Governmental units in the United Kingdom long have battled Christians who want to preach to the public on streets, deliver a message of hope to those without, even pray silently against the evils of the abortion industry’s rampant destruction of the unborn.
But now a branch of government there, the Colchester city itself, has launched a full war on the message of Christianity, alleging it causes “harassment, alarm and distress.”
Those are the wild claims being made about the street preaching programs, which have existed for years, run by the Bread of Life Community Church in Essex, which has formally been targeted for its beliefs with a Community Protection Notice.
The action, which could end up with a ruling that criminalizes the pastor and members for preaching the Christian message in Colchester city center, will be heard in court on May 1, according to a report from Christian Concern.
The organization confirmed, “This is believed to be an unprecedented use of public order powers against a whole church, rather than individual Christian street preachers and further seeking to criminalize the content of the message rather than just the manner of preaching.”
City “wardens,” had complained not only about the actions of the street preaching, the presence of ministers and church members in supplying food and clothes to the public, but now have based their new action on the message.
Their order bans the church’s use of amplification while preaching, a limit not imposed on those other messages, and designates that a violation is a criminal offense, meaning “Pastor Stephen Clayden and his council could face prosecution…”
The church formally has appealed the governmental attack on the content of its messages.
Christian Concern explained, “Until recently, the church’s outreach in Colchester had never attracted formal complaints. The team preaches, sings hymns, hands out literature and Bibles, and speaks to members of the public, many of whom express appreciation for the support, prayer, and hope offered by the evangelists. However, correspondence with the council reveals a steady escalation, including street wardens repeatedly demanding cessation or reduction of amplification, despite the current Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) containing no prohibition on amplified sound.”
Last winter, the government issued a Community Protection Warning after those “wardens” complained about “the content of the preaching, including theological references to judgment and hell, which the council claimed might distress some listeners.”
The CPN wildly accuses the church of using “religious messaging” that references “hell” to cause “harassment, alarm and distress.”
The government notice gives credit to the “wardens” who have tried to “educate” the preachers because they are having a “detrimental effect on the community.”
Christian Concern said, “This marks a significant shift from regulating noise to attempting to regulate Christian doctrine expressed in public.”
The church explains that the CPN is illegal in that is does not engage in “threatening, harassing or intimidating behavior.”
Further, calling biblical teaching about hell as “intimidation” is a serious mischaracterisation of routine Christian evangelism, it charges.
It confirms that the governmental agenda to “restrict doctrinal statements, such as warnings about judgment, amounts to unlawful content based censorship of protected religious speech.”
Clayden said, in the report, “We have preached the Bible lawfully and peacefully in Colchester for six years. We have harmed no one. We will not be intimidated into abandoning the Great Commission … No council has the authority the silence the church.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting Pastor Clayden and the church, warned, “This is a deeply alarming development. Public order powers designed to address genuine anti social behavior are now being used to clamp down on Christian preaching. … We are seeing a slippery slope from managing noise to policing theology.”
BREAKING: Church faces criminalisation under Community Protection Notice for lawful Christian preaching in Colchester
Bread of Life Community Church in Essex has been issued with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) that could criminalise its pastor and members for preaching the… pic.twitter.com/NFHITCmw86
— Christian Concern (@CConcern) April 22, 2026
