June 10, 2011 - Glebe Report

SPORTS
RELIGION
36 Glebe Report June 10, 2011 Glebe Report June 10, 2011 37
Cycling in the Glebe
by Jamie Harkins
Promoted for its numerous health
and social benefits, cycling is a great
way to commute around the City of
Ottawa this summer and ease the
challenges of getting around the
Glebe during the Bank Street reconstruction.
According to Capital
Ward councillor David Chernushenko,
cycling provides a more efficient
way of getting to work downtown
and to neighbourhood shops
while exercising and injecting “freedom”
into a commuter’s daily life.
“To me, it just becomes the way that
I will get around, unless it’s impossible,”
said Chernushenko. “Unless
it’s just too darn far or I’m really
late, or it’s so hot or it’s so cold, I
will ride my bike. To me it’s just a
natural reflex. We’ve chosen to have
one car and it sits in the driveway
most of the time and that’s where I’d
rather it stay.”
Anjelica Hodgson, an associate
with Kunstadt Sports, said she
cycles daily from Barrhaven to
work and finds that biking in the
city – except for aggressive drivers
– is amazing with positives outweighing
the negatives, while also
providing an opportunity to get out
and socialize. “Being active in a
different way is a really different
thing than playing a team sport,”
Hodgson said. “You’re by yourself,
but you get to meet a whole bunch
of different people that ride their
bikes. There are the high-end racers
that do it and there are the very casual
people, the people in-between
that ride to work and the people
that just do tours with groups of
friends,” she said. “They ride only
on the weekend. You really do get
to meet a whole bunch of different
people. I like it so much, just that
aspect of it.”
Chernushenko, a “fanatical cyclist”
for 25 years, bikes to work
daily during the warmer months,
but thinks that biking in the city is
problematic. However, with greater
awareness on the part of both drivers
and cyclists, better cooperation by
both, sharing the road could become
a reality. He said that in this area, the
Bank Street reconstruction will make
driving around the Glebe a problem
these summer months, but hopping
on a bike instead can ease the tension
of getting from point A to B. “Biking
and walking could be a better way
PHOTO: JULIE HOULE CEZER
of getting around than driving,” said
Chernushenko. “I’m trying to not
scare people away from the Glebe.
I’m trying to encourage them to keep
coming down and, in fact, by doing
it by bike, it might actually make it
simpler.”
Peter Conway, an associate of Mc-
Crank’s Cycles, said the rehabilitation
of Bank won’t help any of the
stores including the bike shops;
nonetheless, supporting your local
businesses – including bringing in
bikes for tune-ups and repairs at Mc-
Crank’s during the rehabilitation –
will help make a difference. Conway
said in his 18 years of running his
business along Bank Street, he felt
most misinformed by the city council
this time around on when the major
work on the street would begin.
“I think more than anything else, the
city did us no favours by choosing
to tear up the street, but not tell us
that they were doing it before all of
us make our orders,” Conway said.
“That’s not just the bicycle industry,
but everyone that runs a seasonal
business.”
“Other than ensuring we still have
adequate bike parking posts and
racks to lock our bikes, there really
isn’t anything special we can do
during the reconstruction for bicyclists,”
said Chernushenko. Unfortunately,
Chernushenko said the Bank
Street rehabilitation will not provide
any better bicycling incentives
to customers of the Glebe once the
work is completed. The street will
essentially remain the same once
all the work is done, with no new
bike lanes for cyclists due to funding
and space constraints; nonetheless,
Chernushenko said that with
innovative measures to improve
the current roadway infrastructure
in the Glebe, cycling could be better.
“We could go much further,” he
said. “We could, for example, take
Percy and Lyon and produce yields
to cyclists or we could even introduce
fewer stop signs for drivers
and cyclists towards the intersections.
There are other innovative
measures that we could be taking,
but it does not at all harm safety,”
Chernushenko added. “They don’t
minimize safety, but allow traffic to
flow better. They slow it down, but
don’t force it to stop.”
Jamie Harkins is the sports reporter
for the Glebe Report.
GLEBE CHURCHES
CHURCH OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT (Roman Catholic)
Fourth Avenue at Percy Street, 613-232-4891
www.blessedsacrament.ca
Pastor: Fr. Randal Hendriks, CC
Associate Pastor: Fr. Francis Donnelly, CC
Masses: Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, 9:30 a.m.
Saturdays, 4:30 p.m.
Sundays, 8:15 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 8 p.m.
(elevator available, loop system for people
with impaired hearing also available)
ECCLESIAX
2 Monk Street, 613-565-4343
www.ecclesiax.com
Sundays: 11:07 a.m.,* Art & worship service
View community art gallery by appointment.
*NOTE: Sunday service time of 11:07 a.m. is the right time!
