Oh Lord you wouldn't like my Baptist Church. We are a loud and vocal lot.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Noise in churh is the LEAST of the problems for Episcopals.
I love how the Morning and Evening Prayers always begin with "The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him"
Now if I could only get my Catholic pastor to speak about this portion of the General Instructions (or lead by example):
Even before the celebration itself, it is commendable that silence to be observed in the church, in the sacristy, in the vesting room, and in adjacent areas, so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacred action in a devout and fitting manner.
Once we had a woman come up to the pastor while I was standing next to him after the service. She apologized for the noise her baby made during the service.
I told her, "The problem isn't when you hear children in church. A parish really has a problem when you don't hear children in church."
This is not to say that ushers should run roughshod over the congregation, but there are certain standards of decorum that should be maintained - gently and with respect, but maintained nonetheless. I recall one inner-city "yute" who objected when I asked him to remove his hat in the sanctuary. When I reminded him that it was the "house of the Lord" he calmed right down. A few years later, he became an usher. I've always tried to stay ahead of situations and acted pre-emptively. I remind people as they enter the sanctuary to turn off their cell phones, and refuse entry to those who try to bring in food and drink.
All that said, it is the pastor who sets the standards for behavior in church. He should be the one who communicates those standards to those charged with maintaining them, as well as to the congregatiion, and then standing behind his word.