Here is another one of those strange little — repeat “little” — church-state stories that a few readers continue to ask about, via personal emails.
At first glance, this is really strange. Then you look closer and it gets stranger — in part because the stories do not tell us crucial facts that we need to know. Here is a chunk of one of the larger stories out there:
A Phoenix church leader received a suspended sentence of 10 days in jail and three years probation on Wednesday for violating a Phoenix noise ordinance because his church rang its bells hourly.
The bells at the Cathedral of Christ the King on E. Greenway Road normally chime at the top of every hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The bells have been registered to emit 67 decibels from the nearest property line.
In addition to Bishop Richard Painter’s sentence, the judge issued an order restricting chimes at the church to no more than 60 decibels on Sundays for two minutes and on specific religious holidays.
OK, this raises a logical question about acoustics.
According to a news release from the Alliance Defense Fund, a whisper is 30 decibels and a normal conversation is about 60 to 70 decibels. Ice cream trucks are allowed to emit up to 70 decibels at a distance of 50 feet under an exemption to the city’s ordinance, but no exemption exists for church bells.
I had other questions, after digging through the church’s website and some other coverage (including this YouTube offering):
* Who are these guys? Painter is a bishop in what body? This seems like a rather basic question, to me. I did some searching and I cannot find this congregation in the world of alternative Anglicanism, including the website of the Charismatic Episcopal Church.
* Are there any other church bells in Phoenix, perhaps linked to churches that are, well, a bit more mainstream? Have these laws affected them? In other words, are there untidy issues here between the neighbors and the brand of Christian faith being practiced in this unusual building? This doesn’t look like your ordinary “cathedral,” does it?
* Sure, I’ll ask: Are the “bells” actually real bells or are we talking about a recording of some kind played over loudspeakers that can be turned down a notch or two (not that this would affect the legal issue raised here)?
Strange, don’t you think? It makes you wonder what this conflict is actually about. Really.
Photo: From the church’s own website. Recent consecration services at the church.
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Comments (16) |
June 10, 2009, at 8:27 am
Here’s an answer to your question about who they are. Looks like they’re affiliated with the Communion of Christ the Redeemer, a self-described “family of churches and clergy that embraces the ‘three streams’ of the Christian faith. We are fully evangelical, fully charismatic, and fully liturgical/sacramental.”
Two helpful tidbits from the CCR’s FAQ:
June 10, 2009, at 9:07 am
After some digging:
20. Why Did the CCR start and why can it not just merge and be part of another group?
The CCR began as a part of the sad division of the Charismatic Episcopal Church in 2006. While it is our desire to indeed come into union with other churches, we recognize our particular calling to be “three streams” - evangelical, charismatic and sacramental/liturgical. It is our desire to pursue unity, and even union with churches who will embrace this calling of God on our lives.
(From here.)
And from that most reliable of sources, Wikipedia (from its page on the Charismatic Episcopal Church):
In the United States, the ICCEC experienced rapid growth for the first ten years of its existence. However, the US growth rate plateaued in the present decade. In 2006 the US church experienced a crisis resulting in the departure of approximately 30% of its clergy and congregations, including seven actively serving bishops and one retired bishop. [3] Though from diocese to diocese a variety of reasons were given for these departures, the crisis stemmed from allegations against some ICCEC leadership in America. These allegations were heard and adjudicated in June and September 2006 by the Patriarch’s Council. In September 2006, the council issued a statement of its findings, which was followed by several more US departures. Some of the departing clergy and congregations found new homes within the Antiochian Orthodox Church as Western-Rite clergy and parishes, some became Roman Catholic, while some are now affiliated with various Anglican bodies.
June 10, 2009, at 10:29 am
If one looks at the “Links” page on the church’s website, one finds they are a part of the Communion of Christ the Redeemer. There is some further information further into the CCR web site, such as their FAQ page which states:
The CCR’s Wikipedia page says that they are a 2007 offshoot of the Charismatic Episcopal Church and are currently in full communion with the Anglican Province of America.
June 10, 2009, at 10:52 am
In looking through the sentencing documents from the court, it appears that the bells are electronic in nature - so therefore could be turned down (but as you pointed out Terry this doesn’t change the legal question).
