Petition Gains Momentum as Church’s Right to Preach Faces Legal Challenges
(Photo: Facebook/Bread of Life Community Church)
A wave of public support has surged for Bread of Life Community Church, as over 10,000 individuals have signed a petition urging Colchester City Council to annul a Community Protection Notice (CPN) issued against the church.
The notice prohibits the church from its customary public preaching in Colchester’s city centre. Notably, the church asserts that it encountered no grievances until municipal authorities began exerting pressure last year.
Initially, church members were reportedly asked to reduce or cease using amplification, despite no formal prohibition on amplified sound in the area. Later, concerns were allegedly raised by officials about the content of the preaching, particularly its references to hell.
The CPN claims the church’s message incites “harassment, alarm and distress” and deems the preaching “unreasonable” with a “detrimental effect on the community”.
A petition initiated by Christian Concern, which supports the church, calls for the withdrawal of the CPN, advocating for the protection of freedom of speech, religion, and the church’s right to share the gospel peacefully.
Christian Concern has characterized the use of the CPN as “unprecedented”, highlighting that it targets the entire church body rather than individual members, which is atypical for such measures.
As of now, over 10,600 people have endorsed the petition, asserting: “Bread of Life Community Church has been sharing the Christian message in public. This is not because they are behaving inappropriately – they record and livestream all their outreach and no evidence of harassment has been shown.”
“They are being suppressed because of the content of their message – the life-giving gospel that Christians have preached on UK streets for centuries. Please retract your Community Protection Notice against Bread of Life Community Church, recognising the freedoms of speech and religion that they are exercising.”
Colchester City Council has refrained from commenting, citing ongoing legal proceedings.
In a recent Facebook post, Bread of Life Church shared an image of Pastor Stephen Clayden alongside Nigel Farage, noting that their conversation centered on “Jesus, evangelism, and the Bible”.
The post expressed the church’s gratitude for Farage’s support.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