FOURTH AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH
Fourth Avenue at Bank Street, 613-236-1804
www.fourthavenuebaptist.ca
Minister: Rev. Clarke Dixon
Services: Sundays, 11 a.m.
Junior church and nursery available
(parent/tot room available at the back of the church)
GERMAN MARTIN LUTHER CHURCH
499 Preston Street at Carling Avenue, 613-233-1671
Pastor: Christoph Ernst
Service: Sundays, 10 a.m., with Sunday school
(first Sunday of month, 11:15 a.m., English service)
GLEBE-ST. JAMES UNITED CHURCH
650 Lyon Street at First Avenue, 613-236-0617
www.glebestjames.ca
Minister: Rev. Christine Johnson
Music Director: Robert Palmai
Worship: Sundays, 10:30 a.m.,
Sunday school, 10:30 a.m.
(wheelchair access, FM system for people with impaired hearing)
OTTAWA CHINESE UNITED CHURCH
600 Bank Street, 613-594-4571
www.ottawa-ocuc.org
Minister: Rev. James Chang (cell: 613-618-9166)
Sundays: Worship, 11 a.m.
(Mandarin with English translation)
Sunday school: 11:15 a.m. (for all ages)
THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (Quaker)
91A Fourth Avenue, 613-232-9923
http://ottawa.quaker.ca
Clerk: Bob Clarke, clerk.ottawafriends@gmail.com
Worship: Sundays, 10:30 a.m., silent Quaker worship
ST. GILES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Reflect, Focus, Delight – Make church a part of your life.
Bank Street at First Avenue, 613-235-2551
www.stgilesottawa.org
Interim Moderator: Rev. Wayne Menard
Worship: Sundays, 10:30 a..m.
Church school and nursery care available
(Wheelchair access at First Avenue door.)
ST. MATTHEW’S, THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN THE GLEBE
130 Glebe Avenue near Bank Street, 613-234-4024
(office/weekday access 217 First Avenue)
www.stmatthewsottawa.on.ca
Rector: The Rev. Canon Pat Johnston
Open doors: Please come in and visit, Mon.-Fri., 11:30-1:30 p.m.
Weekly service: Wednesdays, 7:15 a.m., Eucharist & fellowship
Thursdays, 10 a.m., Eucharist & coffee
Thursdays, 10 a.m., drop-in nannies/stay-at-home
parents group
Sundays: Eucharist, 8 a.m., Choral Eucharist, 10 a.m.
Choral Evensong, 4 p.m., June 19
An ecumenical summer
in the Glebe
by Jean Currie
There are many church buildings in the Glebe. The architecture of each reflects
the decade it was built as much as the denomination that meets inside.
This summer three of our local congregations will be sharing their buildings
and worship leaders for Sunday services during July and August. There are
nine Sundays during this time so each congregation will host three services.
All will start at 10:00 am.
While there are some differences
in theology and church government,
these denominations have a similar
understanding of Christianity
and the life and teachings of Jesus.
Our worship services follow a similar
pattern. We gather together to
worship God, we learn from scripture
and sermon, we respond with
praise, love and service to others.
The music, the prayers and even
the coffee time that follows will be
familiar to all three congregations.
It is good for all of us to meet and
get to know each other as we share
worship time.
The three churches were built in
times when most Canadian families
attended church regularly. They can
all hold more people than we see
on a regular Sunday. July and August
are quiet months in the Glebe
when many people are travelling
out of town; the churches have lots
of extra space! Ministers, organists,
church office staff and janitors also
need a vacation so joining together
makes practical sense too.
Everyone is invited to the services.
You don’t need to be a member
of one of the hosting churches. You
don’t need to be Christian. If you
want to see what happens in these
big buildings, which are so much a
part of the Glebe streetscape, just
come by any Sunday. Experience
an hour of peace in the presence of
the Creator and a group of friendly
people. None of our buildings is airconditioned
so dress should be cool
and casual. Shorts and sandals are
just fine.
Sunday school scales down in
Glebe-St. James United Church
Fourth Avenue Baptist Church
St. Giles Presbyterian Church
summer but we can offer nursery care and/or crayons and paper for little ones.
Services last about an hour and include prayers, scripture reading, a sermon
and hymns to sing together as well as other music. All three churches have big
pipe organs and good acoustics. Everyone gets a user-friendly printed bulletin
to help follow what is going on. You will be invited to stay for coffee (or lemonade)
and conversation afterwards if you wish. See you in church!
Glebe-St. James United, First Avenue at Lyon Street
Sundays July 3, 10, 17
St. Giles Presbyterian, Bank Street at First Avenue
Sundays July 24, 31, August 7
Fourth Avenue Baptist, Bank Street at Fourth Avenue
Sundays August 14, 21, 28
Jean Currie is the administrator at St. Giles Presbyterian Church at First
Avenue and Bank Street.
PHOTOS: JEAN CURRIE