Long, noisy services must end
Concern as charismatic church congregates in residential area, writes Siphelele Buthelezi
DURING the Easter weekend, some community churches will be holding longer than usual services, with some all-night vigils in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
However, some residents in C-section in Kwadabeka, near Pinetown, claim they have to contend with long, loud services, at times, on a daily basis.
The affected people claim the Ark Church on Isomi Drive uses musical instruments and loudspeakers to enhance worship sessions. Residents claim the church holds services from 5pm to 10pm every night and has been running since last year. The say they no longer live in peace or enjoy the comfort of their homes due to the noise.
And they are forced to live behind closed doors.
A community member, who asked not to be named, said their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.
“How can you sleep when their loud music is being played? Closing your windows and doors does not help.
“We reported this to our ward councillor, but he has never bothered to intervene. We are abused and harassed by members of the church who do not live in our area.
“The fact that we live in RDP houses does not mean people can ignore our rights and break by-laws.
“We are not fools. We are not against the word of God, but we can’t stand their noise every day,” said another.
Another concern of the residents regarding the church is hygiene because the building had no running water or toilets. And they also suspected the electricity connections were illegal. “As a community, we were never informed about a church being built in our neigbourhood. The church has been built on vacant municipal land and it is probably occupied without the city’s permission.
“It’s not known how they find relief when they are in need of the bathroom because there are no toilets in the building, they probably use the bushes at the behind the building.
“Even the structure of the church looks unsafe, it feels as if it could collapse at anytime, especially when there are heavy downpours and winds because the building is made from wooden panels,” said a resident.
“There are also children who spend all their time at the church. When do these kids do their homework and play like other children. I wonder if the parents or the pastor cares about the education of these kids. “Some angry residents said they were fed up and threatened to burn down the church if their complaints are not attended to in the near future.
Pastor LM Mtolo, head of the Ark Church, said he was unaware of the complaints and denied that services were held daily.
“I am really shocked and I don’t understand why they would not approach me because I am approachable. We only held daily services during this month, in preparation for the Easter weekend, which only lasted for two hours,” said Mtolo
“We don’t have members who relieve themselves in the bushes. Instead, we used toilets from the nearby Lethukuthula Centre, and our electricity is also connected to the centre.”
ethekwini Municipality spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa said no complaints from residents had yet been received and she requested more details for further investigations to be undertaken.