NEIGHBORS COMPLAIN ABOUT CHURCH CHOIR

The Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in West Oakland, California, recently received a letter from the city threatening a $3,500 nuisance fee and a $500-a-day fine unless it tones down its choir practice. The neighbors have been complaining about the noise. Thomas A. Harris III, the pastor at Pleasant Grove, believes the complaints about the church’s music are coming from people new to the neighborhood. The church sits in a neighborhood full of old Victorian homes being snapped up by affluent tech workers who are changing the culture that existed before they arrived. Pastor Harris and other local pastors said all churches are threatened by the city’s action and they plan to fight it. They are also thinking about organizing outdoor services throughout Oakland so everyone can enjoy the church choirs that much more.
* Yes!!! Oh, it is ON, heathens!
* They’re also going to add vuvuzelas.
* They’re making a joyful noise unto the Lord, with the emphasis on the noise.
* Go ahead and make a joyful noise, but keep it under 100 decibels, will ya?
* Okay, but how would you feel about a church that plays computerized bell sounds really loudly from speakers in the steeple?
* Not that I’m referencing my own neighborhood or anything.
* I’ve got a sneaky feeling it all depends on what religion we’re talking about here.
* I mean if a church full of Satan worshipers started howling away with their choir, we’d shut them down in a heartbeat.
* So it’s freedom of religion but only as long as it’s the right religion.