May pastors live next to churches

I have been trying to find a way of saying this delicately, without hurting any feelings, without ruffling any pastoral feathers, and without sounding disrespectful.

But if there was a way God would make every pastor or Pentecostal minister stay next to a church, so many debates about how we handle sound in churches would be a thing of the past. There. I said it.

All the back-and-forth about how much noise comes from our churches located in residential neighbourhoods, can be solved by us being part of both the ‘problem’ and the solution.

It does not help for a pastor to go and turn the volume up in Kamwokya and leave the residents’ blood pressure elevated, to go home to his/her leafy, quiet neighbourhood.

Live next to a church and you will start talking to your leadership council about sound-proofing options, reasonable sound levels and how to exalt our God without causing so much resentment in the communities.

I am proudly Pentecostal, Spirit-filled and a lead worshipper at my church. A few years ago my neighbour sold his residential house to a Pentecostal church. Basically, I share a fence with a church that fellowships in the compound without any walls or enclosure.

The only saving grace: they are amazing worshippers. But again, I am Pentecostal, so I speak their language. This January, because I think they have been observing a fast and prayer like many churches, there have been daily services and one Saturday, the drummer started playing loud drums at 6am!

That also happens regularly every Sunday. Like an alarm clock, the drums and soundcheck start at 6am and at 7am, the choir starts ministry. Sigh.

I understand one senior pastor in this city responded to complaints about the loud sound from his church with: “Let them move!” Hmm…

Well, every pastor needs to share a fence with a vibrant church. That is when there shall be empathy. I know it changed me and how sensitive I am about sound when it comes to our church, especially during overnight prayers.

The day my neighbours moved in, they celebrated the milestone with an overnight service. Even our beds and windows were vibrating! We did not sleep until 6am when they retired to their quiet neighbourhoods.

In the morning we were all irritably walking around the house, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and wondering how we were ever going to survive this if it was to become regular. We have not had an overnight service since that one, and in all fairness, they have never given us a repeat of that night’s unforgettable volume.

But I know a beautiful AirBnB in Mukono that has clients check out a day after checking in, because of a loud mega church next door. There is a born-again husband that regularly sleeps away from his wife and home whenever he wants a good night’s rest, because of the challenging nature of his job. There is a Pentecostal church 100 metres away.

So, let us not gloss over these things that are not endearing us and Jesus Christ to the communities hosting us but are rather breeding deep-seated resentment.  

Many churches can afford soundproofing/noise reduction measures. Those that cannot, can at least control volume. Otherwise, I pray that the good Lord brings a church next door to your beautiful, serene home. Amen.

malita@observer.ug

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