Can church grounds be used as a playground?

abankerbutnotafatcat

Thanks for all your thoughts. All I was after really was a steer on whether the activity of loud child-play along with the accompanying footballs in garden and monkey-hanging parents was likely to be explicitly prohibited from their land use so that I can tackle this from a position of knowledge what with me being a bankerbutnotacouncilplanningofficer! It seems probably not.

For those suggesting reasonable chats, unfortunately that isn't an option which I did attempt to allude to with the whole 'secretive religion' thing. The only thing a google search of them provides is investigative journalism pieces! Richard Webster: I respect you're professional knowledge; I'll msg you more details so that you understand what I'm up against.

Re my expectations of a church, firstly this isn't a parish/community church: did you not read the non-mainstream bit and I didn't mean they were Baptists?! Secondly, I asked the vendor and he told me that they just turned up for their services once or twice a week and that was it so that's what i expected and that is true except for the playing/high-pitched screaming + stray footballs and monkey-hangers! And thirdly, call me an old romantic drunk on too mant eps of Midsommer Murders and dreams of chocolate box cottages but I'd actually welcome a local church that had the comings and goings of the WI and mother and toddler groups. That is most definitely not what we're talking about here. Was that not clear from the secretive comment or the reference to me being slightly scared of them? There are other episodes of anti-social behaviour which I won't go into here as I'm not hear to rant or unload merely to get specific advice on a specific query.

Moneyitstm was actually closest in understanding what I'm up against although I probably won't going down that route.

Based on the consensus re planning/land use laws I think my best bet is to close the windows, bite my tongue and stick to the facts when I sell the house (which I always planned to). I'd rather resolve the situation but it is a put-up-withable situation and it seems there's not much I can do.

To the person who advised I should have visited various times of day, I did! Unfortunately, I didn't think of standing in the back garden of my future house on sunny evenings when it was dead quiet in the street the house is in.

moneyistooshorttomention

DRP wrote: »

I envision that this could end spectacularly badly :rotfl:

errrmm...you mean they might think they had a new convert :rotfl::think:

...maybe I can feel a pair of virtual "kidgloves" being donned...:cool:

...wonders if a bit of judicious "bribery and corruption" might be a possibility....

The only further thought I have on approaching the pastors/elders would be it would have to be a man that did so (eg OP's husband) as they simply won't take women seriously (women are after all in a "secondary"/helpmate to their husband/it has been ordained that way by The Lord type role according to that type of church).

Richard_Webster

I have a feeling that Seven Day Weekend and I are actually on the same page. He (like me) evidently reads books by a man from Redding. I understand perfectly that church buildings don't always make their identities known. Sometimes the obvious Church Building is not where the main body meets.

A local Anglican Church near me has its main meeting in the secondary school because the church building isn't big enough. My daughter was married at St. Thomas Philadelphia (no, husband isn't an American - it meets in a warehouse in Sheffield) and we have wedding photos taken in front of the roll down doors! She is now part of another Church which meets in a building on an industrial estate on the outskirts of Derby.

My son's church doesn't have a building but meets in a theatre in the City of London on Sundays.

My Church meets in the Central Hall in Southampton but isn't Methodist.

So yes I understand the name may not be obvious but I didn't know how much OP knew about the Church scene in this country so I was trying to simplify things. I would consider my church to be quite mainstream but it isn't part of a traditional denomination so a lot of people might not understand and might consider it quite weird.

However, whatever secretive nature OP may feel these people have, I still think that trying a polite personal approach is the best way forward. If they really off hand and won't talk then you may have to put it writing but if you do so express sadness that you were unable to talk to anyone about your concerns. People are much more ready to meet you halfway if your approach is reasonable and personal. They may not realise your concerns at all and may be quite concerned t o make sure that they do not upset neighbours.

Strapped

Is this a "meeting house"?

seven-day-weekend

Richard_Webster wrote: »

I have a feeling that Seven Day Weekend and I are actually on the same page. He (like me) evidently reads books by a man from Redding. I understand perfectly that church buildings don't always make their identities known. Sometimes the obvious Church Building is not where the main body meets.

A local Anglican Church near me has its main meeting in the secondary school because the church building isn't big enough. My daughter was married at St. Thomas Philadelphia (no, husband isn't an American - it meets in a warehouse in Sheffield) and we have wedding photos taken in front of the roll down doors! She is now part of another Church which meets in a building on an industrial estate on the outskirts of Derby.

My son's church doesn't have a building but meets in a theatre in the City of London on Sundays.

My Church meets in the Central Hall in Southampton but isn't Methodist.

So yes I understand the name may not be obvious but I didn't know how much OP knew about the Church scene in this country so I was trying to simplify things. I would consider my church to be quite mainstream but it isn't part of a traditional denomination so a lot of people might not understand and might consider it quite weird.

However, whatever secretive nature OP may feel these people have, I still think that trying a polite personal approach is the best way forward. If they really off hand and won't talk then you may have to put it writing but if you do so express sadness that you were unable to talk to anyone about your concerns. People are much more ready to meet you halfway if your approach is reasonable and personal. They may not realise your concerns at all and may be quite concerned t o make sure that they do not upset neighbours.

I am female, but have indeed read the books of the man from Redding.

Our church has met in a hotel, a University lecture theatre and a school hall, but we now have our own purpose built building which has facilities for conferences and other meetings, the 'worship' bit is only one part of the building's functions. It does look like a modern hotel from the outside but does have times of the services on the door.

I agree with you that the OP should talk to the church leaders if he can.

moneyistooshorttomention

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I agree with you that the OP should talk to the church leaders if he can.

I have a vague idea OP is a woman from memory - so it DOES have to be her husband (or a male friend) that makes any contact. There is no point in trying to go against their belief that women are the "secondary" sex at the same time as trying to deal with this issue. The church members are going to have to interact with "The World" at some point - if only because they won't be able to do all their shopping only at shops run by fellow members and it might be possible for OP's husband to work out which men seem to be "in charge" and find some opportunity somehow to "have a word" in passing. It might take a lot of lingering around working out first just who is in that position and then trying to encounter them casually but, in lieu of any other way of approaching them, then it might be worth a punt...