Saturday, May 30, 2009
3 cycling Lutherans on a national trek
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Question: What do you get when you mix some beers, some bicycling Lutheran pastors and a little insanity?
Answer from tourderevs.org: Three guys. One bamboo bike. One hundred days. A mission to fight world hunger.
Fred Soltow, David Twedt and Ron Schlak -- rolled down Thompson Memorial Drive in Salem last week and into the parking lot of College Lutheran Church. There they did three victory laps on their three-man, custom-made bamboo bike -- a cool contraption made in California.
"I'm the alpha male. Ron, the guy in the middle, is just having a good time. He's our spiritual director. And David. He's just nuts," said Soltow, pastor of the Shepherdstown, W.Va., Lutheran Parish.
The crowd -- including College Lutheran Church co-pastors Bill Wiecher and Wynemah Hinlicky, who rode a short distance with the group -- was small, maybe a dozen people. But the idea is big.
The Revs, which they call themselves, all pastors of West Virginia churches, hope their stunt will raise $5 million for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America World Hunger programs. Since 1999, the ECLA has committed to raising $25 million a year for relief to help the 854 million people across the globe who suffer from hunger and poverty.
The Revs plan to visit Lutheran synods in 65 cities across the United States and in Puerto Rico on their 100-day trek to raise awareness about hunger and to encourage health and wellness.
Last week was their first on the road, beginning in Chicago at the national ECLA headquarters. They plan to wind up at the national churchwide assembly in Minneapolis on Aug. 20. Contributions will be taken throughout 2009.
So far, the effort has raised about $2,000, said Garry Lautenschlager, one of the organizers of the Virginia stop.
Churches in each synod are encouraged to make offerings, Lautenschlager said.
It's not just a Lutheran effort, though.
"I think the vision is catching on," Soltow said.
He described a spontaneous offering collection at a Catholic elementary school that netted $50, and a random woman the group met, who gave them $300.
While they won't pedal all 13,000 miles of the trip, the Revs had hoped to do 80 miles a day. But technical problems with their custom bike and other logistical issues have slowed them down to about 40 miles a day.
And that's OK, Soltow said. "It's not just about riding the bike. It's about sharing the word."
Read more about the mission, see photos of the bamboo bicycle, read the road trip blog, interact with the interactive route map or donate to the cause at tourderevs.org.
Learn more about ECLA World Hunger activities at tinyurl.com/p5cpot.
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Is this your brain on God?
Explore the latest in the brain science of spirituality at National Public Radio's online special "Is this your brain on God?" (npr.org/news/specials/2009/brain).
Through book excerpts, essays and video interviews, the interactive series examines the role of prayer, meditation and hallucinogenic drug use on spiritual experiences, as well as scientists efforts to find "the God spot" in the human brain.
