| Walter Wangerin Jr. & Outspoken |
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Dispatch #6 The ride from Appleton: 47 miles. I had a light following wind out of the east. I left at 8:30 a.m., having spoken to First English Lutheran in Appleton, and arrived at Grace English just before noon. The sun is glorious. + + + Yesterday was our anniversary, Thanne's and mine. 34 years, married on the Feast Day of St. Bartholomew. Thanne meets me in Mauston tomorrow, then hangs with us for three days. This bicycle journey is scarcely begun, today (as I write) being the second day of the second week. But it seems several seasons ago I said goodbye to Thanne. It will be good to travel with her again, though she won't be on a bike. + + + And this statistic declares us still near the beginning: I've ridden 228 miles so far. Tomorrow I'll add something over 80. Some of you have pledged cents or dollars per mile. I'll keep you regularly apprised of my progress. Others might consider making such a pledge to Lutheran Vespers, turning my riding into a kind of sweat equity. And I assure you all--all who are making donations to Lutheran Vespers in response to this "OutSpoken" trip: nothing you give shall be spent on this venture of ours! These expenses are covered by a grant which LV received from my dear friends Liz and David McFadzean. And I myself have turned back my salary this year in order to defray costs accrued by my silly notions ... cycling out to meet and make friends with people who listen to LV. Did you know that Lutheran Vespers is altogether supported by your gifts? We receive no budgeted monies from the ELCA. When we suffer financial short-falls (as we do every fiscal year) it is the Department for Communication under Eric Shafer which makes up our difference. But because we never have money more than we are spending,
we have been unable to truly plan a future for Lutheran Vespers. We
should be on the air in New York City, but we're not; Los Angeles, but
we're not; Denver, where we used to be, but now we're not. We should
be able to plan special programs, but we can't. A mission outreach, indeed. Presently our listeners include people imprisoned, a great number of people unchurched and profoundly resistant to organized religion, shut-ins, cross-country truckers, folks who work on Sunday, people of unspeakable trauma who listen alone and in a privacy. Our missionaries receive tapes and CDs of the program. The variety of this audience should not only be acknowledged, but also (intentionally!) increased. We continue to produce resources for teaching in the parish, for personal and group study of Scriptures and of various practical themes. Come. Be partners with me in broadcasting the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Think of making a pledge of pennies or nickels or dimes or quarters for every mile I ride. Click here to pledge now. My next dispatches will turn to adventures and thoughts and stories that occur as we go. But once at least I thought I would indicate the purpose for this trip. Thanks for listening. Walt |