The judge has to agree to the terms of the deal. Please remember that even his release is not set in stone…the JCCF article stated they EXPECT the release of James in the upcoming days. He said his work for the Lord must not be done yet. This breaks my heart that he has to wait and be away from our family and GLC when he was so excited to potentially get out. Hi friends, so we weren’t able to get the Friday hearing we hoped for. From the Instagram account of Erin Coates Pastor Coates’ wife Erin Coates released a statement on her instagram feed recognizing the delay. I am quite content to let the Lord Jesus Christ himself decide whether or not this is persecution,” Coates said in his February 14 sermon, according to the Edmonton Journal.Family and friends are now expecting Coates to be released following procedures on Monday at Stony Plain Provincial Court. “I’m doing what I’m doing in obedience to Christ. Like John MacArthur and Grace Community Church in California, which resumed in-person worship against state regulations in July, Coates and GraceLife have continued to meet to stand against what they see as unjustifiable regulations on their religious freedoms and, more broadly, civil liberties. ![]() But it also acknowledges the possibility of “reasonable limits” in the law, “as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects freedom of conscience and religion as a fundamental freedom. The commander of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the county said in a statement that it has escalated from “education, an opportunity for compliance, and lastly, enforcement” in regards to GraceLife and its objective “is not to interrupt church services, prohibit services, nor deny peoples’ right to practise their religion-merely to ensure that public health restrictions are adhered to while doing so.” The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which is representing Coates and Grace Life, said the pastor “could not, in good conscience, agree to” stop holding church services, as ordered. He has twice refused to agree to the conditions of his release, the network said. Ultimately Coates turned himself in on Tuesday and was arrested on charges of contravening the Public Health Act and refusing the undertaking, the CBC reported. Coates was preaching on Romans 13:1-4, a message titled “Directing the Government to Its Duty.” When the church met as usual last Sunday, they called for his arrest. GraceLife had been fined $1,200 in December, and this month officers found the church again in violation and issued an undertaking requiring Coates to comply. GraceLife Church in Edmonton, after shifting to livestream for the first few months of pandemic, resumed worship over the summer and has met every Sunday “without incident,” it says.īut authorities repeatedly flagged the church for not capping attendance at 15 percent of capacity, requiring masks, or social distancing, as required by health regulations in Alberta. ![]() The case of GraceLife Church pastor James Coates has reignited a religious freedom debate over worship gatherings during government lockdowns. Original post (February 19): A Canadian pastor arrested for violating public health orders remains in police custody after refusing the conditions of his bail: that he stop holding services that defy COVID-19 regulations. The pastor is scheduled to go to trial in May for one remaining charge over violating COVID-19 guidelines on gathering size. The court is aware that I'm contesting the legitimacy of that law but please, make no mistake. His congregation, GraceLife Church, has continued to meet for Sunday worship without complying with the province’s restrictions around capacity, masks, and social distancing.Ĭoates defended his stance before the judge saying, “I’m simply here in obedience to Jesus Christ, and it's my obedience to Christ that has put me at odds with the law. ![]() James Coates pleaded guilty to breaching bail and was issued a fine of $1,500, with his time spent in prison counting as credit for the fine, CBC News reported. Update (March 23): The Alberta, Canada, pastor who refused to comply with public health orders during the pandemic spent a month in jail before being released on Monday.
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