In my mind the question that the media should look into would be the noise associated with other church bells (or mosques) in the city….
June 10, 2009, at 11:00 am
Actually the court order states, “The sound played from the electronic bell system cannot exceed 2 minutes in duration and must be set at a level of 60 Decibels as measured from the property line of each homeowner that shares a property line with the Cathedral of Christ the King.” [Empahsis added]
From Google Map or Google Earth, the church (2929 W Greenway Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85053-4063) has homes sharing the south and east property lines.
June 10, 2009, at 11:22 am
Physical bells can be softened by adjusting the clapper. If it’s the difference between 67 dB and 60 dB, you might wrap a hairnet around the striker and get what you needed. (Unlike the loudspeaker setup you’d need to climb to the belfry.)
June 10, 2009, at 3:14 pm
Following the links at the website provided: the Diocese of South Central which includes the cathedral in the news story, claims to have apostolic succession in its bishop.
It would be interesting to know who consecrated their bishop.
From the website links, it seems the group is grafting “lively contemporary music”, “strong Bible teaching” and “gifts of the Holy Spirit” onto “ancient reverent worship” - liturgy with smells and bells. It combines “Three Streams” : Evangelical, Charistmatic and Sacramental, the last one from “the ancient faith of the undivided church”.
Their calendar shows a 3 day meeting in July at the Our Lady of the Snows Retreat Center in Belleville, Illinois! That’s a legitimate Catholic Shrine!! I guess Catholic bookings are down.
June 10, 2009, at 3:17 pm
Or maybe the lady doing the bookings didn’t understand what Anglo-Catholic is.
I’ve known the Shrine to hos ecumenical and inter-faith activities, but not Anglican-affiliated events. I wonder if they are planning to use the Shrine Church for services?
June 10, 2009, at 4:05 pm
Julia:
Their apostolic succession comes from Brazil via an excommunicated Roman Catholic bishop, Carlos Duarte Costa.
Nine years ago, I was involved in organizing a meeting, in the Chicago area, of clergy and others involved with several different Independent Catholic Churches. We used a Roman Catholic venue. We were allowed to use a small chapel, but we provided our own sacred vessels, censors, vestments, etc. (I don’t think the question of using the RC vessels ever came up. I think it was just assumed, and probably correctly, that there would be no point in even asking.)
June 10, 2009, at 5:19 pm
Via Phoenix TV news: the “bells” are a recording. The news had no information on why bells were a problem or who complained.
June 10, 2009, at 8:03 pm
I followed up the links and found that one of their bishops is Rick Lipka whom I knew in Maryland. They are former Charismatic Episcopal Church folks.
June 10, 2009, at 9:50 pm
The CEC, before its disintegration three years ago, appeared to be on a path leading to convergence with the Roman Catholic Church. Official Catholic observers had attended every episcopal consecration of the CEC. One of the issues that broke up the CEC was that the leadership halted their movement towards unity with Rome. Since many of the members were committed to the principle of uniting with more established churches, small groups formed Antiochian parishes, while others joined Catholic parishes. It appears that a rather large faction (with six bishops, including Painter) formed the CCR.
June 10, 2009, at 10:25 pm
Roland, the ICCEC is still around:
International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church
June 11, 2009, at 12:46 pm
As an ICCEC deacon, I can affirm that the communion is alive and well. However, since 95 percent of it is overseas (primarily in Africa, the Philippines and Brazil), it gets relatively little press here. However, it is growing worldwide and is holding its 2012 international convocation in Madrid, where a Philippine-based church is growing, too. Also check out cechome.com for more information. The communion, which indeed suffered from a schism a few years back, has new international leadership and a firm commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the pro-life cause, and to establishing and maintaining good relationships with all other faithful Christians, no matter what their ecclesiastical background.
June 26, 2009, at 2:12 pm
[…] Mattingly writes at GetReligion: “‘According to a news release from the Alliance Defense Fund, a whisper is 30 decibels […]
July 10, 2009, at 10:39 am
The Shrine does host ecumenical (and secular) organizations and events, because it has a conference center/banquet rooms. I’ve never seen a non-Catholic group use the church for services, though. Banquet rooms may be set up to host non-Catholic worship services, for many Protestant groups, Eastern Rite churches, even Baha’i.