Priest stands by sign: ‘Not a playground!’

From teens climbing onto the roof to drug use in the parking lot to amorous couples on church lawns, Fr. Carlos Augusto Sierra Tobon has had enough. 

The pastor at St. Brigid’s Church in east-end Toronto is tired of chasing people off the property amid safety concerns.

So with the support of his parish team, he placed two signs on the outside wall of the church.  An older sign reads: “Private Property. Not a Playground! By Law 675-79.” A newer sign says: “Not a public playground.”

The signs, however, have caused an uproar among some residents in a community where children have few places to play. A neighbourhood Facebook page erupted with more than 400 comments, most objecting to the signs.

 But Tobon is unapologetic, saying the signs are the best way to get his message across.

“They have to understand that this is not a playground,” said Tobon. “Some lady said it (the sign) must say ‘Be Respectful’ but no, that’s not the way.”

Tobon said many of the critics are not church-goers and are using the signs “as an opportunity to blame the Church.”

In an e-mail exchange with Tobon, a local resident said the signs were tone deaf, off-putting and rude. He claimed the signs would cause division and conflict and that a simple “please be respectful” sign would help create a feeling of inclusiveness.

However, there were some who backed the priest’s stand. “Too many people have no respect for property. … The church has to maintain the property and with so many people being irresponsible, it costs needless money,” said one Facebook post.

Tobon said it’s important to understand that, after years of neglect, St. Brigid’s has undergone extensive refurbishment that required a lot of planning, money and manpower. 

“People believe that it is a playground,” said Tobon. “We invested money in recuperating the grass and organizing it to make the church appealing and certainly to have people say they love it.”

Tobon lives above the church office and has recorded several incidents with a camera. He has seen people put themselves in dangerous situations on church property and is concerned about safety and liability issues. He said he worries about children playing hockey and skateboarding on the parking lot because cars are coming and going throughout the day.

During an interview, he replayed a video on his iPhone of two children on scooters in the lot. A child, without a helmet, made a big jump and fell hard on the pavement. Tobon wondered where the parents were.

“The church is in the middle of two schools within a distance of 100 metres each, in which the children can play safety because the yards of the schools are fenced. Ours is not,” said Tobon.

In another instance, he spotted teens climbing up the roof to the tallest part of the building.

“A group of teenagers, 16 to 19, were in a competition going up over the roof of my car which was parked in the driveway,” said Tobon. “It was at 11:30 p.m., they were drinking alcohol in the green space between the church and the house, some vomiting and leaving their garbage there.” 

Another time, a teenage couple were spotted at midnight behind a shrine to Our Lady of Fatima. The woman was getting dressed when Tobon saw her through his window and ran downstairs to chase them away. He also saw a middle-aged couple acting in a similar manner and yelled at them to leave.

“How would you cope with these constant situations?” asked Tobon. “How would you feel if these events were happening on property that you were responsible for? 

“If these were isolated cases, no problem, but they continue to happen on a daily if not weekly basis.”