Vintage Church Case

Meet Vintage Church

Vintage Church is a Southern Baptist Church that began in response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, with a mission of serving the City of New Orleans. The church’s sanctuary is currently undergoing construction to accommodate church growth. In the meantime, members are meeting in a tent on the church property on Sunday mornings.

Since the church moved to the tent, a disgruntled neighbor has complained that the outdoor services were “too loud.” The government insists that the church’s noise levels must not exceed 60 dB—the equivalent of “typical conversation, dishwasher, clothes dryer” (American Speech-Language Hearing Association). While Jefferson Parish places limits on church sounds, other noises like power tools, demolition sounds, and construction sounds are not so restricted.

Vintage Church hired a sound engineer to ensure that the volume of the church service was not too loud outside of the tent. The church even went so far as to attempt to have a worship service with no sound amplification—not even letting their pastor use a microphone.

Nevertheless, the parish has issued a summons against Vintage Church Executive Pastor Matthew Brichetto. The summons constitutes a non-custodial arrest, where the pastor is considered under arrest, but is not taken into custody.

After a hearing on December 22, 2015, the judge denied First Liberty’s request for injunctive relief to stop the Defendants from infringing on Vintage Church’s rights.  First Liberty filed an appeal of that order with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal in Louisiana on February 5, 2016.

First Liberty attorneys say the government’s demands are in violation of The Louisiana Preservation of Religious Freedom Act (LPRA), which states:

Government shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a facially neutral rule or a rule of general applicability, unless it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person is both: (1) In furtherance of a compelling governmental interest. (2) The least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.

“The government’s demand that the services cannot exceed the noise level of a conversation is ridiculous,” said First Liberty Senior Counsel Justin Butterfield. “Power tools and demolition noises are permissible but a relatively quiet church service is prohibited. These demands are preventing Vintage Church from holding their worship services and from having their planned Christmas program during Advent. Furthermore, these demands violate the Louisiana Preservation of Religious Freedom Act. This is illegal and must stop.”

Legal Action

On December 10, 2015, First Liberty and attorney Roy Bowes filed a lawsuit against Jefferson Parish, making the argument that:

• The government’s actions have placed a substantial burden on Vintage Church’s exercise of religion, without a compelling government interest.
• Issuing criminal sanctions against Vintage Church while permitting much louder sounds from lawn mowers and jackhammers is unwarranted hostility.
• Both of these actions are a violation of the Louisiana Preservation of Religious Freedom Act and the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, rendering the government’s actions illegal.