WASHINGTON — Clergy in several downtown Washington churches have rejected a plan from the mayor’s office to hold a joint Palm Sunday service at the D.C. Convention Center in hopes of clearing traffic for the first-ever D.C. marathon.
Several churches were angered by the plan to hold the city’s first marathon on Palm Sunday (March 24), when church attendance reaches its highest levels. Pastors said worshipers will be unable to find parking on streets that are roped off and closed for the estimated 20,000 runners.
Marathon organizers reworked the marathon route to avoid 16th Street, which has churches on nearly every corner. Still, some clergy remain unsatisfied, according to The Washington Times.
“We have worship at 8 and 11 a.m. I’m hoping we can come to some accommodation,” said Eugene Matthews, pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church, whose congregation abuts the race route. “I’m not too happy that a marathon dictates how we worship.”
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