Dear Friends,
I don’t like being inconvenienced. As you know, I live across the river from downtown. I specifically chose the Marina Lofts apartments because my commute to Trinity would be all of four minutes long. In the last parish, my commute was 35 miles long and a soul-crushing 45 minutes long in heavy traffic. A four-minute commute? Piece of cake. Only, they (whoever “they” are) have chosen this time to work on the Cherry Street bridge AND tear up N. Summit Street to boot. I have been inconvenienced. My commute time has now doubled – to 8 whole minutes. Okay, so it’s a little hard to complain about an 8-minute commute. However, I still don’t like being inconvenienced.
This week, parishioners and guests wanting to worship at Trinity on Sunday morning can expect to be inconvenienced for two reasons:
The first is that the Susan G. Komen Northwest Ohio Race for the Cure will be held this Sunday, September 29. Several streets will be closed as the race route completely surrounds Trinity that morning. Our primary goals are to hold our normal Sunday service at 10:00 am and to support the race and the safety of those involved. The second is that the owners of Four Seagate garage will be doing maintenance work that necessitates shutting down power to the garage. You will still be able to enter and exit the garage without any problem. However you may want to bring flashlight – or have the flashlight on your cell phone ready – to be able to find your way to and from your car.
- As for the Komen Race for the Cure, here are the instructions to make it easier for you to come to church:
No matter what direction you are coming from, find your way to a point on Adams St. west of N. Michigan St. Once there, proceed east on Adams toward the church.
- Plan to be at Trinity no later than 9:30 am! (The race begins at 9:30, and we cannot promise that people driving to Trinity will be allowed access once the race has started.)
- You will encounter a police barricade at Adams and Erie. As long as you arrive at the barricade by 9:30 am, you will be allowed through.
- You will encounter another checkpoint at Adams and N. Huron (part of the racecourse). Again, as long as you are through the intersection by 9:30 am, you will be allowed through.
- Once you have crossed both Erie and Huron, you will be able to continue to drive east on Adams, make a left turn on N. St. Clair, and access either parking on N. St. Clair or the entrance to the Four Seagate Garage between Adams and Jackson.
- To help identify Trinity parishioners, we have created a pass that can be presented to police or race staff. If you want a copy of the pass to download, please email trinity@trinitytoledo.org
- Since morning activities at Trinity typically end by 11:30 am, we don’t think parishioners will have a problem leaving downtown after church.We’re grateful to Komen Northwest Ohio for graciously offering Trinity parishioners a way to serve the Community Breakfast for our neighbors and to attend the celebration of Holy Eucharist in our sanctuary.
More than being grateful to Komen Northwest Ohio for providing access to Trinity this Sunday, I am personally grateful to the Susan B. Komen organization for the work they’ve done supporting breast cancer research, patient support services, and advocacy.
You see, my wife, Terry, is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2001 at the age of 41. Having breast cancer is categorically not an inconvenience. For Terry and our family, it was a life-changing event. Terry underwent surgery, had chemotherapy treatments, and then radiation. The aggressive treatment approach worked; she’s remained cancer free ever since. She benefitted from the efforts of the Susan B. Komen organization and other similar organizations who all help the 1 out of every 8 women who will develop breast cancer sometime in their lives.
So, as I cross the Cherry Street bridge this Sunday and drive far enough west to reach a point on Adams Street where I can turn around and head east toward the church, I won’t complain about either the construction or the race. I hope you won’t complain either and that the information above will help you be less inconvenienced when you come to Trinity this Sunday. (Notice I said “when” not if!)
Blessings,
Stephen Applegate
