Codes dispute leaves members out of Tennessee church

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February 8th, 2014 9:05 pm by Associated Press

LA VERGNE, Tenn. Members of a La Vergne congregation are being locked out of their own church because of a dispute with the citys codes department.

The Word of Life Family Worship Center was ready to open its doors to its parishioners last February when construction was completed on the congregations new church. The Daily News Journal reports that members of the churchs primarily black congregation have been waiting for a year to worship inside because of the ongoing row with the city.

The reason the city wont give the church the green light is because of the placement of a utility box on the churchs property.

In the meantime, some of Word of Lifes flock have left for other places to worship as the church remains closed.

Every Sunday its getting harder and harder to encourage our folks, Johnson said.

Johnson says that after a year hes beginning to doubt whether his church will ever be approved.

Randolph Salyers, director of Codes for the city of La Vergne, declined to comment.

The church has tried to avoid a legal battle with the city.

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Codes dispute leaves members out of Tennessee church