The Church vs. The Marathon
This past week the Austin City Council heard complaints from a number of local churches. No, these weren’t the typical complaints about libraries having copies of “Heather Has Two Mommies” or about the schools teaching evolution or sex-ed. It was about races – as in people running, biking, skating or whatever through the town.
You see the races are destroying the churches. Austin is a huge race city. It is one of the fittest cities in the U.S. and a mecca for runners and bikers. It seems like nearly every week some other major race is being held on our iconic and decidedly hilly streets. There is something classic about running past major Austin landmarks like 6th street or the State Capital. So when races come to town, streets get shut down downtown as the athletes converge. And of course, so as not to disrupt local businesses, this all occurs on Sunday mornings.
Think about the effect on the downtown churches. The roads to the churches are blocked off. All street parking is banned. No one shows up to church. My friends who work at these churches say that church members don’t even bother trying to come if a race is going on – it is just too much of a hassle to get there. Spiritual issues aside – think about what this does to a church if once or twice a month, every month, no one shows up and therefore no one gives an offering. As churches across the country suffer as giving plummets during the economic crisis, you can see how this is a problem for churches. So they went up against race organizers and running clubs to plead their case to the city. Of course, nothing has yet been decided.
It struck me as a strange dilemma. Most of these churches are older mainline churches that are very culturally involved and provide all sorts of services to the downtown communities already. It took a lot for them to even reach the point where they stood up and made a complaint. I had to wonder what would happen if the city regularly blocked off access to some of the evangelical mega-churches around town. I figure some sort of immediate response about how the city persecutes Christians.
What bothers me is how this raises the question of what the purpose of church is. I don’t think the church is all about the building, or about standing up for its rights, or about fighting those it is called to serve. But these churches can’t gather or collect the resources to allow them to serve unless they do assert themselves. I find the whole situation odd and wonder how it can be resolved for the good of all.
julieclawson(at)gmail(dot)com 
I saw the other side of this issue in DC. For several years, I was a very active part of the running scene here, and was a part of a church that met Sunday nights (so I fully admit my bias).
The races here weren’t as frequent, but the downtown churches were much more organized. They adamantly opposed any and all downtown races, for the reasons that you note. Which was understandable, I suppose. Yet from the runner side of the relationship, I cringed at the anger and indignance expressed by the churches, who seemed pretty legalistically determined to meet each and every week to do their thing, runners be damned.
At the time, I wondered why they wouldn’t just take the occasional week off (and maybe run or walk in the race!), or walk to church, or even set up a water station in front of their church and show some hospitality. It would have done a lot to ease the tensions between the two groups (no one knows better than a runner just how profane and angry a church person can become when they learn that they need to adjust their route to church. Their tirades– in public and in print– were notorious and embarrassing).
Of course, in the end the races either moved out to the suburbs, ended entirely, or all followed the same, bland, officially church-approved route in the most desolate part of downtown. So I suppose the problem was resolved, and the churches were happy to get what they wanted. But in so doing, they alienated a whole bunch of people. Which begs the question– what is church for? The propagation of buildings, budgets, and meetings, or something larger?
This isn’t a new issue in my neck of the woods, which is presently Pasadena, CA.
There’s a big parade here every year, as most people know. The Rose Parade takes place on the morning of January 1st, goes about five and a half miles right through downtown, on the largest street in the city, basically dividing the city into north and south, with a million people or so parking, camping, sitting, and celebrating. It is followed by the Rose Bowl.
Well, not always on January 1st. A long while ago, back in the early days of the parade (late 1800s I believe), it was decided that if the 1st fell on a Sunday there would be no parade or bowl on that day, but instead these would take place on the 2nd. Because the churches in town complained about the noise and commotion and the effect such an event would have on people getting to church, and their horses while the people were in church. This is still an active rule.
Ah, from the official Rose Parade FAQ:
“Why are the Tournament celebrations sometimes held on January 2?
