Eideard

Two churches in London have been ordered to keep their singing voices down after neighbours complained about their Sunday services.

Noise abatement notices came into force in All Nations Church in Kennington and Immanuel International Christian Centre in Walthamstow earlier this month.

Christian Legal Centre described the notices as a “heavy-handed approach”.

But Lambeth Council and Waltham Forest Council said the orders were a last resort after mediation failed.

Immanuel International Christian Centre was served the notice in May by Waltham Forest Council after complaints from neighbours.

The church challenged the order but its appeal was rejected by the magistrates on 8 October. The council said the church faces a fine of £20,000 if it breaks the order.

Pastor Dunni Odetoyinbo said since the order their congregation had lost about 50 of up to 150 worshippers on Sundays.

“Because we have had to cut down the drums and sing very low and even without a keyboard, most of our members are not enjoying their worship service, especially our youth, and so they go elsewhere,” she said.

A drop in attendance from 150 to 100 is usually the sign of a dying church, but the church almost always believes that something (or someone) else is to blame.

That said, I wonder if others producing similar levels of noise are threatened with fines of £20,000 (!) for not complying with the ordinances.