Church wins concession to display banner about its 300th anniversary

A church in New Hampshire won the right to hang a 24-square-foot banner above its main entrance celebrating its 300th anniversary in August. 

The Community Church of Durham had to petition the town’s zoning board of adjustment to display the sign, since it is four times larger than existing zoning law allowed in the town’s historic district.

Although officially founded in 1718, the United Church of Christ congregation dates back to 1651 when the town of Dover—which then encompassed the settlement that became Durham—voted to support a minister there.

Services were held sporadically for many years until a minister arrived in 1716 and oversaw the building of the meeting house that became a church. Until 1923, it was known the Congregational Society of Durham.

However, a zoning dispute involving a Maryland church has followed a less amicable path. Redemption Community Church sued the Baltimore suburb of Laurel after the city told the church it couldn’t use its downtown coffee shop for Sunday worship services.

In the lawsuit filed against Laurel earlier this year, the church said it was threatened with daily fines of $250, a practice it calls unconstitutional. The lawsuit remains unresolved.