20
+ Hannibal, Mo. -- July 21
+ Keokuk, Iowa -- July 22
+ Muscatine, Iowa -- July 23
+ Clinton, Iowa -- July 24 - 25
+ Dubuque, Iowa -- July 26
+ Prairie Du Chien, Wis. -- July 27
+ La Crosse, Wis. -- July 28
+ Wabasha, Minn. -- July 29
+ Red Wing, Minn. -- July 30
+ Minneapolis -- July 31-Aug. 1

"By riding my bike through these communities, I can personally
reach out to people about supporting the Special Needs Retirement
Fund as well as encourage living well through increased physical
activity," said T. Van Matthews, a franchise owner and senior
financial adviser of Ameriprise Financial, Greenville, S.C.

The Special Needs Retirement Fund supplements the incomes of
retired pastors, lay leaders and surviving spouses whose salaries
during working years were so low that they have inadequate income
to pay for even basic retirement expenses, such as food and
housing. The Matthewses are using their ride also to draw
attention to the Board's wellness campaign -- "Live well --
Healthy leaders enhance lives."

The ELCA Board of Pensions is based in Minneapolis. It provides
retirement, health and related benefits and services to 50,000
pastors and lay employees and their families. It serves nearly
11,000 congregations and other sponsoring ELCA organizations.