Cycle race and Sunday desecration

James Young, the well-known entertainer who was born in Ballymoney in 1918 and died 40 years ago, had an item entitled “behind the barricades”.

Many church-going members of different churches and denominations were barricaded in on Sunday morning, August 24th, when the town centre and adjacent streets were closed to facilitate a cycle race.

I write on behalf of residents of the Covenenter Flats who as regular church goers could not get to the town churches and did not manage to get to churches at Kilraughts and Garryduff as they were not those prepared to do a detour from the route they usually took.

I am told that menion of this cycle race appeared in the press although I didn’t see it.

Surely notices of this race could be erected in the town some few weeks before, similar to notices of band parades!

Have the race organisers and others involved no conscience in allowing this breach of the fourth commandment?

“Ye shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuaury: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:30