LA CORUNA, SPAIN (October 17, 2007) \u2013 Members of Vida Nueva (New Life) Covenant Church, evicted by police from their church building on October 4, are still waiting for an official response from the City Council of Oleiros on the church\u2019s appeal of the municipal order to close the church.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2011\/08\/Vida-TR.jpg\" "\\"Vida-TR\\"")
Authorities said they were acting on a complaint charging the church with creating excessive noise levels and in response to an unfavorable safety report. The noise complaint came from one neighbor who objected to the use of sound equipment in the worship service, Covenant News Service was told. The church maintains there are no safety issues. To read more about the closing, please see Police Evict Congregation.<\/p>\n
The congregation met this past Sunday for the second time in open-air worship, this time in a different area outside the building, which remains sealed. To see additional photos from this past weekend, please visit Open-Air Worship.<\/p>\n
Last week, church representatives met with officials from the city to seek a mutually acceptable resolution to the impasse. Participants in the two-hour meeting included Sixth Deputy Mayor of the City Council of Oleiros, Mar\u00eda de los \u00c1ngeles de la Fuente; the executive secretary of the Evangelical Council of Galicia, David Rego; and a legal advisor.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, there was no change for this (past) Sunday, October 14,\u201d noted senior pastor Robert Reed (top photo), requiring New Life Covenant to again celebrate the church service in the open air on the patio next to the church at 6 Icaro Street in Perillo.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fundamental problem is the noise, according to the representatives of the City Council, and they indicate that the next door neighbor (whose warehouse is used as a recording studio) has registered complaints,\u201d Reed notes in an email update. \u201cTo our knowledge, there have been no other complaints from the neighborhood. The City Council has not taken any measures to show that the church has exceeded the decibel level.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2011\/08\/Vida-LL.jpg\" "\\"Vida-LL\\"")
At the end of the session Reed says he asked city officials, \u201cAre you going to open the church?\u201d The answer was \u201cNo,\u201d Reed says. \u201cAre you going to provide a provisional place for the New Life Church to meet?\u201d he continued. \u201cNo.\u201d Officials claimed that it was the eve of a holiday and the council minimal staff and could not do anything until Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs there religious persecution?\u201d Reed asked. \u201cThe Protestant representatives note that there is not an objective answer,\u201d Reed explains, \u201cbut that they feel persecuted and that the fundamental right of religious freedom granted by the Spanish Constitution has been violated. It seems strange that there is such incongruence and so many roadblocks. At the same time it appears that there is something more than merely following municipal ordinances, and that regrettably neither the mayor nor the City Council of Oleiros have lent us a hand. But there is still time to rectify that.\u201d<\/p>\n
During last week\u2019s meeting, City Council representatives promised a written answer this week in response to a document the church presented on October 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever the problem might be, any person or council can make a mistake,\u201d Reed wrote in a special message to members of the congregation. \u201cI have committed mistakes. The noble thing to do is to admit the mistakes and make them right. I reiterated to the sixth deputy mayor that I would like to meet the mayor and speak with him face to face. She indicated that she would mention it to him and let me know. If there is something that we should make right as a church – within the law and our constitutional rights – we want to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the church continues closed and there is no significant progress, we see ourselves forced to present a legal case,\u201d Reed\u2019s message continues. \u201cThere is still the hope, although not very optimistic, that the City Council will rescind the church closing, rectify the damage that has been done, and give us the definitive license for the church. This would be the best for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The situation has attracted considerable local media attention in La Coruna. \u201cWe appreciate the media and the coverage they have given to this conflict and the solidarity we have received from the evangelical community, neighbors and business people from Oleiros and people from different parts of the world,\u201d Reed adds.<\/p>\n
To read comments from readers of the online Covenant News Service report, please see this week\u2019s Readers Share feature.<\/p>\n