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Bogor. Members of an Indonesian Christian church in Bogor, West Java held their Christmas service on the sidewalk in front of their sealed-off building on Saturday evening under the protection and watchful eyes of some 150 armed police officers.

The service, which started at 8 p.m., was tainted by around 100 protesters claiming to be from surrounding communities who rejected the church’s presence in the Taman Yasmin area. The demonstrators chanted prayers and taunted the congregation while shouting “Sidewalks are not a place of worship, arrest them and burn the building” throughout the proceedings.

The Rev. Ujang Tanusaputra urged the 100 church members bold enough to show up to the service amid the tension and taunting of the protesters to smile. ”This is Christmas, a time to rejoice and strengthen our faith,” he said.

On July 13, 2006, the congregation, also known as the GKI, secured a permit from the Bogor administration to build a church in Taman Yasmin, but the permit was suspended on February 8, 2008 and construction was ordered to stop.

Ahmad Iman, who said he is a resident of Taman Yasmin, accused the congregation of falsifying the community’s signatures in a petition supporting construction of the church. “It is clear that there has been a manipulation of data,” he said.

“The residents do not want a church in this area. They were surprised to see their names on the petition.”

The suspension was annulled by the Jakarta State Administrative Affairs Court on June 11, 2009, and the Bogor administration was ordered to reopen the site and allow construction to continue. The Bogor government, however, refused to obey the orders while they filed a case review to the Supreme Court.

“The excuse is unacceptable,” GKI spokesman Bona Sigalingging said. “Lodging a case review does not delay the execution of court orders.”

Thomas Wadu Dara, an organizer of the service, said that based on the court ruling, construction resumed on January 4 but the site was attacked by a group of men four days later.

“They told the workers to leave. They ransacked and vandalized the unfinished church. Police did little to stop the destruction and no one was prosecuted,” he told the Jakarta Globe.

“In response to the attack, we started holding our services here on the sidewalk in front of our sealed-off church. At first we just used a mat, but eventually church members started raising money to rent tents and stools. This Christmas celebration is the 25th time we have held our service on the streets.”

Bogor secretary Bambang Gunawan was spotted talking to the protesters. “Please pak Bambang, tell these people to leave. They have been provoking us with their singing and prayers. Staging their service here is against the law,” Ahmad told the city secretary.

Bambang, however, was reluctant to meet the protesters' demand. He seemed hesitant knowing that Eva Sundari, a member of the House of Representatives from the legal commission, was among those attending the service.

“I will summon the mayor of Bogor during a House hearing. I will ask him if Pancasila (national ideology) and the Constitution are really applied in Bogor,” said Eva, who is from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

The service ended at 9:30 p.m. Members had to be escorted by armed police officers to their vehicles as protesters booed them. Some female members even had to wear head scarves that made them appear Muslim in order to ensure safe passage home.