Cell phone towers appearing on church lands across Nova Scotia

HALIFAX – Cell phone towers are springing up on church lands in Nova Scotia, combining the historic traditions of religion with new-age technology.

This week, a new tower was finally erected on the property of New Beginnings Ministries in Cherrybrook, a year and a half after the church was approached about adding it.

“The community wanted it and we had the space to give it,” said Kirby Spivey, the pastor of New Beginnings Ministries.

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Spivey said the church held a series of community meetings before making a decision on whether or not to allow the tower, and people were overwhelmingly in favour of it.

“Ir seems like a win…for the community, for the church and for Bell, because they get to have better service in the area,” he said.

Other churches in the province are also opting to allow telecom companies to place towers on their properties.

“The fallacy about the church is that it’s archaic, that it’s old an ancient, but the church is going to be relevant today,” Spivey said. “This is symbolic of the church in the 21st century.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The fallacy about the church is that it's archaic, that it's old an ancient, but the church is going to be relevant today," Spivey said. "This is symbolic of the church in the 21st century."

The Evangel Pentecostal Church in Cole Harbour has had a tower on its lot for nearly 20 years, and recently added a second.

The pastor said it not only provides additional revenue for the church, but its location is a benefit to the community because there are no homes near the site.

Not all communities are as enthusiastic about the idea.

Larry Pope, who lives across the street from the Birch Cove United Baptist Church, said there was no consultation with his Clayton Park community before a tower was built.

“I’m not against cell towers, but there’s a place for them,” he said. “You don’t put them in residential areas where people have lived all their lives and built their homes.”

Some neighbourhood residents are now protesting a second tower that is being proposed for the area.

“I just don’t feel that a church should be leasing out land, against their neighbours’ will, or without any consideration for their neighbours, for money,” Pope said.