Facilities

-For what purposes should the facilities of the FOHC body be used?

–Who shall decide alignment of a request with the assembly’s choice of purposes?

Example 1:

The All in All Singing met at FOHC beginning in late 2022 and each month throughout 2023. This occurred on Saturday nights where hymn-desiring worshipers (from multiple churches) gathered for hymn-singing from hymnals.

On January 2, 2024 the elders denied use of FOHC facilities by the All in All Singing citing “so many unresolved issues and ongoing disagreements with several individuals” of the All in All Singing. Sadly, FOHC elders have ignored repeated requests to express the issues and disagreements, much less have they sought to reconcile them. At present All in All Singing has relocated to another local church which has allowed use of their sanctuary.

Example 2:

A recent announcement from the pulpit expressed that FOHC worshipers were invited to come and study the statement of faith. However, when some met to do exactly that – study the statement of faith – they were watched by classroom video cameras, studying, and the next week they were told that their studying was unauthorized, and the classroom doors were locked. The further result was a “building usage” policy recently published in the Sunday bulletin restricting facilities use to only whatever uses as might “… be approved by the church office …”

Policies regarding the use of the body’s facilities are a proper subject for the FOHC assembly to decide. No personnel – to include elders, deacons or church staff – should be permitted to to restrict or prohibit uses of facilities for purposes acceptable to the assembly.