* The Tournament of Roses is a tradition full of traditions, one of which is our “Never on Sunday” policy. In 1893, officials decided to move the parade to Monday, January 2 to avoid frightening horses tethered outside local churches and thus interfering with worship services. As a result of this reverent gesture, speculation abounds as to the rare instances of rainfall on New Year’s Day (only ten times in Rose Parade history), prompting some to ask the Tournament about its special pact with a “friend upstairs.” Also as a result of this tradition, other collegiate bowl organizations have instituted similar procedures.”
i think the “walk to church” notion here is key.
and i think it raises the issue of why downtown churches are downtown? do people still live in downtown Austin? if so, are they the people attending these churches? or are these suburban people commuting into the city? if so, why? if so, can the churches relocate to the suburbs and still perform charitable and outreach functions downtown effectively?
in Chicago, the big marathons, half marathons, 5ks and corporate runs all happen either in the massive, central public park, or on Lake Shore Drive, a massive highway that runs the length of the city along the lake. impact on neighborhoods is minimal except for the big marathon which does cut through a lot of neighborhoods. but that’s only once a year.
does Austin have any kind of park system or bike path system on its periphery where the races could be located away from downtown? if there really are 10-20 events a year, all on Sundays, and the churches have a legitimate reason to be where they are, it seems reasonable to expect the city to bend a little on this.
A few facts about this story need to be clarified:
1. The churches have been very deliberate about communicating that they are not against the races. They are simply frustrated at how many there are (and yes, there are an awful lot here in Austin) and are trying to find a compromise.
2. The churches have offered a very specific plan for how to reach this compromise. They are not trying to eliminate all downtown races, just to find ways to share the space and reduce some of the impact on them.
3. Yes, there are lots of people who live in and around downtown Austin, from UT students, to yuppies in the big new high rise condo buildings, to the homeless, to the old hippie/hipster neighborhoods, to the “ghetto” neighborhoods just on the other side of the interstate. Even still, it’s a relatively large area, and it’s not really feasible for even those who do live there to walk to church. Also, these are mostly very old churches with large, historic buildings (often taking up whole city blocks and incorporating both the beautiful architecture of the sanctuary, as well as extensive facilities for their numerous social services that Julie mentioned. In other words, a lot would be lost if they tried to “relocate”. And besides, why encourage more suburban church flight when the heart of their ministry is and always has been downtown?
4. One also has to wonder why the wealthier suburban neighborhoods shouldn’t be asked to shoulder some of the burden too. Given that most of the runners come from out of town or from the suburban parts of Austin, there’s no reason only one part of the city should have to suffer for it. Though, like Julie said, I’d bet we’d have heard a much louder outcry a lot sooner if it was the suburban evangelical megachurches that were being affected by it.
5. There aren’t any other good options besides city streets here in Austin. There is a network of running/biking trails, but they are not wide enough or solid enough to handle thousands of runners at one time on a regular basis.
I just see it as a damned if you do, damned if you don’t issue. The churches won’t survive if things don’t change, but getting the city pissed at them won’t help them either. It would be great if they could serve on race days – but with no resources and no people there, it’s kinda hard for that to happen. Like I said, it really raises the question about the ideal purpose for church vs. the practical realities of running a church.
Pasadena had a marathon just a few weeks ago (it’s first ever, I believe) which happened on a Sunday, as well. I had to get to church early, and found my way blocked much as you described. Fortunately for most of our members, the streets were cleared up shortly afterward, and so it was mostly those of us who needed to get there early for various reasons who were inconvenienced, but I’d definitely find it to be a problem if this happened more often.
As a runner and a pastor, I understand both sides of the issue. I have been cut off from church, because of a race.
1.) In Kansas City, the churches have tried to stay in contact with race organizers to keep their premier race on Saturday. They are mainline churches and they volunteer on race day in an effort to be an asset to the race organizers.
