In the Christian Bible Psalm 100 states, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all you lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” That is unless you live in Columbia, South Carolina according to city law. Pastor Johnny Clark of the Rehoboth United Assemblies Church was arrested for doing as the Bible commanded. The problem was his neighbors had an issue with the noise coming from the church services. According to city ordinances, amplified noise could not reach a certain level and if it did it was determined a nuisance. This is what the neighbors complained about, and this is why Pastor Clark was arrested and is now spending two weeks in jail after being found guilty of unlawful sound amplification.
The pastor’s wife, first lady Harriet Clark, who is also the church’s copastor stated, “I can’t believe it – jail time for serving God. What’s next?” However, the story is not over; now the pastor’s wife was told to also pay a fine and cease noise amplification. If she does not comply with the judge’s order, she faces 12 days in jail.
Since May of last year, the church has been cited repeatedly for violation of this ordinance. The church has paid the fines as requested by the city. For now, the church has no recourse other than to soundproof the building, which will be a considerable expense. The church has owned the property for more than 30 years and was there before the houses were built and has never received complaints in the past. Nevertheless, the new unidentified neighbors complained about the noise from musical equipment, singing and preaching and caused local law enforcement officials to be sent to the church more than 50 times. The injunction forbade the church from using music and microphones between 8 PM and 8 AM but the church continued to hold their services. Church services are held at 7:30 PM, which means they only have 30 minutes to worship before they are in violation of the city ordinance. The church worshipers are outraged and feel that their rights have been violated because they are being mandated on how to practice their religion. As the city ordinance is written currently, there is no distinction in what a nuisance is and what can be considered exceptions to the ordinance.
