ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - Is it the sound of worship or the sound of violating the law?
That has been the center of a debate in Elizabeth City for the past year and a half regarding the volume of Wednesday night rehearsals and Sunday services at The Master's Touch Church.
"The bible tells us to make a noise and that's what we're doing," says Rahtina Stallings, co-pastor.
According to Elizabeth City Police, calls started to come in regularly from the Millbrooke Sub-Division, located right behind the church, back in June.
In response to the calls, officers started to check the noise levels weekly through January.
Police say they found four readings above the 65 decibel limit, which is city law for public places. The last violation was in October of 2015.
The Master's Touch says they made adjustments, including $3,000 to insulate a few areas in the building, but they say the complaints haven't stopped. The most recent complaint was on April 20th.
Church members say they took the issue to city council. However, after discussing the possibility of two ordinances, either exempting churches from the ordinance completely or raising the decibel limit, council members voted to put a moratorium on the subject.
"The problem right now, we can't even discuss it for six months," says Councilman Darius Horton.
Councilman Hortson tells NewsChannel 3 he thinks they could find a happy medium.
However, Councilman Michael Brooks, in a phone conversation, said the more than 100 churches in the city are in compliance so they should not have to make exceptions for The Master's Touch.
NewsChannel 3 spoke with several families in the Millbrooke Sub-Division who say they have had no issues with the noise.
We also took our own reading just outside The Master's Touch parking lot and our reading was way below the 65 decibel limit.
"It's integrity, if you're coming to church and the police are here, how can we tell you to do right when it's looking like we aren't?" says Kerita Snowden, missionary at The Master's Touch. "If it's an issue, and we are in compliance, where can we go from here?"
The church's plan now, according to Pastor Timothy Stallings Jr., is to continue pushing city council for some sort of solution.
"We believe that a change will come, patience," he says.