2.) In New York City on the day of the marathon, there are churches who have gospel choirs in Harlem. There are youth orchestras in Brooklyn and people preaching to the runners as they pass along the route. It is all pretty cool and part of the ambience.
3.) In LA, they moved the race from Sunday in March, a good day to run to Memorial Day. It was the churches and the churches have ruined a city’s marathon. They screwed it up and I cannot believe that churches in LA have that much pull.
4.) In Houston, an Episcopal church sprinkled us with Holy Water. That was cool.
There is a such a kitschy way of doing evangelism and serving people during the race. “This ain’t the living water, we talk about,” on cups and signs. Since this is a part of the culture of Austin, the local church is out of touch. I find that sad, because there is opportunity. When I run at the beginning of the marathon, I delight in all of God’s creation. Here are these folks who are extremely beautiful and delighting in living and God’s gift of their bodies. I just look at everybody and smile, “This is really cool and thank you God for all these people, may we run well.”
I understand why the churches would be upset. And it would annoy me if I couldn’t get somewhere I wanted to go. But I don’t think the solution is to “attack” the runners. I agree with some of the other posters who suggest fun, effective, innovative ways of the church community to interact with the runners. The church should be about blessing people, not about making society conform to us.
Besides, no one says church has to be at 11:00 am on Sunday morning.
Like I’ve said, I see both sides here. But I am surprised at the responses that paints the church completely in the wrong. If say a business, a school, a community center, or a hospital (all aspects of what the church is) had access to their facility shut down for a week or two a month would the response be that they just need to deal with it, change who they are, and not complain? I don’t think attacks are happening, nor should they. simply a plea for compromise. Unless that happens the churches won’t exist much longer to even begin to serve.
i had another thought last night. where’s the tithing in these churches? why are they only giving money the weeks they physically attend?
that’s a purely internal issue these churches need to address which is being exposed by circumstances, but the solution isn’t to change the circumstances.
I find it interesting that we’re still talking about church as a building.
That’s really never what Jesus talked about. He talked about people. When we can get past the building and the need to go there at a specific time on a specific day, some of these issues will be resolved. Not all of them, but some of them.
The other problem seems to be viewing the marathon and the church as oppositional entities. I’m not certain they need to be (and I think Julie’s attempted to say that), despite the title of the post
.
On one hand, Julie’s right … we’d never tell a business or a hospital who’s right of way had been impeded to “just get over it.” On the other hand, it is the church. There’s a part of me that rejects that sub-conscious knee-jerk Constantinian thinking that we get to have the right of way on Sundays. Like Sunday is the Christian’s day, somehow. That’s kind of what people hear when churches complain about an issue, even politely and graciously.
So, to me as I think about this conundrum, the real question becomes, how can the church(es) serve their people subversively in the midst of the marathons AND how can they serve the marathons as well? It becomes a both/and rather than an either/or.
As I was reading the comments I had the same thought as jhimm….if the giving is significantly less because of the Sundays people cannot attend due to the races there is a deeper problem that needs to be addressed.
Some other thoughts I had:
meet on Saturdays on those weekends – there could be plenty of notice given out about the dates the church would meet on Saturdays instead of Sundays as the race dates are surely planned way in advance
and then there is the thought that maybe church groups shouldn’t be located in buildings and should consist of smaller groups that meet in homes, coffee shops or other gathering places with larger gatherings occuring only a few times a year – I have been so discouraged during the last 20 years because every church I know of seems to always be needing more space and more money to build or support more space – i feel there is too much emphasis on the whole group being together every week and everyone hearing the same lesson/sermon and having all the paid staff and programs and on and on and on. I hesitate to say this because my heart does go out to those who are in full time ministry and earning their living. I don’t think those people are bad or entered into the system with anything but good motives (I am sure there are some who did but I don’t know of them) – but the truth is I feel the system is broken and unsustainable and needs to be changed. It seems we always have excuses not to change it – from needing a good children’s program to the building we meet in is historic (I admit I am guilty of using these and many more excuses myself) – but I really beieve we are messing up by continuing to have church more associated with buildings, programs and staff than with a group of people that we know intimately and are “really” doing life (physically and spiritually) with. So – I waver back and forth – having compassion for those who are in these churches and don’t want to offend and are trying to reach “compromises” and trying to be gentle, to being totally frustrated and pretty aggravated that they are dealing with this type of issue at all because I think they are “doing church” wrong in the first place.
