It is Prom season, and we understand that people are excited about beautiful dresses and tuxedos, and that people like the beautiful wrap-around stairs of our church at the corner of Walnut and Bradley. We reached out to a photographer this morning that advertised on facebook to take pictures on the steps of our our church for prom. We were concerned because we had not been contacted for coordination or permission for this intended use for commercial purposes.
We have since learned that photographers have commonly advertised for this use in this way. While we are considering a more intentional policy for the future, our current stance is as it has always been:
We are neither requiring nor granting a request for use of our property
We have not required a fee for this use in the past, and are not requiring one this year. We discussed with the one photographer a donation; we are not expecting nor soliciting a donation this year from anyone.
We are concerned about liability. We are not part of this event and consider that we are not held liable for harm while using our property for this private business purpose. We encourage photographers to check their own business liability insurance policies.
We apologize for the angst caused by this exchange. We hope that all have a beautiful time and a safe prom.