A house that was used for church services in the city of Bogor, near Jakarta, has been forced to close due to residents’ complaints.
As about 190 parishioners of the Indonesian Pentacostal Church, Gereja Pantekosta di Indonesia (GPDI), were carrying on a service on Sunday 26th March, some hundreds of local residents, as well as some outsiders, converged on the house come church and demanded that the service cease and the house no longer be used for such purposes.
The police intervened to prevent any “anarchic” actions by the demonstrators and the owner of the house, Daniel Pegi, was forced to accede to the demands. After that the crowd dispersed peacefully.
The house in question has been used as a church since 1987, when the surrounding area was largely undeveloped, but of late nearby Muslims have repeatedly demanded that the owner stop holding services there since the church does not have a permit to operate.
The pastor of the church, Fekky Tatulus, said:
If it’s closed where will the congregation and children have to worship?
A new law on houses of worship has just been promulgated but it is unlikely to be of great assistance to Fekky Tatulus and his congregation.
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