Before I begin, let me say that if you take the bus you can always get to church, even on race days (if you are not elderly and can walk a ways, that is)
But…
I belong to one of those mainline churches in downtown Austin that went to that meeting on the races. I could be mistaken (because I was not there), but I believe that what the churches are asking for is just for there to be two consistent routes in and out of downtown on race days, NOT for the races to be discontinued. The problem is that each race is sponsored by a different group or cause and chooses a different course. When there are 20 races a year (easily) that means 20 different routes. If we could know that (for example) 5th St. and MLK were always going to be open as east/west routes and Red River would always be open for north/south then parishioners could get used to how to get to church on “race days”. As it is, no one ever knows because each course is different.
Our church is very, very supportive of races. Our priests even go to bless the courses and hold services for runners the Saturday nights before marathons. We are not asking for the races to stop or even for there to be fewer of them. I think we (and I am not personally involved in this issue so I hope I am not making a big mistake here) are just asking for there to always be the same east/west and north/south roads available for people to get to the churches.
I have a limited understanding of our budget, but I believe (in our defense) that 95% comes from pledges, not Sunday giving. so, money is not the issue here – worship is.
That said, we are way, way, way, way too attached to our buildings. Way too attached. I agree with that. But, the same could be said for mega-churches and most any church that is not a house church, right? As soon as you set up shop, you have something to maintain and that becomes (even if you don’t want it to be) goal number one. That is why Jesus professed a way, not a religion, I guess.
sonja– Spot on. Any church that dependent upon its building is more like a museum than a mission. And any church that dependent upon its rituals won’t be around for long, at least in any vital sense.
julie, I agree that many of us have taken the side of the races/runners. I know I could certainly have better presented both sides of the issue, or at least cited the time that a huge downtown DC race coincided with Palm Sunday. Not cool. At the same time, I was equally surprised to see you making a rights-based argument on behalf of the churches. Appeals to ‘rights’ seem difficult and distasteful, especially for groups (like churches) that are supposed to be about service and powerlessness. But–to your point– even museums have a right and a responsibility to exist. Fair enough.
jhimm, great point about tithing. There are plenty of churches that never take an offering, and that take weeks and even months off from regular meetings. Direct deposit, PayPal, and the plain old Postal Service work fine for contributions. Or just contributing extra next week.
Guido, right! Running– and especially marathoning– is an undeniably religious activity. Sounds like R’s church gets that, which is great to hear.
I’m just surprised by the “my theology of church is supreme” attitudes that basically say “fuck these churches, let em die”
I agree with the theology, but am not comfortable imposing it on churches who have a different theology.
I posted my thoughts over on my blog (was planning to post on similar items this week anyways.) Thanks for the post, Julie. http://adamjcopeland.com/2009/04/08/marathon-mission/
Hi Julie, I am about a week late here (I sometimes forget to come back and check blog conversations that I have commented on) but I wanted to come back and say that I am sorry if I came off as disrespectful or uncaring. I did think that the information about the churches asking for some consistent routes sounded like a reasonable and sensible request. But the thing that I am really going away from here with is the thought that I need to examine myself in regards to having a “my church theology is supreme” attitude”. I don’t want to have that kind of attitude – I want to hold my beliefs with enough humility that I am still a teachable person. I really enjoy your blog and thank you for allowing us to have conversations here.