St Mary’s Church in Chartham in Kent, applied to have two cameras installed to prevent crime but it has been decided that they must be switched off during service and cannot film in secluded areas meant for prayer.
Rev Philip Brown wanted the cameras so that the church could be freely left during the day and maintain the tradition of keeping churches open.
However, it’s raised questions about how the right to security sometimes conflicts with the right to people’s privacy in prayer.
Affinity, a group of evangelical churches in the UK have responded to this case, saying they agree that prayer should not be filmed.
Graham Nicholls, the Director of Affinity, said: “There may be good reasons for having cameras installed in a church building but observing and recording private prayer times is not one of them. It is intrusive and serves no useful purpose.”
He added: “In fact, Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew 6 that prayer is a private matter between the one praying and God. We do not pray to impress or entertain others but to speak to our heavenly Father. Recording on camera those prayer times – for whatever purpose – runs counter to that idea.”
Graham Nicholls added though that live-streaming may be a good idea though: “There may be particular occasions when people might be sensitive to being recorded and possibly broadcast, such as at a funeral. But…
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