An artist's impression of Tower Of Power Ministries. Pastor Mark White says it will be the most beautiful building in Southern Heights.

by Maria Bradshaw

RESIDENTS living at Southern Heights, Christ Church, are opposed to the construction of the Tower of Power Global Network Ministries church in their neighbourhood.

Twenty-five residents have signed and submitted a petition to the Town and Country Planning Department opposing the building of the church in the upscale neighbourhood and the church's conversion of another lot into a car park, saying that these were in contravention of the residential covenant.

But Pastor Mark White, who operates the church along with his wife Rochelle, is maintaining that they were given permission to build the still to be completed church and said they would not be moving out of the neighbourhood.

Timothy Zervos, spokesman for the residents, said officials at Town Planning have repeatedly told them that they have no documentation indicating that the church was given permission.

Zervos said loud noise emanated from the church, disturbing the peaceful neighbourhood.

"Two weeks ago they held a crusade and the noise went on every night until about midnight. Residents cannot sleep. We are having health problems – stress and lack of sleep," he said.

He said the residents were not atheists, but were standing up as a matter of principle.

"Most of us are Christians. We do go to church, but this is our investment and we chose to build here mainly for the peace and tranquility ofthe area. None of us are rich. We are all paying mortgages and we feel very upset that they are taking away our investment," Zervos said.

He said he spoke to Rochelle White and told her they were not happy about the noise coming from the church.

Another resident who did not want to be identified said that while he did not want the issue to be blown out of proportion, they wanted to know if the church was granted permission to build.

"We do not want this to became an 'us versus them' situation. The covenant covers only a doctor's office and a beauty salon. If it were a supermarket being built, it would be the same issue. We are not going after them because it is a church. We would like the pastor to come to us and let us know exactly what is going on because if he has permission, we would not have a fight with him we would have to go after who granted the permission."

Pastor White told SUNDAY SUN that he had no problem meeting with the residents and would even invite them to worship with him and his congregation.

"We bought the land in 1999 long before Southern Heights was even developed. In 2000 we were granted change of use and permission to build a church. Everything is above board and legal," said Pastor White, who is also a Station Sergeant in the Police Force.

He dismissed statements that the church would devalue properties in the neighbourhood, saying:
"Right now we have only built the basement. This church is going to cost $3 million and when it is finished it will be the most beautiful building in Southern Heights."

He said all efforts were being made by the church to contain the sound.

"We hold church from 10 a.m to 12:30 p.m. on Sundays and from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 7:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. There are only 40 minutes of amplified worship on Sundays followed by me preaching quietly.

"The closest neighbour to us is about 300 yards away and he does not have a problem," Pastor White said, pointing out that he believed the issue was more than the residents were making it out to be.

"We were planning to go through the community and introduce ourselves to the people and let them know what we have to offer to the community."

He said Tower of Power church rented a room at the Grantley Adams International Airport for several years to hold their services.

"It has been a long struggle and words cannot express how we feel to finally own our own building. We have no intentions of moving from here," he said.

* mariabradshaw@nationnews.com