Despite complaints from neighbours, a Pentecostal church in south London is continuing its loud preaching with amplified music at an unusual time of the day – 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. – every Saturday morning.
Asked why the church has scheduled its services at a time when most people are fast asleep, the pastor answered: That is when "demons" and "the spiritual world" are most active, the Standard reported.
The Kingdom Church in Camberwell, south London, has already been fined £7,740 at Camberwell Magistrates' Court for causing sleepless nights to nearby residents.
But Bishop Climate Irungu, the church's leader, said this would not stop them from holding services in the middle of the night.
He said the church has already addressed the complaints of neighbours by installing a new floor and ceiling to sound-proof the building.
"Because of our religious beliefs, we have to do them during the night," Irungu told the Standard.
"That is the time when we're dealing with spiritual things, when the spiritual world is busy. That's the time when demons are more active, when people are asleep, that's when they will come," he said.
The church says its members find "deliverance" from sickness, financial hardship and "demonic soul ties" simply listening to the preacher's sermons.
Irungu claimed that worshippers come from "all over the world" to attend their church service.
He admitted that the church has received a number of "hate mail" because of its early-morning sessions. He warned that those responsible for the hate mail would face "divine justice."
"We received a lot of hate mail from atheists and people like witches and Satanists," he said. "I'm pursuing legal justice and divine justice. In the Bible, when people mock, God deals with them.
"I'm hoping that people who have been mocking us, people speaking bad things – God is going to deal with them."
