Rochester native leaves Greek Orthodox post

Minnesota native Nikki Stephanopoulos has retired after a 53-year career in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Stephanopoulos, 75, who was born in Rochester and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1955, stepped down Friday as director of news and information for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a position she'd held for 25 years.

"Basically, I'm the main contact person for any journalist in the world who speaks English," she said as she was cleaning out her office at church headquarters in Manhattan. "I love the job. The only reason I'm retiring is that my husband retired last year, and we decided that we wanted to spend more time with our children and grandchildren," who are scattered across the country.

She returns to Minnesota at least once a year to visit family and friends. "We were just there for a week," she said. "It's still my favorite place."

She worked for the dioceses of Cleveland and Pittsburgh before landing in New York City, where her husband, the Rev. Robert Stephanopoulos, served as dean of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. In addition to her public relations job, she also has served on several nonprofit boards, sometimes on her own and other times as a representative of the church. She plans to continue much of that work.

"I'll stay busy," she said. "You can count on that."

Going-away present Rabbi Stacy Offner, who resigned from Shir Tikvah Congregation a month ago to become vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism, has been named founding rabbi emeritus of the south Minneapolis synagogue, which she started 20 years ago.

The title was awarded a week ago by the congregation's board of trustees. Offner has moved to New York City, where, in her new post, she is the highest-ranking female Jewish clergy in North America. The board also named Rabbi Sharon Stiefel as interim rabbi. The former campus rabbi at the University of Minnesota was appointed to a 12-month term while the board conducts a search for Offner's permanent replacement.

Pedal pusher The Rev. Hans Myors bicycled through the Twin Cities recently as part of a 9,200-mile trip that took him from his home in Georgia to Seattle and now is headed back east to Washington, D.C. He left Georgia on March 3 and expects to reach Washington in October.

He could go faster, but he stops to minister to people along the way. It's part of Pedal Prayers, a mission he launched in 1993 that has racked up more than 184,000 miles, all of it by bicycle.

"Pedal stands for Pray Every Day and Listen," he said. His basic message: "Live out your faith."

"I do roadside counseling, I speak in churches and Sunday schools and I volunteer to help out in disaster relief," said Myors, who typically is on the road eight to nine months a year. "I've helped out after 14 hurricanes. I've helped after tornadoes and floods. If I'm within 500 miles of a disaster, I try to get there."

Myors, 52, carries 90 pounds of gear with him on his bike, which is his seventh since he started his ministry. He lives off donations. Upon reaching a town, the first thing he does is find a supportive church. Most will provide him with a place to sleep, if not a meal. But he has to know whom to ask.

"Methodist, Episcopal, ELCA [Evangelical Lutheran Church in America] and Presbyterian are the most helpful," he said. "I'm not really sure why. I think they're just more socially committed."

He chronicles his journey online at www.pedalprayers.org, although the updates are sporadic. "I don't carry a laptop with me," he said. "Every couple of weeks, I'll borrow a computer or go into a library to update it."

As for whether he travels alone, it depends on how you define alone. "Sometimes people travel with me for a day or two," he said. "But the Lord is always with me."

Jeff Strickler • 612-673-7392