Pastor back in court for nuisance bylaw complaint

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A Saint John pastor whose church operates out of a temporary dome in the Fundy-St. Martins area has been charged for violations of the village’s noise bylaw.

Pastor Philip James Hutchings, appearing Tuesday through a lawyer, made his first appearance on three charges under Fundy-St. Martins’ nuisance bylaw. The charges allege that using a musical instrument, he disrupted the peace and rest of people in the vicinity on Sept. 24, Oct. 8 and Oct. 15.

In court, lawyer Carson Rehn, appearing for Hutchings’ lawyer Jonathan Martin, asked to delay pleas in the case till Nov. 27. In an e-mail, Martin declined comment on his client’s behalf.

His Higher Life Church, formerly known as His Tabernacle Family Church, has been operating on a parcel of land on Base Rd. in Garnett Settlement using a large tent since March of last year. In October 2022, Brunswick News reported that residents had complained of the noise coming from the area and had called the police on two occasions.

Fundy-St. Martins mayor Jim Bedford declined to comment on the nature of the complaints, saying the issue is before the courts.

The church formerly operated out of a Rockland Road property in Saint John until it encountered legal trouble over the province’s COVID-19 health restrictions involving vaccines and masks. The province lost in May in an attempt to prove that church services held in a tent there counted as indoor gatherings, and that Hutchings and the church had breached a consent order to follow the rules.

After leaving the Rockland Road property, the church operated for a short time out of a tent on Ashburn Lake Rd. in Saint John. The church has filed documents intending to build a church, septic system, roadway and parking lot on the site.