• March 29, 2024

Church Services Too Noisy, So This Happened….

Someone in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana has no appreciation for Sunday morning worship. And so, what’s the most logical thing to do when you don’t like church. File criminal charges against the congregation. Sure, makes sense. Can I have an “Amen?”

“Silent Night” has new meaning for a Louisiana church after they were issued criminal sanctions because their worship services exceeded 60 decibels – which is about the same noise level of a dishwasher.

The executive pastor of Vintage Church was issued a criminal summons and the rest of the staff was threatened with “physical arrest” if they used any microphones or amplified sound in their worship services, according to a lawsuit filed by Liberty Institute.

Jefferson Parish, Louisiana and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office are named in the lawsuit – alleging that the local government is “imposing unwarranted and unreasonable demands on the members of Vintage Church.”

If it’s okay to use a jackhammer on Sunday morning, why isn’t it okay to worship Jesus?

“Federal and Louisiana law both protect Vintage Church from this sort of targeted enforcement,” Liberty Institute attorney Justin Butterfield said.

For the record, I reached out to the sheriff for comment – but he declined to speak to me.

The trouble started back in August when the small evangelical congregation announced plans to expand its existing sanctuary – located within a subdivision.

However, that meant the church had to temporarily relocate its two Sunday morning worship services to an enclosed outdoor tent. The church applied for, and was granted a permit to erect the structure.

On Aug. 9, a neighbor called authorities to complain about the noise levels.

On Aug. 18, the church was told by the sheriff’s office that any sounds before 8:50 a.m. had to be kept below 60 decibels. They also told the church they could not set up for the Sunday service until after 8:50 a.m.

Pastor Rob Wilton told me that was the start of what would become weekly visits by heavy-handed authorities.

“It’s been difficult,” he told me. “We have been consistently hassled by our neighbors and by the parish officials since the first of August – every single week.”

By Nov. 12 the sheriff’s office escalated their bullying tactics by issuing a stern warning to the church – vowing to either “issue summons or even ‘physically arrest’ Vintage Church personnel if any amplified sound were used by the church for the first service, including the pastor’s use of a microphone to preach, regardless of the sound levels.”

See more on this story at FoxNews.

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