Bikers have been streaming into Sioux City in preparation for the start of RAGBRAI”s 50 anniversary ride that begins here Sunday. One of our local riders this time will be Lorna Halaas, the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Western Iowa Synod.
Halaas says she and the other two bishops in Iowa are riding to raise money for ELCA World Hunger.
“So set a challenge of 50,000 dollars for the 50th year, and challenged the 359 congregations of the ELCA across the state to try to reach that goal.”
Halaas says the fundraising event is a way to give back for all the blessings that we can sometimes take for granted.
“For myself, and I think I speak for others who believe this, I have been blessed with good food and good nutrition all my life, and so I have pretty good health. I have had friends and family and a faith community to support me all my life. So it is a way that we can contribute and bring awareness to the needs of the over 280 million people who are hungry in this world who are hungry every day.”
Halaas and the other bishops will start out early Sunday morning at Northside Lutheran Church.
“Starting out from First Lutheran on Cheyenne Boulevard, we will gather there for a blessing of bikes, and service of sending, and then we head to Storm Lake where St. Mark’s Lutheran Church is serving a meal, the next night in Carroll, St. John’s Lutheran Church is serving a meal, so yeah, here we go. And we know its going to get hot, and it’s going to get humid and it’s going to be summer in Iowa next week!”
The National Weather Service is predicting a heat wave to arrive right around the time the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa begins on Sunday.
Depending on the humidity levels, the weather service may be issuing heat advisories or even heat warnings next week.
