Tuesday, March 20, 2012

LA Marathon Brings Interruptions

From the Beverly Hills Courier...

LA Marathon Brings Interruptions

(CNS) Posted Monday March 19, 2012- 11:30am

The street closures for yesterday's Los Angeles Marathon prompted changes in everything from church schedules to brunch plans, along with plenty of complaining.

First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica has altered its schedule for Sunday services in different ways each of the three years the race has ended a half-block away, Pastor Bill Wood told City News Service.

"The first year, we worshipped at 5 p.m. on Sunday, but discovered that even though the race ended several hours before that, our parishioners had difficulty getting to the church because of the road closures," Wood said.

The Sunday service was held at 5 p.m. Saturday last year, "which was fine," Wood said.

"This year, we decided upon a mission emphasis for the weekend, consistent with the church's overall mission emphasis, following through on our understanding of God's care and concern for the needy and God's invitation and mandate for his followers to do the same," Wood said.

Following a short service at 10 a.m. Saturday, church members assembled lunches for People Assisting the Homeless and sorted food for the Westside Food Bank, Wood said.

Today, church members painted at Common Ground, a Santa Monica-based organization that bills itself as the only comprehensive HIV agency on the coast from Los Angeles International Airport to the Ventura County line.

West Hollywood resident Alberto Romano wrote on his Facebook page that "I feel like (I'm) in a jail" on marathon day.

"Just because some guys want to run, why don't (they) do it in a park and let other people live without the nightmare of not going anywhere," Romano wrote.

Read on here<http://www.bhcourier.com/article/Local/Local/LA_Marathon_Brings_Interruptions/86502>.

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